Cappa was born in Genoa on 19 February 1888.[1] He obtained a degree in law.[1]
Following his graduation Cappa worked for various publications, including Momento in Turin and Cittadino Genoa.[2] He was the director of the newspaper Avvenire d'Italia between 1915 and 1923.[3] In 1919 he was elected to the Parliament from his hometown for the People's Party[2] where he served two more terms following the elections in 1921 and in 1924.[2][4] He retired from politics during the Fascist rule and worked as a lawyer.[4] He resumed his political activities in 1945 when he was elected as a deputy for the DC to the Constituent Assembly.[3] He served as the undersecretary of the Council of Ministers in 1946.[3] He was the first undersecretary of the DC together with Giulio Andreotti in the late 1940s.[5] Both were against and prohibited the theatre plays which contained references to homosexuality.[5] Cappa was the minister of merchant navy between May 1947 and May 1948 and between July 1951 and July 1953.[1][3] He was also a senator in the first legislature from 1948 to 1953.[3]
Cappa died in Rome on 26 June 1956.[1][3]
