Born in Rome on October 8th, 1805, he became an officer in the papal artillery. In 1847 he was decorated for his studies on armaments and fortifications.
Politically a moderate, he was elected as deputy of the Constituent Assembly in 1849, and after the proclamation of the Roman Republic he was appointed interim minister of war. In this role he aimed to strengthen the regular army, favoring it over volunteer formations. Coming into conflict with the War Commission on April 2nd he resigned from that post.
He took an active part in the defense of Rome, earning a gold medal for military valor on April 30th. On July 1st, 1849, after the resignation of Mazzini, Saffi and Armellini, he was part with Livio Mariani and Aurelio Saliceti of a new very brief triumvirate.
The restored papal government sentenced him to death, a sentence later transmuted to twenty years in prison. Through the intercession of Frederick William IV of Prussia, Pio IX, on June 15th, 1853, commuted the prison sentence to perpetual exile, and Calandrelli settled in Prussia where he married Emilia Reineke by whom he had three children.
He returned to Rome on October 2nd, 1870, and became again actively involved in Italian political life.
He died on February 7th, 1888, in Albano Laziale.
For more detailed and in-depth information on Calandrelli, please refer to the Italian biographical dictionary of the Treccani Encyclopedia, which can be consulted on the website http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/alessandro-calandrelli_(Dizionario_Biografico)/
(Maria Pia Critelli)