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The Altamuran Revolution ( it, Rivoluzione di Altamura, also ''Rivoluzione altamurana'') was a three-month period of self-government of Italian town
Altamura Altamura (, ; nap, label= Barese, Ialtamùre) is a town and ''comune'' of Apulia, in southern Italy. It is located on one of the hills of the Murge plateau in the Metropolitan City of Bari, southwest of Bari, close to the border with Basili ...
, right after the birth of the
Parthenopean Republic The Parthenopean Republic ( it, Repubblica Partenopea, french: République Parthénopéenne) or Neapolitan Republic (''Repubblica Napoletana'') was a short-lived, semi-autonomous republic located within the Kingdom of Naples and supported by the ...
(23 January 1799) which ousted the Bourbons and the
Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...
. The city of the Kingdom of Naples was then defeated and taken by the so-called Sanfedisti, led by cardinal
Fabrizio Ruffo Fabrizio Dionigi Ruffo (16 September 1744 – 13 December 1827) was an Italian cardinal and politician, who led the popular anti-republican ''Sanfedismo'' movement (whose members were known as the ''Sanfedisti''). Biography Ruffo was born at ...
, after a battle on the city walls. After being defeated, most Altamurans managed to flee through '' Porta Bari'', one of Altamura's main gates. In February 1799, the news that the king had fled to
Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its h ...
arrived in Altamura. Altamura population then reorganized and embraced the ideals propagated by the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are consider ...
. The Liberty Tree was also planted in what it was then called ''piazza del mercato'' (today it's called '' piazza Duomo''). In the meantime, the Sanfedisti, led by the cardinal
Fabrizio Ruffo Fabrizio Dionigi Ruffo (16 September 1744 – 13 December 1827) was an Italian cardinal and politician, who led the popular anti-republican ''Sanfedismo'' movement (whose members were known as the ''Sanfedisti''). Biography Ruffo was born at ...
, were getting closer and closer, determined to restore the
Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...
and the
Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanish ...
dynasty. The Sanfedisti left Matera and arrived at the gates of Altamura on 9 May 1799. Altamura had already fixed everything before the battle, by closing the secondary city gates and preparing ammunition. On 9 May, the battle took place, but soon Altamurans ran out of ammunition and they started to shoot coins. This let the enemy realize that the situation inside the city was critical and that they wouldn't last for long. On the night of 9 May 1799, most Altamurans managed to escape from '' porta Bari''. On the morning of 10 May, Sanfedisti entered Altamura, sacking and slaughtering an unknown number of Altamurans who had remained there. The stay of the Sanfedisti and Ruffo inside the city lasted 14 days, during which the people living in Altamura gradually returned and some of them were killed or imprisoned. By the end of May 1799, the situation had already normalized and Altamura had returned under the full control of the
Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...
. The number of deaths among Sanfedisti has been estimated around 1,400 people, but it is not clear how many Altamurans were killed. Some historians estimated the losses among Altamurans from about forty to a hundred people, while other historians suggested that many Altamurans and Neapolitan
Jacobin , logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg , logo_size = 180px , logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794) , motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir) , successor = Pa ...
people coming to Altamura from other cities may have been counted as Sanfedisti. In this case the death toll among Altamurans and Parthenopean Republicans would be much higher.


See also

* Porta Bari *
Altamura Altamura (, ; nap, label= Barese, Ialtamùre) is a town and ''comune'' of Apulia, in southern Italy. It is located on one of the hills of the Murge plateau in the Metropolitan City of Bari, southwest of Bari, close to the border with Basili ...
*
Parthenopean Republic The Parthenopean Republic ( it, Repubblica Partenopea, french: République Parthénopéenne) or Neapolitan Republic (''Repubblica Napoletana'') was a short-lived, semi-autonomous republic located within the Kingdom of Naples and supported by the ...
* Luca de Samuele Cagnazzi *
Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...


Sources

* Antonio Lucarelli, Mario Proto (a cura di), ''La Puglia nella Rivoluzione napoletana del 1799'', Manduria, 1998. * Giuseppe Dambrosio, ''Altamura nel Settecento in Il 1799 – La Rivoluzione ad Altamura'', Coordinamento Altamura Leonessa di Puglia, pp. 36–38. * Giuseppe Pupillo, "La Repubblica Partenopea da Napoli ad Altamura – La controrivoluzione del Cardinale Ruffo e il sacco di Altamura", in ''ALTAMURA'' n. 40-41, 1999-2000. * * * * Domenico Angelastri, Altamura e il Mezzogiorno nel 1799. Repertorio della Mostra e delle altre iniziative del Bicentenario, in “Altamura” – Rivista Storica/Bollettino dell'A.B.M.C. – 1999-2000, pp. 225 – 227 * Onofrio Bruno, "Assedio sanfedista comitati al lavoro", ''
La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno ''La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno'' (lit. "Gazette of the South") is an Italian daily newspaper, founded in 1887 in Bari, Italy. It is one of the leading newspapers published in Southern Italy, with most of its readers living in Apulia and Basili ...
'', 04/11/1998 * * * * * * Pia Maria Digiorgio, "Esiste un centenario della Repubblica napoletana in provincia? L'esempio del 1899" in ''Basilicata'' in A. De Francesco (a cura di), La democrazia alla prova della spada. Esperienza e memoria del 1799 in Europa, Guerini, Abbiategrasso 2003 pp. 503–525. * Vincenzo Vicenti, "La crisi demaniale di Altamura dal 1542 al 1562", in ''ALTAMURA'' n. 14, 1972. * * A.A. V.V., Dal primo Settecento all'Unità, in Storia d'Italia, Torino 1978, vol. III. * {{cite book , author=Michele Ferri , title=Il brigante Chiavone , publisher=Azienda di Promozione Turistica di Frosinone, Centro sorano di ricerca culturale , location=Sora , year=2001 , ref=ferri-chiavone


References

Altamura Parthenopean Republic Revolution