Giovanni Corbeddu Salis (

Oliena Oliena ( ; ) is a commune in the province of Nuoro, Sardinia, Italy. History The territory of Oliena has been inhabited since the Palaeolithic Era until today. The first proofs about the above-mentioned presences have been found inside the ...

, c. 1844 – Riu Monte (

Orgosolo Orgosolo () is a ''comune'' (municipality) located in the Province of Nuoro, in the autonomous region of Sardinia, at about north of Cagliari and about south of Nuoro. The municipality is famous for its murals. These political paintings can be ...

), September 3, 1898) was a Sardinian

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them. ...

. Nicknamed ''Il Re della macchia'' ("The King of the bush") for the authority conferred on him by other criminals, he was a bandit who rampaged in

Barbagia Barbagia (; or ) is a geographical, cultural and natural region of inner Sardinia, contained for the most part in the province of Nuoro and Ogliastra and located alongside the Gennargentu massif. The name comes from Cicero, who described the ...

, in the center of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

Biography

Corbeddu went into hiding in 1880 after being accused (perhaps falsely) of rustling. After a long series of crimes (among others the attack of the diligence

Nuoro Nuoro ( ; ) is a city and (municipality) in central-eastern Sardinia, Italy, situated on the slopes of Mount Ortobene. It is the capital of the province of Nuoro. With a population of 36,347 (2011), it is the sixth-largest city in Sardinia. Its ...

Macomer Macomer () is a town and ''comune'' of Sardinia (Italy) in the province of Nuoro. It is situated on the southern ascent to the central plateau (the Campeda) of this part of Sardinia, at the junction of narrow-gauge lines branching from the main ra ...

), he took refuge in a cave in the

Supramonte The Supramonte is a mountain range located in central-eastern Sardinia, Italy. It lies northeast of the Gennargentu massif, traveling eastwards until it reaches the Tyrrhenian Sea at the Gulf of Orosei. It has an area of about 35,000 hectares, en ...

(the cave is now named for him ''

Corbeddu Cave The Corbeddu cave is located in the territory of Oliena, municipality of the province of Nuoro, in Sardinia. In this cave found refuge the famous Sardinian bandit Giovanni Corbeddu Salis (1844–1898), from which it took its name. The cave is a ...

''). In that place, abandoning any criminal activity, he began to play the role of peacemaker and arbitrator in disputes and was reputedly possessed of wisdom. In 1894 Corbeddu collaborated with the authorities as a mediator for the release of two French timber merchants, Louis Paty and

Regis Proll Regis or Régis may refer to: People * Regis (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Regis (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Regis (musician), full name Karl O'Connor, an English e ...

, who had been kidnapped in the territory between

Seulo Seulo (Seulu in sardinian language) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of South Sardinia in the Italy, Italian region Sardinia, located about north of Cagliari. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 970 and an area of .All dem ...

and

Aritzo Aritzo () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Nuoro in the Italian region Sardinia, located about north of Cagliari and about southwest of Nuoro. Aritzo borders the following municipalities: Arzana, Belvì, Desulo, Gadoni, L ...

. He refused the monetary reward. Then, he was given ten days leave so that he could return to

and walk round the village unhindered. In 1898 he was surrounded by the

carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign poli ...

on the mountains of

together with another fugitive,

Antonio Congiu Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular m ...

, and a shepherd boy of fifteen years. While trying to escape encirclement he was shot and killed by the sharpshooter Aventino Moretti with a shot in the back. With him, the fifteen-year-old shepherd was killed while Congiu escaped. The absconding of Corbeddu lasted eighteen years.

The Robin Hood of Sardinia

Louis Van Gasteren reports that one day Corbeddu met a man who was working hard late at night and asked him why. The man replied that he had to work to keep his many children and feed them. Corbeddu gave some money to that man that was enough to feed his family that evening and the following day. Van Gasteren reports that he stole from the rich to give to the poor and that he kept nothing for himself.Antonio Congiu, in the documentary ''Corbeddu'', by Louis Van Gasteren, 1975.

Bibliography

* Giulio Bechi, ''Caccia grossa'', 1900. * Angelo De Murtas, ''La Nuova Sardegna, 100 anni della nostra storia voll. 1 e 2'', 1991.

Filmography

*Louis Van Gasteren, ''Corbeddu'', 1975

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salis, Giovanni Corbeddu Outlaws 1840s births 1898 deaths People from the Province of Nuoro

Biography

The Robin Hood of Sardinia

Bibliography

Filmography

See also

Notes and references