page_title: Nunziatella Military School
section_title: The French decade (1806-1815)
hierarchical_section_title: Nunziatella Military School / The foundation / The French decade (1806-1815)
context_page_description: The Nunziatella Military School of Naples, Italy, founded November 18, 1787 under the name of Royal Military Academy, is the oldest Italian institution of military education among those still operating. Its building, familiarly called "Red Manor", and the adjacent church of the Santissima Annunziata, is an architectural monument of the city of Naples.
  Located in Pizzofalcone in via Generale Parisi, 16, it was a place of high military and civilian training since its foundation, and had among its teachers and students the likes of Francesco de Sanctis, Mariano d'Ayala, Carlo Pisacane, Guglielmo Pepe, Enrico Cosenz and even a king of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele III, and a Viceroy of Italian East Africa, Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta.
  Among the many alumni of prestige, high degrees of the Armed Forces, including one Director of the European Union Military Committee, two Chiefs of Defence Staff, four Army Chiefs of Staff, two Navy Chiefs of Staff, one Air Chief of Staff, two Commanders General of the Guardia di Finanza, two Commander General of the Carabinieri and two Directors-General of the Information Services need to be cited.
context_section_description: The conquest of the Kingdom by Napoleonic troops as part of the Austro-Neapolitan War, caused the loss of the rank and employment by Poli, who was reinstated at the end of 1810 with the rank of lieutenant and the appointment of library guardian. The captains employed to cadets' direction (Galileo Giuseppe Pasquali, Gaetano Ruiz, Andrea and Pasquale Galluzzo Colnago) maintained however rank and functions until 1812, when they were removed.
  The establishment of the new regime had resulted in the reorganization of the Neapolitan armed forces and the reform also involved training institutions. Consequently, the Nunziatella was hit by a decree of suppression as a military college; nevertheless it remained active in the building of Pizzofalcone as a school of theoretical and practical artillery, which served as a point of leverage for the reopening of the college. Interior Minister André-François Miot asked the inspector general of artillery Giuseppe Fonseca Chavez to submit a project dedicated to that end: the plan, presented May 10, 1806, proposed Nunziatella to be the only recruitment institute for the four Armies, like it was before 1799. Giuseppe Parisi himself wrote a project draft for Fonseca, proposing a "decree on the formation of the Military Academy." Under the new system they would be admitted to the Nunziatella 160 students aged 11 to 14 and 60 day students 15 years of age. The management would be guaranteed by 62 employees (24 officers, three administrative, 2 priests, 4 health, 19 professors and 10 masters), waiters, sergeants, Trabants and 10 horses. A total of 50 among the students would be selected for the school of application of artillery and engineering.
  Parisi's proposal was seconded by the one prepared by Vito Caravelli, a former professor of Nunziatella, that through Parisi transmitted it to the minister of war Mathieu Dumas, establishing school programs for science, design, Italian, French, English and practical training.
  Accepted all suggestions, on the following 1 September Dumas wrote to Joseph Bonaparte, King of Naples, to propose "the temporary formation of a military school with 4/500 ducats per month, being only to pay the full wages of the professors of the ancient academy that (they were already) at half wage. " Dumas motivated further its proposal, emphasizing the need to train students for the armies of genius, artillery and Bridges' service and the opportunity offered from the building of the Nunziatella, which already housed a library and allowed the opening four days a week for both the French officers and the Neapolitans.
caption: Giuseppe Saverio Poli
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