Ruggero Settimo (19 May 1778 – 2 May 1863) 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 ...

politician,

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

, and

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

from

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. He was a counter-admiral of the Sicilian Fleet. He fought alongside the British fleet in the Mediterranean Sea against the French under

Napoleon Bonaparte 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 ...

. He reconquered the island of

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, and defended the city of Gaeta near

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 ...

. In 1811 he had to retire from the military due to health problems. He was a member of the Sicilian government of Prince Castelnovo in 1812 as Minister of the merchant navy. He was a member of the revolutionary junta of 1820–1821. In 1848 as president of the Sicilian Senate, he was appointed as chief of the government of the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily (; ; ) was a state that existed in Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula, Italian Peninsula as well as, for a time, in Kingdom of Africa, Northern Africa, from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was ...

; he led the Sicilian government until 1849. After unification in 1861, Settimo was elected as President of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

of the newly created

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

of the Kingdom of Italy.

Life

Ruggiero Settimo was born in

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 ...

, Sicily. He was one of the most important leaders of the Sicilian revolution of independence of 1848, after which he was effective head of state of an independent Sicily for 16 months that replaced the Bourbon Two Sicilies. Once the rebellion was put down by

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Ferdinand II's army, Settimo escaped to

, where he lived the next twelve years in exile. Following the success of the ''

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 ...

'' movement during 1860 and 1861, Settimo was elected as President of the

of the newly created

of 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 ...

, serving until his death. A statue in his honor was erected in front of the Teatro Politeama Garibaldi of Palermo.

References

Bibliography

* Correnti, Santi (2002) ''A Short History of Sicily'', Les Editions Musae, Montreal. * Scianò, Giuseppe (2004) ''Sicilia, Sicilia, Sicilia!'', Edizione Anteprima, Palermo (in Italian). {{DEFAULTSORT:Settimo, Ruggero 1778 births 1863 deaths Politicians from Palermo People of the Revolutions of 1848 Members of the Senate of the Kingdom of Italy Italian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Burials at San Domenico, Palermo Members of the Sicilian Parliament Prime ministers 18th-century Italian politicians 19th-century Italian politicians Kingdom of Sicily people

Life

See also

References

Bibliography