Antonio Arcioni (General)

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Antonio Arcioni

Antonio Arcioni (born April 11, 1811 in Corzoneso , † November 21, 1859 in Leontica ) was a Swiss officer and a Republican general in the First Italian War of Independence .

Early military career

Born in the Blenio Valley as the son of an old patrician family , Arcioni was enthusiastic about the war trade and the republican cause at an early age. From 1834 to 1844 he fought as a lieutenant in Spain against the Carlist and was awarded the Orden de Isabel la Católica .

As a captain , he commanded a company of the 30th Swiss Jäger Battalion in Airolo during the Sonderbund War in 1848 , but without coming into contact with the enemy.

In the Risorgimento

Like many people from Ticino, Arcioni supported the Italian unification movement, the Risorgimento . After the Milan uprising against the Austrians in 1848, Arcioni raised a troop of 1,500 Ticino volunteers, including the corporal and sculptor Vincenzo Vela . With them he freed Como from the Austrians and took part in the liberation of Milan on March 23. Then he and his men, now as Colonel of the 2nd column of the republican Corpi Volontari Lombardi , advanced up to 30 km from Trento , but could not take the city because of the lack of support from Piedmontese troops. After differences with General Michele Allemandi , he retired to Ticino at the end of April.

In October 1848, Arcioni, headed by 200 volunteers, attempted to rush through the Val d'Intelvi to the aid of the insurgents there, and captured several important positions. But Austrian relief under Josef Latour and a dispute with the republican commander D'Apice caused him to retreat to Ticino on October 31, 1848.

Giuseppe Mazzini called Arcioni to Rome in February 1849 to take command of the defense forces of the newly proclaimed Roman Republic - the 600 men of the Legione dell'emigrazione italiana , mostly mercenaries. In this role, Arcioni managed to repel the attacking French for months by means of surprise attacks in the region around Rome. In June he distinguished himself with his Legione Arcioni despite a serious chest wound in the defense of Rome and was promoted retrospectively to May. He continued the defensive battle until the fall of Rome on October 30th, was captured by French troops and soon released to his homeland.

Later career

In Ticino, Arcioni turned to the timber trade, but continued to support the Lombard rebels with arms deliveries. He was a leader of the democratic movement in the Bellinzona region and represented the Liberal Party in the Grand Council from 1855 to 1859. In the Swiss Army, he continued to serve as an instructor for the Ticino militias and later as the commander of the Bellinzona arsenal.

In Rome, Bellinzona, Biasca, Locarno and Lugano streets are named after Arcioni. His son Luigi Arcioni (1851-1922), who later became President of the Ticino Grand Council, also fought with Garibaldi's troops at the age of twenty and in 1871 in the Franco-Prussian War with the French at the Battle of Dijon .

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personal data
SURNAME Arcioni, Antonio
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss officer and general
DATE OF BIRTH April 11, 1811
PLACE OF BIRTH Corzoneso
DATE OF DEATH November 21, 1859
Place of death Leontica