Nino Bixio
Nino Bixio | |
|---|---|
 Bixio,c.1860 | |
| Senator of the Kingdom of Italy | |
| In office 6 February 1870 – 16 December 1873 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gerolamo Bixio 2 October 1821 Genoa,Kingdom of Sardinia |
| Died | 16 December 1873(aged 52) Banda Aceh,Dutch East Indies |
| Political party | Independent |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of Sardinia Kingdom of Italy |
| Branch/service |  Royal Sardinian Army Royal Italian Army |
| Years of service | active: 1837–1870 |
| Rank | General |
| Unit | Red Shirts |
| Battles/wars | Italian Wars of Independence(1848–1866) |
Gerolamo"Nino"Bixio(Italian:[dʒeˈrɔːlamoˈniːnoˈbiksjo];Ligurian:[ˈbiːʒu];[1]2 October 1821 – 16 December 1873) was an Italian general, patriot and politician, one of the most prominent figures in theItalian unification.
Life and career
[edit]He was born Gerolamo Bixio in Genoa. While still a boy, Bixio was compelled by his parents to embrace a career in the navy of theKingdom of Sardinia.After numerous adventures in various places of the world, he returned to Italy in 1846, joining theGiovine Italia.On 4 November 1847, he made himself conspicuous at Genoa by seizing the bridle ofCharles Albert's horse and crying, "Pass theTicino,Sire, and we are all with you. "[2]
He fought through the campaign of 1848, became captain underGiuseppe GaribaldiatRomein 1849, taking prisoners an entireFrenchbattalion,and gaining the gold medal for military valour. In 1859 he commanded aHunters of the Alpsbattalion, fought in theBattle of Varese,and gained theMilitary Cross of Savoy.[2]
One of the organizers of Garibaldi's 1860Expedition of the Thousandagainst theKingdom of the Two Sicilies,he turned the day in favor of the Thousand at theBattle of Calatafimi.[2]
Meanwhile, the Sicilian peasants had hoped for – and did not get from Garibaldi – reforms from the restrictive conditions imposed by noble landowners. This hope had been reinforced by Garibaldi's decree of 2 June 1860 that land would be redistributed. At the little village ofBronte, SicilyinCataniaprovince, a revolt took place, claimed by Garibaldi to have been led by local criminals and bandits, which caused the massacre of 16 people including peasants, officers, nobles (including two children) and a priest; during the revolt, the town theater and municipal archives were set on fire. On 4 August 1860, Garibaldi decided to send Bixio to suppress the revolt and punishing the responsible. Once he arrived with two battalions ofRed Shirts,Bixio besieged and successfully secured the village. Unfortunately, most of those who had caused the revolt had already run away. Bixio organised a military court which found 150 locals guilty, and sentenced 5 of them to death.[2]This episode reflected Bixio's bias about Sicily, bringing him to write to his wife: "In these regions it is not enough to kill the enemy, it is necessary to torment them, to burn them alive in a slow flame... they are regions that need to be destroyed or at least depopulated, their people sent to Africa to become civilized."[3]
By August 21, Bixio and the Garibaldines entered inReggio Calabria,in the Neapolitan mainland. He took part in theBattle of the Volturno,where his leg was broken.[2]
Elected deputy in 1861, he endeavored to reconcileCavourand Garibaldi. In 1866, at the head of the seventh division, he covered the Italian retreat from theBattle of Custoza,ignoring theAustriansummons to surrender. Appointedsenatorin February 1870, he was in the following September given command of a division during the movement againstRome,tookCivitavecchia,and on 20 September 1870, he participated in thecapture of Rome,which completed the unification of Italy.[2]
On 16 December 1873, he died ofcholeraatAcehBay inSumatraen route for Batavia (modern-dayJakarta), where he was slated to take command of a commercial expedition.[2]The exact location of his grave remained unclear. Locals reported that he had been buried on the beach and his grave could not be seen at high tide. In 1876, a small military expedition of the Dutch East Indian forces set out to pinpoint the precise spot, but met with disaster as several soldiers were brutally slain in the attempt.[4]
References
[edit]- ^"Bixio".Dizionario d'ortografia e di pronuncia.RetrievedMarch 10,2018.
- ^abcdefgChisholm 1911.
- ^Granzotto, Paolo (27 August 2005)."Pontelandolfo, i briganti e l'unità d'Italia".IlGiornale.it.Retrieved28 July2015.
In queste regioni non basta uccidere il nemico, bisogna straziarlo, bruciarlo vivo a fuoco lento... son regioni che bisognerebbe distruggere o almeno spopolare e mandare i caffoni in Africa a farsi civili.
- ^Java-bode 1876.
Bibliography
[edit]- This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Bixio, Nino".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Staglieno, Marcello (1973).Nino Bixio.Milan: Rizzoli.
- "UIT ATJEH".Java-bode (Java Courier)(in Dutch). 27 April 1876.
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