Giovan Maria Salati (1796-1879) was a Napoleonic soldier.
Biography
Giovan Maria Salati was born to Domenico and Anna Maria Salati of
Malesco,
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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, Italy in 1796.
[ Benito Mazzi, ''Giovan Maria Salati'', 162 pages, 1989, published by Grossi, Domodossola, Italy](_blank)
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Giovan initially worked in Malesco as a chimney sweep, but enlisted with the Grand Army
Grand may refer to:
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of Napoleon in 1812 as a rifleman. He was taken prisoner by the British after the Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
, and held on a prison barge moored at Dover, England
Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
.[ Laura Occhini, ''Giovan Maria Salati'', August 15, 2012, InformArezzo, Arezzo, Italy](_blank)
/ref>
Giovan subsequently claimed that on the night of 16 August 1817 he made his escape by jumping off of the barge so he could attempt to cross the English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
, using a bundle of straw as a buoyancy aid. The escape attempt was successful as, the following day, he managed to land at Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...
. He survived to marry, have children, and lived in France until his death in 1879.
Recognition
A permanent exhibition dedicated to Giovan Maria Salati now exists in the town of Malesco, near Domodossola, Italy.[''Mostra Permanente Dedicata a Giovan Maria Salati", June 25, 2013, Domodossola News](_blank)
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See also
* List of successful English Channel swimmers
This is a list of notable successful swims across the English Channel, a straight-line distance of about .
First attempts
After a seaman had floated across the Channel on a bundle of straw, Matthew Webb made the crossing without the aid of arti ...
References
External links
Introduction of ''Giovan Maria Salati'' by the book author Benito Mazzi
*
1796 births
1879 deaths
English Channel swimmers
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