left-wing, antimonarchist journalist and political leader, sometimes called Italy's “Poet of the Democracy.”

In 1860 he joined the Expedition of the Thousand volunteers who fought with the patriot general Giuseppe Garibaldi in Sicily, and he volunteered again in 1866. More importantly, that year he founded the journal Gazzettino rosa, in which he gained fame with his articles lampooning the monarchists. He was also a serious scholar and translated the critical life of Jesus, Das Leben Jesu kritisch bearbeitet (1835–36), by the German theologian David F. Strauss.

Cavallotti's political activism led to his election (1873) to the Chamber of Deputies, where he continued to fight for democratic reform and to criticize his right-wing opponents, especially Agostino Depretis and Francesco Crispi, until his death. His fighting was not limited to parliamentary debates, however. His temper and zeal led him to participate in several duels, the last of which was fatal: he was killed by Ferruccio Macola, editor of the Gazzetta di Venezia.