Santorre Annibale De Rossi di Pomerolo, Count of Santa Rosa (born 18 November 1783,

Savigliano Savigliano () is a of Piedmont, Northern Italy, in the Province of Cuneo, about south of Turin by rail. It is home to ironworks, foundries, locomotive works (once owned by Fiat Ferroviaria, now by Alstom) and silk manufactures, as well as sugar ...

died 8 May 1825, Sphacteria) was an Italian insurgent and leader in Italy's revival (''

Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...

''). 250px, left, Statue of Santarosa in Savigliano.

Early life

He was born at

, near

Cuneo Cuneo (; ; ; ) is a city and in Piedmont, Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in the south-west of Piedmont, at the confluence of the ri ...

, then part of the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...

. He was the son of a general officer in the Sardinian (Piedmontese) army who was killed at the

battle of Mondovì The Battle of Mondovì was fought on 21 April 1796 between the French army of Napoleon Bonaparte and the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont led by Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi. The French victory meant that they had put the Li ...

in 1796. The family had been recently ennobled and was not rich.

Career

Santarosa entered the service of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

during the annexation of Piedmont to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and was sub-prefect of

La Spezia La Spezia (, or ; ; , in the local ) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second-largest city in the Liguria ...

from 1812-14. He remained loyal to the

house of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

, and, after the restoration of the king of Sardinia in 1814, he continued in public service. During the Sardinian army campaign on the southeastern frontier of France in 1815, he served as captain of

grenadier A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was historically an assault-specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in siege operation battles. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when ...

s, and was afterwards employed in the ministry of war. The revolutionary and imperial epoch stimulated Italian patriotism, and Santarosa was aggrieved by the extension given to the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n power in Italy in 1815, which reduced his country to a position of inferiority. The revolutionary outbreak of 1820, which extended from

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, seemed to afford the patriots an opportunity to secure Italian independence. When in 1821 the Austrian army moved south to coerce the Neapolitans, Santarosa entered into a conspiracy to obtain the intervention of the

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

ese in favor of the Neapolitans by an attack on the Austrian lines of communication. The conspirators endeavoured to obtain the cooperation of the prince of Carignano, afterwards King Charles Albert, who shared their patriotic aspirations. On 6 March 1821, Santarosa and three associates had an interview with the prince, and on 10 March, they carried out the military pronunciamiento that proclaimed the Spanish constitution. The movement had little popular support and soon collapsed. During the brief predominance of his party, Santarosa showed great character. He was arrested and would have died on the scaffold had supporters not rescued him. He fled to France, and lived for a time in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

under the name of Conti, where he wrote in French and published, in 1822, ''La Revolution Piemontaise'', which attracted the notice of

Victor Cousin Victor Cousin (; ; 28 November 179214 January 1867) was a French philosopher. He was the founder of " eclecticism", a briefly influential school of French philosophy that combined elements of German idealism and Scottish Common Sense Realism. ...

. The French government discovered his hiding place, and he was imprisoned and expelled from Paris. After a short stay first at

Alençon Alençon (, , ; ) is a commune in Normandy, France, and the capital of the Orne department. It is situated between Paris and Rennes (about west of Paris) and a little over north of Le Mans. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alen� ...

and then in

Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...

, he travelled to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, where he found refuge in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

with the poet

Ugo Foscolo Ugo Foscolo (; 6 February 177810 September 1827), born Niccolò Foscolo, was an Italian writer, revolutionary and poet. He is especially remembered for his 1807 long poem ''Dei Sepolcri''. Early life Foscolo was born in Zakynthos in the Ionia ...

, and made English friends. Sphacteria - Santa Rosa monument

For a few months he lived quietly in Nottingham with his wife and eight children. Count Santa Rosa was accompanied to Greece to take part in the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

by another prominent Piedmontese refugee, Count Giacinto Provana di Collegno who had also been an officer in Napoleon’s army. He was asked by the Greek provisional government to change his name to Derossi in order to avoid any connections with his previous revolutionary actions, and thus avoid the rage of the Holly Alliance and the

Great Powers A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power ...

. Santa Rosa was killed on 8 May during the Battle of Sphacteria (1825), when he was caught in a cave on the island of Sphacteria and refused to surrender.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santarosa, Annibale Santorre di Rossi de Pomarolo, Count of 1783 births 1825 deaths People from Savigliano Italian soldiers Counts in Italy Italian people of the Italian unification Italian military personnel killed in action Philhellenes in the Greek War of Independence Italian military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Italian philhellenes