Santorre Annibale De Rossi di Pomerolo, Count of Santa Rosa (born 18 November 1783, Saviglianodied 8 May 1825, Sphacteria) was an Italian insurgent and leader in Italy's revival ('' Risorgimento''). 250px, left, Statue of Santarosa in Savigliano.

Early life

He was born at Savigliano, near Cuneo, then part of the Kingdom of Sardinia. He was the son of a general officer in the Sardinian (Piedmontese) army who was killed at the battle of Mondovì in 1796. The family had been recently ennobled and was not rich.

Career

Santarosa entered the service of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

during the annexation of Piedmont to France, and was sub-prefect of

La Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...

from 1812-14. He remained loyal to the

house of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...

, and, after the restoration of the king of Sardinia in 1814, he continued in public service. During the Sardinian army campaign on the southeastern frontier of France in 1815, he served as captain of

grenadier A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word '' grenade'') was originally a specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in battle. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited fr ...

s, and was afterwards employed in the ministry of war. The revolutionary and imperial epoch stimulated Italian patriotism, and Santarosa was aggrieved by the extension given to the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n power in Italy in 1815, which reduced his country to a position of inferiority. The revolutionary outbreak of 1820, which extended from Spain to Naples, seemed to afford the patriots an opportunity to secure Italian independence. When in 1821 the Austrian army moved south to coerce the Neapolitans, Santarosa entered into a conspiracy to obtain the intervention of the Piedmontese in favor of the Neapolitans by an attack on the Austrian lines of communication. The conspirators endeavoured to obtain the co-operation of the prince of Carignano, afterwards King Charles Albert, who shared their patriotic aspirations. On March 6, 1821 Santarosa and three associates had an interview with the prince, and on March 10 they carried out the military pronunciamiento that proclaimed the Spanish constitution. The movement had little popular support, and soon collapsed. During the brief predominance of his party, Santarosa showed great character. He was arrested and would have died on the scaffold had supporters not rescued him. He fled to France, and lived for a time in Paris under the name of Conti, where he wrote in French and published, in 1822, ''La Revolution Piemontaise'', which attracted the notice of Victor Cousin. The French government discovered his hiding-place, and he was imprisoned and expelled from Paris. After a short stay first at

Alençon Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people). History The name of Alençon is firs ...

and then in

Bourges Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry. History The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...

, he traveled to England, where he found refuge in London with the poet Ugo Foscolo, and made English friends. Sphacteria - Santa Rosa monument

For a few months he lived quietly in Nottingham with his wife and eight children. Count Santa Rosa was accompanied to Greece to take part in the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

by another prominent Piedmontese refugee, Count Giacinto Provana di Collegno who had also been an officer in Napoleon’s army. He was asked by the Greek provisional government to change his name to Derossi in order to avoid any connections with his previous revolutionary actions, and thus avoid the rage of the Holly Alliance and the

Great Powers A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power in ...

. Santa Rosa was killed on 8 May during the Battle of Sphacteria (1825), when he was caught in a cave on the island of Sphacteria and refused to surrender.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santarosa, Annibale Santorre di Rossi de Pomarolo, Count of 1783 births 1825 deaths People from Savigliano Italian soldiers Counts of Italy Italian people of the Italian unification Italian military personnel killed in action Philhellenes in the Greek War of Independence Italian military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Italian philhellenes