Sante Geronimo Caserio (; 8 September 187316 August 1894) was an Italian

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessar ...

and the assassin of

Marie François Sadi Carnot Marie François Sadi Carnot (; 11 August 1837 – 25 June 1894) was a French statesman, who served as the President of France from 1887 until his assassination in 1894. Early life Marie François Sadi Carnot was the son of the statesman Hippo ...

, President of the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940 ...

. Caserio was born in Motta Visconti,

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. On 24 June 1894, he fatally stabbed President Carnot after a banquet, to avenge the executions of anarchist bombers Auguste Vaillant and Émile Henry.

Biography

Sante Caserio was a Lombardy-born son of a peasant family, who had many brothers and sisters. His father was a boatman who died of

pellagra Pellagra is a disease caused by a lack of the vitamin niacin (vitamin B3). Symptoms include inflamed skin, diarrhea, dementia, and sores in the mouth. Areas of the skin exposed to either sunlight or friction are typically affected first. Over t ...

, at the time a common disease among farmers whose poor diet was often almost exclusively corn. At ten years old, Sante Caserio left the family home and went to

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

, where he got a job as an apprentice baker and had his first contacts with anarchists. In Milan he joined a small group called "On Foot" (at the time signifying "without money").

Pietro Gori Pietro Gori (August 1, 1865–January 8, 1911) was an Italian lawyer, journalist, intellectual and anarchist poet. He is known for his political activities, and as author of some of the most famous anarchist songs of the late 19th century, i ...

, referring to Caserio, remembered him as a generous person. Among the workers and unemployed, he divided bread and anarchist pamphlets he printed with his meager salary. In 1892 he was sentenced to eight months in prison for distributing anarchist leaflets. Identified and singled out during a public demonstration, he was forced to flee from Italy at the age of 18. Declared a deserter, he first went to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and sought a job as a baker in Vienne. He then moved to

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

on July 21, 1893 where he worked as a messenger.

Trial and execution

At his trial, Caserio described the assassination in detail: He also stated to those in attendance:

Well, if the rulers can use against us rifles, shackles and prisons, we must, we anarchists to defend our lives, we must stick to our principles? No. On the contrary, our response to the rulers will be dynamite, pump, stiletto, dagger. In short, we must do everything possible to destroy the bourgeoisie and the government. You who are representatives of bourgeois companies, if you want my head, you can take it!

He never attempted to deny his actions or ask the judges for mercy. He was offered the opportunity to plead insane, in exchange for giving the names of some of his accomplices, but he refused. He told the police "Caserio is a baker, never an informer." The Board of Pardons decided against all appeals for clemency on 14 August. Caserio was executed by

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at t ...

at precisely 5am, 16 August 1894. In front of the guillotine, he exclaimed "''Coraggio cugini—evviva l'anarchia!''" ("Courage, cousins—long live anarchy!") His death mask is now in possession of

Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (, born 20 June 1928) is a French far-right politician who served as President of the National Front from 1972 to 2011. He also served as Honorary President of the National Front from 2011 to 2015. Le Pen graduated fro ...

, the former leader of the French party National Front.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Caserio, Sante Geronimo 1873 births 1894 deaths People from the Province of Milan Italian anarchists Italian assassins Anarchist assassins Executed anarchists People executed by guillotine Italian people executed abroad People executed by the French Third Republic 19th-century executions by France Executed assassins Italian people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by France Assassins of presidents Illegalists Executed Italian people People executed by France by decapitation 1894 murders in France