Giuseppe ("Joseph") Lechi (5 December 1766 – 9 August 1836) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

Biography

Born in Aspes and being the first son of Faustino Lechi and his wife Doralice Bielli, the general Giuseppe Lechi was already considered a man of great light and shadows ("dark and gloomy"), reckless and unscrupulous similar to his uncle the Count Galliano Lechi, who was very dear, and a model, to Giuseppe. His grandfather

Pietro Pietro is an Italian language, Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: People * Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice * Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his dea ...

was a famous

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

and a follower of the

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

. Born a subject of the Most Serene Republic of Venice, he undertook the military career in the Austrian army up to the rank of captain. On the arrival of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

in Italy, influenced also by his brother Giacomo, Giuseppe organized with his other brothers Teodoro and Angelo and other friends – all of them members of the "Casino dei Buoni Amici" free-masonnic secret society – the Bresciana revolution of 18 March 1797. Giuseppe entered the temporary government of Brescia and organized the Brescian Legion that General Bonaparte sent to fighting in Emilia, Marche and then in Central Italy. It was in

Città di Castello Città di Castello (); "Castle Town") is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Perugia, in the northern part of Umbria. It is situated on a slope of the Apennine Mountains, Apennines, on the flood plain along the upper part of the river Tiber. T ...

, in 1798, that happened the famous episode of the discussed donation of

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

's painting " The Marriage of the Virgin" to Giuseppe Lechi by the City Council. In the spring of 1799 Giuseppe Lechi with his unit was engaged in a military campaign in

Valtellina Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; (); or ; ; ) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Today it is known for its ski centre, hot spring spas, bresa ...

attempting to curb an anti-French revolt. Forced to retreat by the Austro-Russians, he joined the Italian Legion of General

Pietro Teulié Pietro Teulié (3 February 1769 – 18 June 1807) was an Italian general who served in the Napoleonic Italy, Kingdom of Italy during the Napoleonic Wars. He was killed during the siege of the Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian fortress of Kołobrzeg, Ko ...

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

. Back in Italy with Napoleon he fought at Marengo (14 June 1800) where he was promoted to the rank of

division general Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

on the field itself. After the

Peace of Lunéville Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such a ...

(9 February 1801) he became commander of division under

Joachim Murat Joachim Murat ( , also ; ; ; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French Army officer and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the military titles of Marshal of the ...

and one of his friends, followers and advisors. In the same time, Giuseppe entered the new legislative body of the

Italian Republic Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. More and more bound up with the "Murat's circle", General Lechi joined the

Masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

of the

Scottish Rite The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry is a List of Masonic rites, rite within the broader context of Freemasonry. It is the most widely practiced List of Masonic rites, Rite in the world. In some parts of the world, and in the ...

(becoming in the follow the Great Master of the

Grand Lodge A Grand Lodge, also called Grand Orient, Obedience, or by another similar title, is a name for the overarching governing body of a fraternal or other similarly organized group in a given area, usually a city, state, or country. In Freemasonry A ...

of Naples) and those groups of patriots who supported the ideal of the

Italian unification 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 1804, Giuseppe Lechi participated in the conquest of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

fighting in the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

regions under general Saint-Cyr. In 1805 he was again in Naples with Murat and

Joseph Bonaparte Joseph Bonaparte (born Giuseppe di Buonaparte, ; ; ; 7 January 176828 July 1844) was a French statesman, lawyer, diplomat and older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. During the Napoleonic Wars, the latter made him King of Naples (1806–1808), an ...

, to whom too he would become closely tied by friendship and personal fidelity. In the years 1808 and 1809 Lechi was in Spain at the service of

that has yielded away in the meantime the Kingdom of Naples to Murat; Joseph conquered the city of

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and becomes temporarily the governor there. In 1809 he faced a trial in France (apparently for claims of violence, embezzlement and abuse) but escaped the judgment and was sent back to Naples at the service of his friend, the new king, Joachim Murat. Lechi was also involved in the conspiracies of general

Domenico Pino Domenico Pino (8 September 1760 – 29 March 1826) was an Italian army officer. He served as General of Division in the Kingdom of Italy and in Napoleon's Grande Armée. Biography Pino was born in Milan, to Francesco and Margherita Lonati, a s ...

, probably also as a link for Murat himself in the plot. On 31 January 1814, Giuseppe was governor of

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 ...

handing over

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

to the English Fleet in an attempt made by Murat to bargain a separate peace with Austria. In 1815 "Joseph" Lechi was as always at Murat's side in his last and hopeless stand against the Austrians at the

Battle of Tolentino The Battle of Tolentino was fought from 2–3 May 1815 near Tolentino, Kingdom of Naples in what is now Marche, Italy: it was the decisive battle in the Neapolitan War, fought by the Napoleonic King of Naples Joachim Murat to keep the throne aft ...

(2–3 May 1815). As a prisoner of war, Lechi refused to swear any fidelity to the new Habsburgic regime and remained jailed in Lubiana till 1818. Freed, Lechi settled down in his family's Villa of Montirone near

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

and married Eleonora, daughter of

Joseph Jérôme, Comte Siméon Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

. He then died of cholera in 1836 in Montirone.

Notes

External links

* http://www.storiadimilano.it/Personaggi/Milanesi%20illustri/personaggi_avventurosi.htm
Istituto Storico delle ''Insorgenze'', L'insurrezione di Brescia
* Paolo Martinucci: "PREMESSE STORICHE E CULTURALI DELL’INSORGENZA NEL BERGAMASCO E NEL BRESCIANO", http://www.identitanazionale.it/inso_1002.php {{DEFAULTSORT:Lechi, Giuseppe 1766 births 1836 deaths 18th-century Italian military personnel Deaths from cholera in Italy 18th-century Venetian people Italian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Italian Freemasons People of the Kingdom of Naples (Napoleonic)