Francesco Maria Bovio (ca. 1750 - 1830) was an Italian

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

. He is best known for being the grandfather of Italian philosopher

Giovanni Bovio Giovanni Bovio (6 February 1837 – 15 April 1903) was an Italian philosopher and a politician of the Italian Republican Party. Bovio was born in Trani. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy. He wr ...

(1837-1903). He also fought for the Parthenopean Republic (1799) during the

Altamuran Revolution The Altamuran Revolution ( it, Rivoluzione di Altamura, also ''Rivoluzione altamurana'') was a three-month period of self-government of Italian town Altamura, right after the birth of the Parthenopean Republic (23 January 1799) which ousted the Bo ...

(1799). vicenti-medaglioni, pagg. 24-26

Life

Francesco Maria Bovio was born in Altamura in the 1750s to a family of landowners; the exact date of birth is currently unknown. He studied literature and law at the University of Naples, and he turned out to be particularly gifted in the field of law. After winning a public competition for the position of teacher, he taught Latin and Ancient Greek in the "Royal Schools" ( it, Reali scuole) of

Matera Matera (, ; Materano: ) is a city in the region of Basilicata, in Southern Italy. As the capital of the province of Matera, its original settlement lies in two canyons carved by the Gravina River. This area, the Sassi di Matera, is a comple ...

, Italy. massoneria-due-sicilie, pag. 368 After his father's death, when he returned to his hometown

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 Basilic ...

in order to administer his properties, he was assigned the position of lecturer of literature as well as

civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...

and

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

at the

University of Altamura The University of Altamura ( it, Università degli Studi di Altamura) was a former university located in Altamura, Apulia, Kingdom of Naples. It was established in Altamura in 1747 by Charles III of Bourbon, following the idea of the archpriest of ...

. At the end of the 18th century, he was already a member of the Altamura Masonic lodge ''Oriente di Altamura'', together with other famous Altamurans. The seat of the Masonic lodge was the baronial palace of the Melodia family (different from today's ''palazzo Melodia'', designed by architect Orazio Lerario in the 17th century). massoneria-due-sicilie, pag. 367 He took an active part in the

(1799), planting the Tree of Liberty. He was later removed from teaching; but after the Treaty of Florence (1801), was allowed to resume teaching. In the period of 1806-1815 (with the French kings

Giuseppe 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 ...

and

Gioacchino 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 ...

ruling over 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 ...

), he was appointed judge (''giudice interino di pace''). When

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

transferred to Altamura (1808), Francesco Bovio brilliantly worked as a lawyer in that court of appeal, following the court even when it was transferred to

Trani Trani () is a seaport of Apulia, in southern Italy, on the Adriatic Sea, by railway west-northwest of Bari. It is one of the capital cities of the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani. History Overview The city of ''Turenum'' appears for the fir ...

. In 1821, he became a judge of the civil court of

Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...

but after a few years he returned to Trani because of his age and there he died in 1830. He had at least two children - Scipione Bovio and Nicola Bovio. Both of them, in 1820, joined the Carboneria of

(the so-called sale of "the Pelican"). Nicola Bovio was the father of the famous philosopher

(1837-1903).The information about their joining the Carboneria of Trani is provided by Giuseppe De Ninno (see vicenti-medaglioni, pagg. 24-26)

The Altamuran Revolution

During the upheavals of the Neapolitan Republic of 1799, Bovio became minister of the Republican Departmental Government. Later, with the return of 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 ...

as kings of the

, he was not allowed to teach anymore. Bovio claimed to have joined and fought during the

(1799) for fear of being shot by the commissioner Nicola Palomba of

Avigliano Avigliano ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata. Geography Overview The area surrounding Avigliano is considered mountainous with elevations varying between . Town's ...

(who, together with general Felice Mastrangelo of Montalbano, were the leaders of the

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bovio, Francesco Maria 19th-century Italian judges Parthenopean Republic Italian Freemasons People from Altamura 1750s births 1830 deaths Year of birth uncertain

Life

The Altamuran Revolution

See also

References

Bibliography