Felice Orsini Italian revolutionary Date of Birth: 10.12.1819 Country: Italy

Biography of Felice Orsini

Felice Orsini was an Italian revolutionary known for his failed assassination attempt on French Emperor Napoleon III. He was born in the town of Meldola, in the region of Romagna, which was then under Vatican control. His parents had hoped for a career in the church for their son and enrolled him in a seminary. However, Orsini became disillusioned with the Catholic Church and became a passionate liberal. He left the academy and joined the Young Italy movement, founded by patriot Giuseppe Mazzini.

Orsini was first arrested in 1844 for his involvement in revolutionary activities and was sentenced to life imprisonment. However, the newly elected Pope Pius IX decided to release him. Once free, Orsini led a group of young Romagnol volunteers in the First Italian War of Independence, where he displayed bravery in battles near Treviso and Vicenza. After the Roman Revolution of 1849 and the establishment of the Roman Republic, Orsini was elected as a member of the Roman Constituent Assembly.

Although the Roman Republic did not last long, Orsini continued to plan for the overthrow of papal authority and the establishment of a Mazzinian party in the Papal States. He was sent undercover to Hungary, but was recognized in Mantua and arrested in 1854. However, he managed to escape from prison a few months later, using his own ingenuity and the help of sympathetic peasants who hid him in their cart and smuggled him past an Austrian checkpoint.

In 1856, he briefly visited England, where he was received with favor. It was there, in England, that his memoirs of his escape from an Austrian prison were published in 1857 under the title "Austrian Dungeons." These memoirs caused a rift between Orsini and Mazzini. Towards the end of his short life, Orsini became convinced that the main obstacle to the reunification of the small and weak Italian states was French Emperor Napoleon III. He decided to assassinate him, hoping that his death would spark a mass uprising in Italy and free the country from foreign rule. In 1857, he arrived in Paris. Other participants in the conspiracy were Giuseppe Pieri, Antonio Gomes, and Carlo di Rudio (who later changed his name to Charles DeRudio).

On the evening of January 14, 1858, Orsini and his comrades threw three bombs at the imperial carriage as French Emperor Napoleon III and his wife approached the gates of the theater on Rue Pelletier. The first bomb exploded among the carriage drivers, the second killed the horses and shattered the carriage's windows, and the third landed under the carriage, severely injuring a police officer who rushed to help the imperial couple. Eight people were killed in the attack, and 142 were injured. Surprisingly, the imperial couple emerged unscathed: only the empress sustained a slight injury to her left eye. Orsini himself was wounded by one of the bombs he threw. The next morning, he was found in his room with a bleeding head. The identities of the assailants were quickly discovered due to a series of unfortunate circumstances: Giuseppe Pieri, known to French law enforcement, had been spotted near the theater and was apprehended in time. Under torture, Pieri revealed the names of the other participants in the assassination attempt.

After the assassination attempt, Napoleon III's popularity in France soared. Anti-British riots broke out because it was revealed during the investigation that the bombs had been manufactured in England during Orsini's brief stay there. On February 11, Orsini wrote his famous letter to Napoleon, urging the emperor to speed up the process of liberating Italy. He also wrote another letter to the Italian youth. Orsini was sentenced to death. Alongside him, Pieri was also executed by guillotine. Gomes received a life sentence of hard labor. Di Rudio, who had initially been sentenced to death as well, was later pardoned and sent to life imprisonment on Devil's Island, from which he eventually managed to escape. Di Rudio emigrated to America, where he enlisted in the 7th Cavalry Regiment. He participated in the famous Battle of Little Bighorn.