Nino Bixio

Nino Bixio

Nino Bixio (actually Gerolamo Tommaso; born October 2, 1821 in Genoa , † December 16, 1873 in Aceh , Sumatra) was an Italian freedom fighter and comrade in arms of Giuseppe Garibaldi .

Life

Early years

The baptized in the name Gerolamo Nino Bixio was the youngest of eight children of Colomba Caffarelli and from Chiavari originating gold racket born Tommaso Bixio, of the Genoa-chief examiner in Palazzo San Giorgio in the customs office accommodated from Genoa, for the Precious Metals Control competent Ufficio del Marchio had been called. Gerolamo lost his mother at the age of nine. He became rebellious towards his stepmother Maria, the mutual aversion also completely alienated him from his father, the most important cause of his broken family relationships. Expelled from school several times, at the age of 13 he was hired as a cabin boy on the Brigantine Oreste et Pylade, which had sailed for America, and was nicknamed "Nino" by the crew, which he officially kept throughout his life.

He stayed at sea for three years and did not return to Genoa until 1837. Ostracized by his family, he was forced to live in barracks with the poor; only occasionally did his older brothers give him food through a window in his parents' house. Due to his rebellious character, the relationship with the family remained unchanged, the stepmother tried to sign him instead of his brother Joseph in the royal navy. Arrested after an unknown intrigue and imprisoned for several weeks, in November 1837, at the request of his stepmother, he "volunteered" for the Royal Sardinian Navy in order to release his brother, who was obliged there. His older brother Alessandro only organized his own release in 1841. Back in Genoa, he fell in love with his own niece, Adelaide Parodi, a daughter of his older sister Marina. The couple had a secret relationship that they kept secret from the family for eleven years.

Period of the Wars of Independence

In the revolutionary year of 1848 he took part in the uprising in Genoa. In 1849 he fought under General Pepe in the defense of Venice against the Austrians and then under the freedom fighter Garibaldi in the siege of Rome .

Afterwards he went back to sea and served on trade trips to North America, Brazil and the East Indies. In 1859 he returned to Italy and took part in the operations of Garibaldi's Volunteer Legion. He particularly distinguished himself in the Battle of Varese against the Austrians.

In May 1860 he embarked on the train of the thousand to overthrow the rule of the Bourbons in southern Italy for Sicily . Together with Sirtori he led one of the volunteer divisions at the Battle of Calatafimi (May 15) and at Milazzo (July 20). The victory in the Battle of Volturno (October 1st) over the Neapolitan troops under General Ritucci was largely due to him.

After Italy was established as a kingdom , he retained the rank of lieutenant general that he had earned through bravery. In this rank he took part in the Third Italian War of Independence in 1866 as commander of the 7th Division. He fought on June 24th as part of the 3rd Corps under General Morozzo della Rocca in the battle of Custozza . Deployed near Rome at the end of the war of unification in 1870, he accepted the handover of Civitavecchia .

Bixio did his best as a mediator between Garibaldi and Cavour in the chamber of which he had been a member since 1866 . In 1870 King Victor Emmanuel II appointed him to the Senate . Later he went back to sea. Nino Bixio died of cholera on December 16, 1873 while on a boat trip to East India .

Web links

Commons : Nino Bixio  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ Bertrand Gille: Bixio, Giacomo Alessandro in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani , Volume 10, 1968 online
2. ^ Fiorella Bartoccini: Bixio, Nino in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani , Volume 10, 1968 ( online )
3. ↑ L'indicatore ossia guida per la città e ducato di Genova , Pagano, 1835, p. 201 ( online )