Nicola Mignogna (1808–1870) was an Italian politician and a significant contributor of “ Risorgimento”.
Biography
He was born in
Taranto
Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label= Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important com ...
, Apulia, Southern Italy, but later moved to
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
to attend jurisprudence studies. His life takes place during the conspiracy plots which characterised the south of Italy from 1848 to 1870.
Little is known about Benedetto Musolino e
Luigi Settembrini
Luigi Settembrini (17 April 1813, Naples – 3 November 1877, Florence) was an Italian man of letters and politician.
Biography
Born in Naples, his paternal grandfather was an immigrant from Bollita (the actual Nova Siri), in the province of ...
's “Figlioli della Giovane Italia” (Little sons of the young Italy) sect, however Mignogna's collaboration with Settembrini is documented in the “Unità d'Italia” (Italy's Unity) sect in the years 1848-49 with his task being the typographical reproduction of the revolutionary flyers and its spreading in the provinces. Mignogna was arrested with Settembrini on June 23, 1849, but was released a few months later; while Settembrini, recognised as the leader, was condemned to capital punishment, sentence later reduced to life imprisonment.
Arrested in 1851, Mignogna was released months later as his crimes were considered unproven.
Coordinator of the revolutionary Neapolitan committee, Mignogna conspired between May 1854 and the beginning of 1855 with Casimiro De Lieto, in exile in
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
, to overthrow Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, plan which seemed to initially have, thanks to the political movement originated with
Lucien Murat
Lucien Charles Joseph Napoléon, Prince Français, Prince of Naples, 2nd Prince de Pontecorvo, 3rd Prince Murat (16 May 1803 – 10 April 1878) was a French politician, and the sovereign Prince of Pontecorvo between 1812 and May 1815.
Early life
...
, a small chance of being successful.
He was arrested again on July 26, 1855, but he didn't reveal the conspiracy plot nor the collaborators' names, even under torture. Other defendants confessed and, also through the deciphering of certain letters, it became clear that Mignogna was at the core of the revolutionary machine in the Neapolitan's region. After a trial known in England as "Mignogna's case", which emotionally shook the European democratic environment (especially in France), he was condemned to exile.
In Genoa, in the years 1856-1857, Carlo Pisacane made use of Mignogna's Neapolitan logistics knowledge to study with Giuseppe Mazzini a new insurrectional plan which, according to the conspirators' intentions, should have involved Naples and the regions of
Cilento
Cilento is an Italian geographical region of Campania in the central and southern part of the Province of Salerno and an important Tourism, tourist area of southern Italy.
Cilento is known as one of the centers of Mediterranean diet.
Geograph ...
, which were the centers where the feelings against the near-dictatorial power of Ferdinand II were felt the most. Pisacane refused the help of Lucien Murat's collaborators and his expedition (which did not see Mignogna's direct involvement) ended unsuccessfully, for various reasons and unfortunate coincidences. During the preparation of Pisacane's expedition, the assistance from the employees of Naples's embassy was valuable, as they were responsible for the mail delivery between Genoa and Naples, redirecting it first to Malta, where it was marked as diplomatic mail, therefore hiding the true conspiratory contents of the letters. It is worth to note that English Ambassador William Temple, brother of Prime minister Lord Palmerston, helped by his secretary George Fagan, despite never being directly involved, greatly supported the Neapolitan's patriots.
In 1859, Mignogna often travelled between Genoa e
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, remaining in contact with Mazzini, to support the insurgence which arose in the
Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze'').
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
and
Romagna
Romagna ( rgn, Rumâgna) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to t ...
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...
.
In February 1860, representing the Genoa's revolutionaries, Mignogna went to
Caprera
Caprera is an island in the Maddalena archipelago off the coast of Sardinia, Italy. In the area of La Maddalena island in the Strait of Bonifacio, it is a tourist destination and the place to which Giuseppe Garibaldi retired from 1854 until his ...
to relief Garibaldi (disappointed by his failed marriage with Giuseppina Raimondi) and encourage him to resume his fight for Italy's unification. Mignogna's support towards Garibaldi led to a first few steps towards an expedition to
Expedition of the Thousand
The Expedition of the Thousand ( it, Spedizione dei Mille) was an event of the Italian Risorgimento that took place in 1860. A corps of volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed from Quarto, near Genoa (now Quarto dei Mille) and landed in Ma ...
.
As part of the Expedition of the Thousand to
Marsala
Marsala (, local ; la, Lilybaeum) is an Italian town located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in its province and the fifth in Sicily.
The town is famous for the docking of Gius ...
, he followed Garibaldi to
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
, covering the charge of the Thousand's treasurer.Bevilacqua,''I Mille di Marsala'', p. 252 He was later sent to Genoa by Garibaldi to plan an insurgence in the region of
. Ultimately, he travelled to Naples to promote the revolution in the region of Basilicata; together with a few thousands of patriots he easily conquered the city of
Potenza
Potenza (, also , ; , Potentino dialect: ''Putenz'') is a ''comune'' in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata (former Lucania).
Capital of the Province of Potenza and the Basilicata region, the city is the highest regional capital and one ...
where a dictatorial government was proclaimed and established with Mignogna and Giacinto Albini as their leaders in support of Garibaldi.
In 1862 Mignogna was with Garibaldi in
Aspromonte
The Aspromonte is a mountain massif in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria (Calabria, southern Italy). The literal translation of the name means "rough mountain". But for others the name more likely is related to the Greek word Aspros ( Ά ...