Cantu

Cantu, Cesare, born at Brivio in 1805, became very early a professor of literature at Sondrio, subsequently moving to Como and then to Milan. His liberal opinions, expressed both in prose and verse, brought upon him the wrath of the Austrians, who in 1842 imprisoned him. He employed his solitude in composing his Storia Universale, a work of merit as well as of magnitude. His other more important books are a History of Italian Literature, a History of the Last Hundred Years, and Letture Giovanelli, a popular compilation for educational purposes. He took part in the unsuccessful Piedmontese rising of 1848, and for some years found a refuge at Turin. The Austrians, however, allowed him to return, as his influence was more formidable abroad. He died in 1881.