Ciro Menotti (22 January 1798 – 23 May 1831) was an Italian nationalist and liberal

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

who is known for his participation in the Revolution of 1830 in Italy, for which he was executed in 1831.

Biography

Menotti was born in Migliarina, near Carpi, then part of the

Duchy of Modena and Reggio The Duchy of Modena and Reggio (; ; ) was an Italian state created in 1452 located in Northern Italy, Northwestern Italy, in the present day region of Emilia-Romagna. It was ruled since its establishment by the noble House of Este, and from 1814 ...

. A member of the Carboneria 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 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, Francis denied him his support, and even, from his voluntary exile in

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

, 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 (, ; ; ; ; ) 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 Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

. Afterwards Menotti came to be seen as a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, 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 external party. In ...

of the Italian

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 ...

. In 1880 the former Garibaldine officer Taddeo Grandi 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 (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

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