Un nobile «troppo repubblicano» : Alessandro Trivulzio fra tradizione famigliare e servizio pubblico (1796-1805)

This essay analyses, using previously unpublished documents, the figure of Alessandro Trivulzio, an individual of great importance for the history of revolutionary and Napoleonic Italy, who remained relatively obscure until now. Despite his role as a general and later Minister of War in the Cisalpine and Italian Republic, Trivulzio has been long dismissed as a mediocre and incapable man. This contribution aims to analyze his figure from a historiographical perspective, focusing on his political and military engagement. Moving beyond a purely biographical approach, this study explores themes such as intergenerational conflict, loyalty, republicanism, and the transformation of the nobility.