Born in Milan on October 19th, 1812, he was formed in a lively familial and cultural environment open to liberal aspirations. A graduate in medicine and surgery, he was always interested in the scientific advances related to his profession with particular interest in the social repercussions related to them.
A friend of Carlo Cattaneo, during the First War of Independence he approached the positions of Mazzini and in the following decade those of Garibaldi as he did not rule out collaboration with the Savoy state in the process of Italian unification.
During the Milanese insurrection of March 1848, he directed the military hospital of S. Ambrogio and in 1849, during the Roman Republic, the hospital of the Trinità dei Pellegrini. He moved to Genoa and was naturalized a citizen of the Kingdom of Sardinia. In 1859, at Garibaldi's request, he directed the health services of the Cacciatori dell Alpi (Hunters of the Alps).
He was among the main organizers of the Spedizione dei Mille (Expedition of the Thousand). Although he did not physically participate in it, he established the "Cassa di soccorso" in order to raise money and organize wards for subsequent expeditions. His relations with the Piedmont government deteriorated because Bertani was in favor of further actions in the continental area of the Regno delle Due Sicilie and also in the Papal States.
In 1866, during the Third War of Independence, he provided medical support to Garibaldi’s troops. He continued his supportive role in the battle of Mentana the following year, despite his own opposition to the expedition to Rome.
Upon the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, he was elected Deputy, just as he was after the annexation of Milan in 1859.
He died in Rome on April 30th, 1886.
For more detailed and in-depth information on Bertani, please refer to the Italian biographical dictionary of the Treccani Encyclopedia, which can be consulted on the website http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/agostino-bertani_(Dizionario-Biografico)/