page_title: Nunziatella Military School
section_title: The Neapolitan Republic (1799)
hierarchical_section_title: Nunziatella Military School / The foundation / The Neapolitan Republic (1799)
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Carlo Lauberg (Charles-Jean Laubert)
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: Soon a few years after its foundation, Nunziatella's history started to cross the landmark events that would have characterized the European scene in the last years of the 18th century. On July 14, 1789, the people of Paris assaulted the Bastille, thus starting the French Revolution, that would have caused the king and queen of France, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to be beheaded. These events, which marked the collapse of the Ancien Régime, could not be indifferent to the Neapolitan court, since Ferdinand IV was a member of the big royal family of Bourbons, while his wife Maria Carolina of Austria was Marie-Antoinette's sister. The level of police awareness against Jacobins' activities sharply rose, while the latter increased their attempts to influence the Neapolitan Army's commanding personnel: their aim was, indeed, to make military to support a revolt and pull the king out of his throne for building a Republic like in France.
  Nunziatella was soon at the center of this attempt, since some of its professors, among the leaders of the Jacobin movement, tried to involve the young cadets into their Republican ideas. One of them, Annibale Giordano, had been arrested in the past in 1784, and deprived of his post of Chemistry teacher. The Maths teacher Carlo Lauberg and his colleagues Clino Roselli (fortifications teacher), Pasquale Baffi (Hellenist), Michele Granata (philosopher and mathematician) and Giustino Fortunato senior were all involved in the Jacobin movement, as members of the Società Patriottica.
  The rapid expansion of the French beyond national borders and in particular their penetration in the Italian peninsula, led in 1798 to the invasion of the Papal States, with the consequent removal and exile of Pope Pius VI. On November 28, the Neapolitan government moved in arms against the fledgling Roman Republic, defeating opponents and coming to the reconquest of Rome in six days. However, this victory was short-lived, since December 24, 1798, at the urging of the French troops commanded by General Jean Etienne Championnet, the Bourbon troops were beaten in the battle of Civita Castellana and forced to retreat to the capital. Overwhelmed by the pressure of events, King Ferdinand repaired by sea in Sicily, leaving to the regency of Francesco Pignatelli the administration of the continental territories of the Kingdom. In mid-January 1799 it was signed an armistice between the French troops and representatives of the government of Naples, that, however, was immediately rejected by "Lazzaroni" who found that a betrayal: this component of the Neapolitan people barricaded himself in defense of the city, by requisitioning the numerous weapons found in the city deposits.
  If virtually all military units allocated in Naples suffered the seizure of weapons, so it was not for the Nunziatella. The propaganda conducted by the Jacobins had found fertile ground in the young students, who at the outbreak of the riots took place in favor of the revolutionary movement in progress. Under the command of Captain Pasquale Galluzzo, they opposed a fierce resistance to the assault of lazzari and managed to scare them away.
  The fierce resistance of lazzari, which fought fiercely against an enemy much better organized and armed, was broken only by the conquest of Castel Sant'Elmo to the French, that came through a betrayal; once seized the fort, built on the hill of the same name, it was, in fact, possible for attackers bombard the city and thus put an end to any attempt at defense. The French conquest led to the proclamation of the Neapolitan Republic, where many teachers of Nunziatella had leading roles: Carlo Lauberg was head of the government, while Annibale Giordano was assigned to the Military Committee and then head of the accounting of the Navy. Also several alumni played a leading role: Leopoldo De Renzis, a distant relative of Carlo Lauberg, and Gabriele Manthoné were ministers of War and Navy, while notable roles were also Pietro Colletta, Guglielmo Pepe and Tommaso Susanna, who was part of the Government of the Republic as ministe
caption: Carlo Lauberg
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