Usuario:Alsrigs/Taller

Costante Ferrari

Costante Ferrari (Reggio Emilia 1785 - Massa lombarda 1851) was an Italian patriot of the Independence war of Italy, who fought even in Venezuela fot its Independence.

Life

Constante Ferrari was born in Reggio Emilia (Reggio di Modena at the time) on January 5, 1785. His father and mother were Maddalena and Francesco Messori, wealthy merchant of liberal ideas. From an early age he showed a passion for physical confrontation and arms, so that, when in 1796 the French armies under General Augerau entered his hometown, he enlisted in the Count Bolognini battalion of volunteers, without the knowledge of the family and only twelve years old (he later achieved the rank of corporal).

Then -inflamed by liberal and egalitarian ideas propagated throughout Europe by the French army- he entered into the army of the Italian Republic, and later in that of the Kingdom of Italy: he participated in the sieges of Colberg and Stralsund, in the expedition of Naples, and from 1808 to 1813 he fought with honor in Spain, earning him the decoration of the "iron Crown" (March 1811) and, a few months later, the lieutenant degree (August 1811).

In 1814 Ferrari witnessed the collapse of the Italian Kingdom. After refusing to join the Austrian army, he chose to fight for the cause of national independence under the command of Joachim Murat, King of Naples. After the defeat of Murat, he sailed from Italy to Eastern Europe.

He then made friendship with Agostino Codazzi, former non-commissioned officer of the army artillery of the Italian Kingdom, and with him went through Greece, Moldavia, Wallachia, Poland, Prussia and Denmark to come to Holland, sailing from Antwerp toward Baltimore. From there, the two moved to Florida, where he was head of a battalion of local armed forces.

Costantino Ferrari later participated in the wars of liberation in Mexico and Venezuela. In 1822 he decided to return to Italy, always with the trusted friend Codazzi.

Once in Reggio Emilia in December of 1822, with the money saved up fighting in South America the two bought in Massa Lombarda (not far from Lugo, in the province of Ravenna), a vast agricultural estate - Villa Serraglio - once the fief of the Marquis Albergati Capacelli of Bologna. F. however, remained essentially a man of war and action. So, not long after, he sailed to fight for Greece, risen against the Ottoman Empire in search of their national independence. While in Greece he perceived that the Greek insurgents did not tolerate the presence of foreign volunteers from Italy and so decided -albeit reluctantly- to return to his farmer activity. He worked in his farm for six years, while Codazzi (who had lost his property) in 1826 preferred to go back to Latin America, where he began his successful career as a military cartographer and scientist.

In 1831, at the outbreak of the uprising in central Italy for the beginning of the Risorgimento, Costante Ferrari immediately offered his services to the liberal cause. On February 1831 the Provisional Commission of Imola government appointed him commander in chief of the national armyof the city, giving it ten days after the rank of colonel. With the defeat of the insurrection, he left Italy to escape arrest and imprisonment, he fled to Marseilles thus entering into contact with the large community of Italian exiles who lived in the waiting area of ​​a political event or military that could allow them the way back. Returning home after the general amnesty of 1833, in October of the following year he embarked for America to embrace the friend Codazzi. But the long separation had cooled the old friendship, so Costante Ferrari returned sadly to the estate of Villa Serraglio, which had meanwhile become entirely his.

There followed years of inconclusive inaction: the estate was too big for his resources, and he was a not good administrator and an even worse farmer.

Finally in 1848, during the first war of Independence of Italy, he took command of a battalion of volunteers, between the troops under the command of gen. G. Durando, and fought in the countryside of the Veneto region, taking part in the siege of Vicenza defending the city from Austrian attacks. After the capitulation of the city (June 11, 1848) Ferrari and his men were concentrated in Bologna, where they were involved in the clashes that led to the expulsion of the Austrians. Finally returned to the quiet isolation of Villa Serraglio. His last political act was in April of 1849, with his adherence to the vibrant, but sterile, protest against the French expedition to Rome. But to participate in the defense of the city was prevented from age and ailments.

Constante Ferrari died in his estate of Villa Serraglio in Massa Lombarda on April 30 1851