Giovanni Nicotera (9 September 1828 – 13 June 1894) was an Italian patriot and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. His surname is pronounced as , with stress on the second syllable.

Biography

Nicotera was born at

Sambiase Lamezia Terme (), commonly called Lamezia, is an Italian city and ''comune'' of 70,452 inhabitants (2013), in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region. History The municipality of Lamezia Terme was formally created on 4 January 1968. Its ...

, in

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

, in the

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by popula ...

. Joining the

Giuseppe Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, ; ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the ...

's movement of ''Giovine Italia'' ("Young Italy") he was among the combatants at Naples in May 1848, and battle with

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 ...

during the Republic of Rome (1849). After the fall of Rome, he fled to

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 ...

. In 1857, he took part in the expedition to

Sapri Sapri is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. It is one of the southernmost towns of the region of Cilento and its population is 6,783. History The town of Sapri has ancient origins an ...

led by Pisacane, but shortly after their landing they were defeated; he was severely wounded by the

Bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon, a beer produced by Brasseries de Bourbon * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * Bourbon coffee, a type of coffee ma ...

troops. Condemned to death, but reprieved through the intervention of the British minister, he remained a prisoner at

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

and at

Favignana Favignana () is a ''comune'' including three islands (Favignana, Marettimo and Levanzo) of the Aegadian Islands, southern Italy. It is situated approximately west of the coast of Sicily, between Trapani and Marsala, the coastal area where the ...

until 1860, when he joined Garibaldi at

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

. Sent by Garibaldi to

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, he attempted to invade the Papal States with a volunteer brigade, but his followers were disarmed and disbanded by Ricasoli and Cavour. In 1862 he was with Garibaldi at

Aspromonte The Aspromonte is a mountain massif in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria (Calabria, southern Italy). In Italian aspro means "rough" whereas in Greek it means "white" (wikt:άσπρος, Άσπρος), therefore the name literally translat ...

; in 1866 he commanded a volunteer brigade against

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

; in 1867 he invaded the Papal States from the south, but the defeat of Garibaldi at Mentana put an end to his enterprise. His parliamentary career dates from 1860. During the first ten years, he engaged in violent opposition, but from 1870 onwards he joined in supporting the military reforms of Ricotti. Upon the advent of the Left in 1876, Nicotera became minister of the interior and governed with remarkable firmness. He was obliged to resign in December 1877, when he joined Crispi, Cairoli, Zanardelli and Baccarini in forming the "pentarchy" in opposition to Depretis. He only returned to power thirteen years later as minister of the interior in the Rudinì cabinet of 1891. On this occasion, he restored the system of uninominal constituencies, resisted socialist agitation, and pressed, though in vain, for the adoption of drastic measures against the false banknotes put in circulation by the Banca Romana. He fell with the Rudini cabinet in May 1892, and died at Vico Equense, near Naples, in June 1894.

Ships

''Giovanni Nicotera'' was the name of a

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

of the Italian

Regia Marina The , ) (RM) or Royal Italian Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy () from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the changed its name to '' Marina Militare'' ("Military Navy"). Origin ...

, launched in 1926 and decommissioned in 1940.

References