An Italian patriot he joined Giuseppe Garibaldi in 1866 and fought with him first in Trentino then at Mentana and in France. He was Italy's first Jewish Prime Minister.
His daughter Maria Fortis married the count Rinaldo Girolamo Saffi of Forlì (1868–1929), a minor son of count Aurelio Saffi (1819–1890) a famous patriot and hero of Italian Risorgimento who had also been one of the major sponsors of the political career of Alessandro Fortis himself.