Ciceruacchio
Ciceruacchio | |
---|---|
Born | Angelo Brunetti 27 September 1800 Campo Marzio, Rome, Papal States |
Died | 10 August 1849 | (aged 48)
Movement | Carbonari Young Italy |
Spouse |
Annetta Cimarra (m. 1820) |
Children | Luigi Lorenzo |
Angelo Brunetti (
27 September 1800 – 10 August 1849), better known as Ciceruacchio, was a Roman popular leader who participated in theName
Brunetti was known by the nickname Ciceruacchio. Writing in the Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, the historian Maria Luisa Trebiliani gives two possible explanations for the name: 1) the Roman statesman and orator Cicero, to whose eloquence Brunetti was compared, or 2) a puerile term of endearment derived from the Italian ciccio ('chubby') and the Romanesco rocchio ('piece').[1]
Background
Angelo Brunetti was born on 27 September 1800 into a working-class family in the
Involvement in politics
Having acquired considerable local influence through his business activities, Brunetti seems to have been introduced to politics by the writer Pietro Sterbini and the notary Felice Scifoni , who in 1827 led him to join the Carbonari, a revolutionary group advocating for the political unification of Italy.[1] In 1835, encouraged by the Italian nationalist Mattia Montecchi , he became a member of Young Italy, a unification movement led by the activist Giuseppe Mazzini. In 1837, he came under police surveillance because of his involvement in politics.[1]
In 1846, the accession of Pope Pius IX raised hopes for liberal reforms within the Papal States. Brunetti organised the Roman public to gather in mass rallies in honour of the new pope. Through his leadership of these events, he became one of the city's most influential politicians, inspiring imitators such as the Neapolitan Michele Viscuso.[1] Visiting Rome during this time, the Piedmontese politician Massimo d'Azeglio described Brunetti thus: "[he] is Rome's first citizen. He exhorts, he pontificates, he keeps the peace."[3]
Roman Republic
In the context of the Revolutions of 1848, the government of Pius IX came under pressure to enact liberal reforms. As the pope resisted the popular demands for change, the leaders of the reform movement began to antagonise him. Initially, Brunetti isolated himself by his continued support of Pius, but gradually came to embrace the increasingly radicalised opposition. In November 1848, Pellegrino Rossi, the head of the pope's government, was assassinated. Brunetti was thought to be personally implicated, while his son Luigi was suspected to have been the assassin. After Rossi's death, Pius IX fled to the Neapolitan town of Gaeta.[1]
In February 1849, while the pope was exiled, the Roman opposition replaced their
Death
On 9 August 1849, Brunetti, his sons, and a small group of Republicans were captured by troops of the
Reception
In Luigi Magni's film In the Name of the Sovereign People (1990), Ciceruacchio is played by the Italian actor Nino Manfredi.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Trebiliani 1972.
- ^ a b Kertzer 2018, p. 280.
- ^ Kertzer 2018, p. 41.
- ^ "In the Name of the Sovereign People". FilmAffinity. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
Bibliography
- ISBN 9780198827498.
- Trebiliani, Maria Lusia (1972). "Brunetti, Angelo, detto Ciceruacchio". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (in Italian). Retrieved 24 March 2022.