Vito Nunziante
Vito Nicola Nunziante (Campagna, 12 April 1775 – Torre Annunziata, 22 September 1836) was an Italian general, politician and entrepreneur, who was active in the Kingdom of Naples (later the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies).
Vito Nunziante was born in Campagna , in the province of Salerno, on April 12, 1775 to a modest family, the fourth child of eleven siblings. He was entrusted by his father Pasquale to a canonical uncle to be initiated to the priesthood, but in 1794 he was called, through dell'imbossolamento method (pretty much a draw), to perform military service, activities for which he probably felt more inclined. Its exceptional stature, an extraordinarily strong body and his courage made him a soldier of election and earned him the esteem of Luigi Pignatelli colonel who commanded the 13th Infantry Regiment of the Line "Lucania" to which he was assigned. It was the same Pignatelli to appoint him quartermaster of the regiment and to obtain later, thanks to the fact that, had the task of capturing the defectors will shoot about two thousand in two years, for the young recruit the shoulder straps of the official with the rank of ensign in 1797 .
Participation in the wars against the French
War broke out between the Kingdom of Naples and the French Republic , Nunziante participated in the first occupation of Rome by the Neapolitans. Following the escape of King Ferdinand IV of Naples in Sicily, on 22 December 1798 , and the Neapolitan army heel, he managed to form a regiment which he called "Holy Cross", by which he joined all ' armed sanfedista of Cardinal Ruffo . The latter renamed the regiment as "Montefusco" and promoted him to the rank of colonel commandant of the same [1] . During the reconquest of the kingdom he participated in the siege of the fortress of Capua until the surrender of the French and then the second occupation of Rome .
He was captured during the battle of Siena , but he managed to escape. It was subsequently confirmed by the king in the rank of colonel and put in charge of the regiment "Sanniti" [2] . In 1806 , after the defeat in the battle of Campotenese and the consequent French reconquest of the kingdom of Naples, is brought in Sicily where he was charged with his regiment and a small reinforcement of cavalry to keep Reggio , only foothold on the continent still holding to Bourbon . Joint operations in the area with orders to keep with the ships that had transported, so that they can ensure a rapid retreat, after evaluating the situation, successfully asked the king to send back to the ships. Also he advised the king to disperse the masses of common people or to integrate them into the army.
In 1807 he was put under the command of Prince Louis of Hesse-Philippsthal on an expedition for the reconquest of the mainland [3] . The expedition was the French troops in Seminara , after which the army which stood in front of Miletus and, despite the Nunziante counseled in Philippsthal retreat towards Catanzaro , for which you could take advantage of the best strategic location, on 28 May 1807 the latter he met with defeat in the battle of Miletus [4] . Back in Reggio with the remains of his regiment (reduced from 1,200 to 579 men, including 49 hospital [5] ) Nunziante assured the defense of the castle for another six months, after which he was recalled in Sicily [6] where it was promoted Brigadier and put in charge of the forces Milazzo .
In his new role, he managed to reorganize the forces under his command, improving conditions for soldiers and relations with allies British and obtained, unlike the provisions of applicable regulations, to have this in case its degree was greater than that of the English officer present in the same place [7] . In the same period, he was a widower by his first wife Faustina Onesti and met in Lipari Camilla Baresse, " graceful and rich maiden ", which became his second wife. Since the latter had eight children, who were added to the four first bed [8] . The various offers came to pass to the service Murat , which always opposed a firm denial, though his children they were still in the continental and Murat do not allow the transfer. In 1814 , under the command of Lord William Bentinck he took part in the conquest of Genoa , but was later excluded as was proclaimed in an article contrary to the agreement between Murat and the Powers, which did not provide for the return of the continental part of the Kingdom to Bourbon.
General
In August 1815 , after the restoration of the Bourbons and the exile of Murat, he was appointed commander of the V territorial division, which had all of Calabria as area of expertise, and moved its headquarters from Monteleone in Tropea [9] . On October 9, he heard the news of the landing of Gioacchino Murat in an attempt to regain power and its subsequent capture. Following these events, it was commissioned by the government to appoint the military court which was to judge the former king and later sentenced him to death. April 12, 1816 obtained the title of Marquess of Cirello; and later (20 July 1819 ) the degree of Lieutenant General ; his appointment as Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. George; the post of civil commissioner and the power of Alter Ego [10] , who equated her orders to those of the sovereign.
In this age it took care to suppress the Carbonari in Calabria succeeding admirably and worked actively against the banditry ; He was also able to make open a road between Monteleone and Reggio Calabria [11] . On 4 July 1820 he was appointed, by letter of the king, commander of IV territorial division, which included Salerno and Basilicata [12] , and will be with this position he tried to oppose erupted motions for the granting of the constitution. Schieratosi later in favor of the constitution with a letter published in the Journal Constitution of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies [13] was then appointed on November 17, 1820 the commander of the territorial division of Syracuse and then, December 9, 1820, General Commander of Sicily Weapons [ 14] . In the same year he was initiated into Masonry with his son, without formalities, in the Loggia "Damon and Pythian" of Syracuse [15] . During the restoration he was involved by General Carrascosa, exiled, in a controversy over the failure to repression of the uprisings [16] .
In early April of 1821 he was called to be part of the temporary Government Council [17] and from 30 July 1822 took charge of the army's reorganization with the office of inspector general of infantry and cavalry of the line [18] . King Francis I , ascended the throne in 1825 , he was appointed Knight of the Royal Order of St. George and the General Command of the Quartier Mastro Real Army also giving staff a bonus of 460 ducats monthly [19] , and charging him also of military education 'heir Ferdinand . In 1830 , came to the throne the same Ferdinand II, he was appointed Lieutenant (governor) of Sicily, waiting Leopold of Bourbon assuming the role. In this short period he managed to win the affection and respect of the various components of the people [20] . Later he obtained the dignity of a minister and the first since the King of the whole army , which earned him the assumption of the supreme command of the Continental Army.
Later Life
He later also took an interest in business and philanthropy. He died of malaria and liver complications in 1836.