Giovanni Maria Angioy
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Giovanni Maria Angioy (; ; 21 October 1751,
Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...
– 23 February 1808, Paris) was a
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 ...
n politician and patriot and is considered to be a national hero by
Sardinian nationalists Sardinian refers to anything related to the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean island of Sardinia. More specifically it can refer to: *Sardinians, the ethnographic group indigenous to Sardinia *History of Sardinia *Sardinian language *Sardinian litera ...
. Although best known for his political activities, Angioy was a university lecturer, a judge for the Reale Udienza, an entrepreneur and a banker. From 1794 to 1796, Angioy contributed in shaping and guiding the mass revolt known as "Sardinian Vespers", which was fought to end the feudal privileges and laws that still existed on the island of Sardinia, and to declare the island to be a republic. In 1796, due to persecution by the ruling
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 ...
, he had to escape from Sardinia. Angioy found refuge in France, where he sought support for a French annexation of the island.pdf file
/ref> He died, unsuccessful, in Paris at the age of fifty-six.


Biography


Early years

His parents belonged to the Sardinian rural middle class of
Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...
. During his childhood both his parents died though, first his mother, at the young age of 30, and later his father. A maternal uncle, Father Thaddeus Arras, took care of Angioy's education. His uncle Thaddeus was his first teacher, but he was also taught by the Fathers Mercedari, a monastic order. Later, Angioy was educated under the supervision of Canon Giovanni Antonio Arras in
Sassari Sassari ( ; ; ; ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 120,497 inhabitants as of 2025, and a functional urban area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, it contains ...
. Angioy continued his studies at the
Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
fathers' school ("Canopoleno"), and at 21 years he had already become a university lecturer, in the law school at the
University of Cagliari The University of Cagliari () is a public research university in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. It was founded in 1606 and is organized in 11 faculties. History The ''Studium Generalis Kalaritanum'' was founded in 1606 along the lines of the old ...
. Despite his young age he also became a deputy lawyer. Finally, at 39 he became a judge for the Reale Udienza (Sardinia's supreme court).


The ideas of the French Revolution

On the façade of the City Hall of Bono, Sardinia, an inscription says: "To Giovanni Maria Angioy, who inspired by the 1789 Revolution started the Sardinian crusade against the feudal yoke." The ideas of the French Revolution reached Sardinia and had an influence on many intellectuals, despite limited means of communication. Angioy had read many French texts, which were a catalyst for sparking his revolutionary views. The spread of the French revolutionary theories was also favored by the fact that Jean Paul Marat, one of the leading figures of the French Revolution had Sardinian ancestry.


Anti-Feudal revolts

Sardinia was at the time ruled by 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 ...
. The House of Savoy was granted control of the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1718 with the Treaty of London that followed the
War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...
: although assuming the role of King of Sardinia with this treaty,
Victor Amadeus II of Savoy Victor Amadeus II (; 14 May 166631 October 1732) was the head of the House of Savoy and ruler of the Savoyard states from 12 June 1675 until his abdication in 1730. He was the first of his house to acquire a royal crown, ruling first as King of ...
moved the capital of the Kingdom to Turin in mainland Italy where the parliament was also based: the parliament and government of the Kingdom was composed exclusively of men from the mainland. Similarly to other colonial domains, Sardinia was governed by a viceroy appointed by the king and only men from the mainland were appointed in the main roles of the Sardinian administration, excluding native Sardinians from any active role in government. After receiving the title of King of Sardinia
Victor Amadeus II of Savoy Victor Amadeus II (; 14 May 166631 October 1732) was the head of the House of Savoy and ruler of the Savoyard states from 12 June 1675 until his abdication in 1730. He was the first of his house to acquire a royal crown, ruling first as King of ...
sent his lieutenant, Baron de Saint-Rémy, to assume the role of viceroy of Sardinia. The new viceroy asked the Sardinian parliament, the "Stamenti", to swear to observe the laws and privileges of the nobility that had been granted by the Spanish governments that ruled the Kingdom of Sardinia before the Savoy. The acceptance of long-standing laws and privileges by the Sardinian parliament also implied the continuation of the feudal system that had been introduced by the Spanish with the conquest of Sardinia in the 15th century. This was particularly controversial because in many other regions of Europe feudalism had disappeared well before the 18th century. Feudalism had an extremely negative influence on the economy and social structure of Sardinia. It penalised the main economic activity in Sardinia, agriculture. At that time, in fact, the island was divided into fiefdoms and domains under the rule of the nobility. In these domains, taxes for farmers were very high, and annuities were due to the archbishops of Cagliari and Oristano, as well as those due to the major landowners like the Marquis Alagon of Villasor, the Marquis of Thiesi and many others. Only seven cities (Castelsardo, Sassari, Alghero, Bosa, Oristano, Iglesias and Cagliari) were exempted from paying feudal duties (a tradition established by the Spaniards, who granted these towns to be ruled directly by the King and not by the nobility). As a consequence of the feudal system, which prevented economic mobility and entrepreneurship, town and cities were sparsely inhabited at the time, while most of the population lived in rural areas where they were hassled with harsh feudal taxation: farmers were paid a fifth of what other workers were paid. For
vassals A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerai ...
(farmers that worked the land of the landowner), taxes were innumerable: every head of the family, in addition to other charges, was to pay a fine. After the French Revolution, French armies moved war to different countries in Europe, trying to spread their revolutionary ideas. In 1793, a French fleet carrying soldiers moved toward the Gulf of Cagliari. The French wanted to conquer Sardinia in order to use it as a base for attacks on mainland Italy. After bombarding
Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...
from the sea, the French divisions landed on the beach at Quartu, near Cagliari, and from there, moved toward the town on foot. Most of the troops of the House of Savoy were involved in other wars against the French on the mainland of Europe, so the Sardinians organised their own defence against the invading French divisions. Eventually the French were defeated both on land and at sea. In 1793, following this failed French invasion of Sardinia, local insurgents urged relief from feudal law and excessive aristocratic control. In response, the Sardinian nobility met in their Sardinian parliament, the Stamenti, and issued five requests to the King
Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia Victor Amadeus III (Vittorio Amedeo Maria; 26 June 1726 – 16 October 1796) was King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard state, Savoyard states from 20 February 1773 to his death in 1796. Although he was politically conservative, he carrie ...
to make five changes in the law to bring Sardinia more in line with the freedoms enjoyed by those in
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 ...
. Known as the "five requests". These requests were: * The re-introduction of an assembly of Sardinians (Corti Generali) to meet every ten years (the House of Savoy rulers had not summoned this assembly since 1720, infringing a practice that was taken for granted during the Spanish dominion); * Ratification of the privileges, laws and customs of Sardinia; * They asked all public offices in Sardinia to be given to native Sardinians; * The establishment of a Ministry of Sardinian Affairs in the kingdom's capital of
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
(although the Kingdom was Sardinian by name, the House of Savoy ruled from the territories they held in mainland Italy and had made Turin, in
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 ...
, the capital of the kingdom); * Establishment of a Council of State, with the role of giving advice and guidance to the King in important decisions for the Kingdom. These requests were moderate concessions that the Sardinian nobility thought they deserved for demonstrating loyalty to the House of Savoy. As it can be seen, the requests were hardly revolutionary and only aimed at giving a more active role to the Sardinian nobility in the administration of the region. Nonetheless, the House of Savoy rejected all of these requests. Because of the requests, the Savoyard ruling class distrusted the Sardinia nobles and had commenced persecution of the most prominent Sardinians that had participated in the Stamenti. This, in turn, created increasing discontent in the Sardinians from all classes, not only in the nobility, which mounted into open hostility when the authorities tried to arrest two Sardinians. One of these Sardinians managed to escape and the anger at his persecution sparked an open revolt by the population of Cagliari on 28 April 1794. During this revolt, the mob chased and killed The General Intendant Jerome Pitzolo (6 July) and the General Gavino Paliaccio, Marquis of Planargia (22 July). These were the days of "s'acciappa" ("the chase") referring to the fact that all Piedmontese were hunted and chased across the city. Eventually, all 514 Piedmontese and Italian officials were rounded up, including Viceroy Balbiano Vincent, and expelled from Cagliari on a boat. The example was followed by other cities and the revolt spread throughout Sardinia. The island was governed by a provisional Royal Audience during this revolutionary period. Since the year 1997 the rebellion of 28 April has been celebrated in Cagliari as "Sardinia Day" ("'' Sa die de sa Sardigna''" in Sardinian).


The Post of "Alternos"

The House of Savoy tried to regain control of Sardinia on the same year. A new viceroy, Filippo Vivalda of Castellino, was installed and landed in Cagliari on 6 September, but the revolts and riots continued. Trying to use the unrest to their profit, the nobility from the north-east of Sardinia (
Logudoro The Logudoro (; ) is a large historical region Sardinia, Italy. It is the namesake of the Logudorese dialect of Sardinian language, Sardinian, which covers a large area of northern-central Sardinia. The first denomination of the area is contai ...
and
Sassari Sassari ( ; ; ; ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 120,497 inhabitants as of 2025, and a functional urban area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, it contains ...
), asked the king greater autonomy from the viceroy and to depend directly by the Crown. These requests, which somehow broke the unity of the revolt, angered the revolutionaries in Cagliari and in the rest of Sardinia. The revolutionaries thus organised further uprisings against the nobility in Sassari, uprisings that were particularly popular with farmers and shepherds of the northern part of Sardinia, the Logudoro, where feudal rights and laws were not clearly defined and the landowners used this uncertainty to apply extortionate payments from the vassals. The uprising in the Logudoro climaxed on 28 December 1795, when a great mass of rebels from all over Logudoro marched toward Sassari singing the famous song of Francis Ignatius Mannu: "procurad'è moderade, Barones sa tirrannia" (in Sardinian: mitigate your tyranny, you landowners and nobles). The city was occupied by the revolutionaries, led by Gioachino Mundula and Francesco Cillocco. Having taken as prisoners the governor of Sassari and the archbishop, the rebels marched towards Cagliari. On 13 February 1796, in order to stop the riots, the viceroy Philip Vivalda along with representatives of the Stamenti, decided to send Giovanni Maria Angioy to Sassari. Angioy was then a judge of the Reale Udienza, but in order to try calm the revolt he was given the role of "Alternos", which allowed him to act as viceroy (and he was supposed to work in conjunction with the viceroy). Having taken the role of Alternos, Angioy departed from Cagliari to the inner part of Sardinia. During the trip, he won over many Sardinians from different classes. He also had a chance to realise the actual conditions of the Sardinian economy and society: agriculture was still archaic and underdeveloped with little innovation. The feudal oppression contributed highly to the hardship of farmers and the deep poverty of the villagers. Angioy was thus developing revolutionary and democratic ideas that he had nurtured by reading many French political and philosophical texts (he was fluent in French as well as Italian and Sardinian). When Angioy arrived in Sassari, he was greeted as a liberator. Many saw in him the person that could help deliver the economic and political change that Sardinia highly needed. After placating the revolt in Sassari and Logudoro, Angioy demanded the viceroy to free the villages and lands from the feudal system. He also refused to collect feudal taxes, as he was required to do by the viceroy. Furthermore, he angered the viceroy even more by expressing his critical views of the feudal system and Savoyard rule. With his powers, he tried to establish some reform by promulgating laws to promote collaboration between landowners and farmers, but his efforts were systemically boycotted by both the viceroy and the nobility in Cagliari. It might seem strange that the same Sardinian nobility who contributed to starting the revolution, was so adverse to the reforms that Angioy was trying to implement; however, it must be taken into account that the goal of the Sardinian nobility was only to increase their standing in the administration of Sardinia and certainly not to start a radical revolution and change the status quo. As a matter of fact, the Sardinian nobility was deeply worried that the revolt had gotten out of their hands. Because of the difficulties in legally implementing any kind of reform, the support Angioy enjoyed was fading little by little: some of his collaborators deserted him, while the popular revolt that Angioy hoped could topple the status-quo in Sardinia, never took place because significant portions of the population were suspicious of revolutionary ideas akin to those of the French Revolution. The majority of the population was certainly not eager to maintain the feudal system and the rule of the nobility, but many thought the revolutionary ideas that Angioy expressed were too radical and were deeply suspicious of reforms that would have changed radically the social structure of the villages. To succeed in his plans of reform, Angioy secretly made some agreements with France: France were ready to support him in trying to stage a revolt to topple the House of Savoy and the viceroy. Angioy's goal was to proclaim a Sardinian Republic, although it is not clear from his memoirs whether he was planning to create an independent state with French protection or whether France was supposed to take a more active role in administering the new republic. However, when in 1795 France signed in Cherasco a peace deal with the Savoy king, Vittorio Amedeo III, any plan of supporting a Sardinian revolt led by Angioy was abandoned. Angioy then faced persecution by the House of Savoy: he was stripped of his Alternos role and an arrest warrant was issued on him as well as a reward for whoever helped capture or kill him. Angioy managed to escape arrest and organised an army to carry out his plans of revolt even without any external support. However, on 8 June 1796 he was defeated near
Oristano Oristano (; ) is an Italian city and (municipality), the capital of the Province of Oristano in the central-western part of the island of Sardinia. It is located on the northern part of the Campidano plain. It was established as the provincial ...
, and his army disintegrated. Angioy fled Sardinia and took a boat with the goal of going to Genoa. Apparently his plan was to go to the capital Turin and still try negotiating some measure to abolish the feudal rule in Sardinia. However, as he realised that his efforts were doomed and his own liberty and life were in danger, he fled to France. He lived in France until his death in Paris in 1808, aged 56.


See also

*
Su patriotu sardu a sos feudatarios "" ("The Sardinian Patriot to the Lords"), widely known also by its incipit as "" ("Endeavor to Moderate"), is a protest and antifeudal folk song in the culture of Sardinia. The chant was written in Logudorese Sardinian by the lawyer Francesco ...
, revolutionary Sardinian anthem * Sa die de sa Sardigna


References


Further reading

* Angioy, Giovanni Maria (edited by Omar Onnis), ''Memoriale sulla Sardegna (1799)'', Condaghes, 2015 * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Angioy, Giovanni Maria 1751 births 1808 deaths People from the Province of Sassari History of Sardinia Sardinian nationalists Politicians of Sardinia People from the Kingdom of Sardinia