![Carlo Filangieri 1852](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Carlo_Filangieri_1852.jpg)
Carlo Filangieri (May 10, 1784 – October 9, 1867), prince of
Satriano Satriano may refer to: Places
* Ascoli Satriano
* Satriano (Calabria)
* Satriano di Lucania
** its Roman predecessor Satrianum
The Diocese of Satrianum (Latin) or Satriano (Italian) is now a Roman Catholic titular see, that is, a former episco ...
, was a
Neapolitan soldier and statesman. He was the son of
Gaetano Filangieri
Gaetano Filangieri (22 August 1753 – 21 July 1788) was an Italian jurist and philosopher.
Filangieri was born in San Sebastiano al Vesuvio, in the province of Naples, Italy. He was born the third son of a sibship of the noble family of Fila ...
, a celebrated
philosopher and
jurist, and father of
Gaetano Filangieri, prince of Satriano, an art historian and collector.
Biography
Born at
Cava de' Tirreni
Cava de' Tirreni (; Cilentan: ''A Càva'') is a city and '' comune'' in the region of Campania, Italy, in the province of Salerno, northwest of the town of Salerno. It lies in a richly cultivated valley surrounded by wooded hills, and is a p ...
, near
Salerno, at the age of fifteen Filangieri decided on a military career, and having obtained an introduction to
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
, then first consul, was admitted to the Military Academy at
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. In 1803, he received a commission in an infantry regiment, and took part in the campaign of 1805 under
General Davout, first in the
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
, and later at
Ulm
Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...
,
Maria Zell and
Austerlitz Austerlitz may refer to:
History
* Battle of Austerlitz, an 1805 victory by the French Grand Army of Napoleon Bonaparte
Places
* Austerlitz, German name for Slavkov u Brna in the Czech Republic, which gave its name to the Battle of Austerlitz a ...
, where he fought with distinction, was wounded several times and promoted.
He returned to Naples as captain on
Masséna's staff to fight 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 Spani ...
and the Austrians in 1806, and subsequently went to
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, where he followed
Joseph Bonaparte
it, Giuseppe-Napoleone Buonaparte es, José Napoleón Bonaparte
, house = Bonaparte
, father = Carlo Buonaparte
, mother = Letizia Ramolino
, birth_date = 7 January 1768
, birth_place = Corte, Corsica, Republic of ...
in his retreat from
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
. After having slain General
François Franceschi-Losio François Franceschi-Losio (3 July 1770 – 1810) was an Italo-French general, who entered the French Revolutionary army in 1795.
Born in Milan, he served through the Italian campaign of 1796–97, and subsequently, like Franceschi-Delonne, with ...
in a
duelMullié, C. ''Biographie des célébrités militaires des armées de terre et de mer de 1789 à 1850''
Retrieved 27 October 2013. he was sent back to Naples; there he served under Joachim Murat
Joachim Murat ( , also , ; it, Gioacchino Murati; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French military commander and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the ...
with the rank of general, and fought against the Anglo-Sicilian forces in Calabria and at Messina. On the fall of Napoleon, he took part in Murat's campaign against Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French nobleman, statesman, and military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
Through the second marr ...
, and later in that against Austria, and was severely wounded at the battle of the Panaro
The Battle of the Panaro (or Modena or Castelfranco) was a victory for King Joachim Murat's Neapolitan forces over a smaller Austrian force under Frederick Bianchi on 3 April 1815 early in the Neapolitan War. This defeat on the banks on the ...
(1815).
On the restoration of the Bourbon king Ferdinand IV (I), Filangieri retained his rank and command, but found the army utterly disorganized and impregnated with Carbonari
The Carbonari () was an informal network of secret revolutionary societies active in Italy from about 1800 to 1831. The Italian Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in France, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Uruguay and Ru ...
sm. In the disturbances of 1820, he adhered to the Constitutionalist party, and fought under General Pepe against the Austrians. On the re-establishment of the autocracy, he was dismissed from the service, and retired to Calabria where he had inherited the princely title and estates of Satriano.
In 1831, he was recalled by Ferdinand II and entrusted with various military reforms. On the outbreak of the troubles of 1848, Filangieri advised the king to grant the constitution, which he did in February 1848, but when the Sicilians formally seceded from the Neapolitan kingdom Filangieri was given the command of an armed force with which to reduce the island to obedience. On September 3, he landed near Messina, and after very severe fighting captured the city. He then advanced southwards, besieged and took Catania, where his troops committed many atrocities, and by May 1849, he had conquered the whole of Sicily, though not without much bloodshed.
He remained in Sicily as governor (the exact Italian title was Luogotenente generale dei reali domini al di là del Faro, meaning Lieutenant-general of the royal domains beyond the Lighthouse) until 1855, when he retired into private life, as he could not carry out the reforms he desired owing to the hostility of Giovanni Cassisi, the minister for Sicily. On the death of Ferdinand II (May 22, 1859) the new king Francis II appointed Filangieri premier and minister of war. He promoted good relations with France, then lighting with Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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against the Austrians in Lombardy, and strongly urged on the king the necessity of an alliance with Piedmont and a constitution as the only means whereby the dynasty might be saved. These proposals being rejected, Filangieri resigned office.
In May 1860, Francis at last promulgated the constitution, but it was too late, for Garibaldi was in Sicily and Naples was seething with rebellion. On the advice of Liborio Romano, the new prefect of police, Filangieri was ordered to leave Naples. He went to Marseilles with his wife and subsequently to Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
, where at the instance of General La Marmora he undertook to write an account of the Italian army. Although he adhered to the new government he refused to accept any dignity at its hands, and died at his villa of San Giorgio a Cremano
San Giorgio a Cremano is a primarily residential town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Naples, in Italy. It is located on the foothills of Mount Vesuvius to the west of the volcano, and is six kilometres to the south east of the centre ...
near Naples on 9 October 1867.
According to Luigi Villari in the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition, Filangieri was a very distinguished soldier, and a man of great ability; although he changed sides several times, he became really attached to the Bourbon dynasty, which he hoped to save by freeing it from its reactionary tendencies and infusing a new spirit into it. His conduct in Sicily was severe and harsh, but he was not without feelings of humanity, and he was an honest man and a good administrator.
His biography was written by his daughter Teresa Filangieri Fieschi Ravaschieri, ''Il generale Carlo Filangieri'' (Milan, 1902), an interesting, although somewhat too laudatory volume based on the general's own unpublished memoirs; for the Sicilian expedition see V. Finocchiaro, ''La rivoluzione siciliana del 1848-49 e la spedizione del generale Filangieri'' (Catania, 1906, with bibliography), in which Filangieri is highly criticised.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Filangieri, Carlo
1784 births
1867 deaths
Italian soldiers
Italian politicians
People from the Province of Salerno
Italian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars
Italian princes
Commanders Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa
Italian duellists
Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)
19th-century Neapolitan people