Ciro Menotti (22 January 1798 – 23 May 1831) was an Italian patriot.

Biography

Menotti was born in Migliarina, near

Carpi Carpi may refer to: Places * Carpi, Emilia-Romagna, a large town in the province of Modena, central Italy * Carpi (Africa), a city and former diocese of Roman Africa, now a Latin Catholic titular bishopric People * Carpi (people), an ancie ...

, then part of the

Duchy of Modena and Reggio The Duchy of Modena and Reggio ( Emilian: ''Duchêt ed Mòdna e Rèz'', it, Ducato di Modena e Reggio, la, Ducatus Mutinae et Regii) was an Italian state created in 1452 located in Northwestern Italy, in the present day region of Emilia-Romagn ...

. A member of the

Carboneria The Carbonari () was an informal network of secret revolutionary societies active in Italy from about 1800 to 1831. The Italian Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in France, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Uruguay and Ru ...

since 1817, he was a fervent democratic and patriot. From 1820 he held contacts with French intellectuals, with the goal to free Modena from the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

control. Initially, Duke Francis IV declared favorably for Menotti's claim, probably encouraged at the possibility of becoming its king in a future unified Northern Italy. Menotti organized a revolt in Modena for 3 February 1831 but, in a brusque

volte-face Volte-face ( or ) is a total change of position, as in policy or opinion; an about-face. The expression comes from the French language. In the context of politics a volte-face is, in modern English, often referred to as a U-turn or a flip-f ...

, Francis denied him his support, and even, from his voluntary exile in

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...

, called the help of Austria and its allies. Menotti was arrested and, after a summary process, condemned to death by hanging. The sentence was executed in the Citadel of

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

. Afterwards Menotti came to be seen as a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

of the Italian

Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

. In 1880 the former Garibaldine officer

Taddeo Grandi Taddeo is a masculine given name which may refer to: * Taddeo Alderotti (between 1206 and 1215-1295), Italian doctor and professor of medicine * Taddeo Altini O.S.A. (1609-1685), Roman Catholic Bishop of Civita Castellana e Orte, and Titular Bisho ...

wrote a biography of him. A monument in Modena was built to Menotti in 1879, facing the former Grand Duke's palace.

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 ...

named his first child Menotti after him.

References

External links

Treccani: Dizionario di Storia - Ciro Menotti

Britannica: Ciro Menotti

Bibliography

* A. Solmi, ''Ciro Menotti e l'idea unitaria nell'insurrezione del 1831: con un'appendice di documenti '', Modena, Società tipografica Modenese, 1931. * Atto Vannucc
I martiri della libertà italiana dal 1794 al 1848 - volume terzo e ultimo pag. 8 LIII Ciro Menotti tipografia Bertolotti & C. 1880 sesta edizione Milano
* Roberto Vaccari, ''La capitale dei sogni. Il romanzo di Ciro Menotti '', Modena, Colombini, 2016, * 1798 births 1831 deaths People from Carpi, Emilia-Romagna Italian people of the Italian unification People executed by hanging Executed Italian people People executed by the Duchy of Modena and Reggio 19th-century executions by Italy Carbonari {{Italy-bio-stub