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MEMOIRS

OF THE

SECRET SOCIETIES OF THE SOUTH

OF ITALY,

PARTICULARLY THE

CARBONARI.

TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL MS.

LONDON :
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.

1821.

PREFACE.

It is neither without hesitation, nor a full

conviction of the inconveniences that may
possibly await him, that the Author of these
Memoirs on the Secret Societies of the South
of Italy has resolved on making them public.
If those who undertake to write the less
thorny episodes of contemporary history be
exposed to virulent attacks from the vanity
or the susceptibility of those individuals of
whom they cannot avoid speaking without
praise, what may not be looked for when
whole sects form the subject; sects, which
some consider as the focus of crimes and
atrocity, while others look upon them as the
asylums of virtue, and the place of refuge for
oppressed patriotism !
But the hope of being useful to humanity
ought to overcome any repugnance founded
on personal considerations.

It is the mystery

which envelopes these Societiesit is the

notions of extraordinary importance attached
to them, which prevent impartiality, and may
a3

author's preface.

vi

mislead those who are called upon to be

judges in the cause, and to deliberate on the
means for neutralizing the evil in the first
instance, and for repressing it in future.
The veil of secrecy being removed from
these Societies, it will readily be perceived,
that the prison and the scaffold are not the
arms with which to oppose them : and that
persecution can

only tend

to

exasperate

the multitude to a degree which may lead

them to sacrifice their

repose, their con

science, and their duty to the state, in order

to maintain institutions puerile in themselves,
yet dangerous because they open a vast field
of influence, to the enthusiast, to the impostor,
and to the ambitious man.
The history of the Carbonari of Naples
forms the principal subject of the present
work.

Their existence has been known for

many years ; but it was the revolution

of

July, 1820, which brought them into full day

light.
Victorious and exclusive during the first
months of that revolution, they imagined that
they had no cause for further concealment.
They boasted of their success ; they revealed

author's preface.
their secret proceedings; they promulgated
decrees, and posted up proclamations.

The

press multiplied their Catechisms, the Trans

actions of their Societies, and the results of
their deliberations.

Their Patents and their

Symbols were sold publicly.

From these sources, the Author, who never
belonged to any secret society, not even to
Freemasonry, which is tolerated and pro
tected throughout the greater part of Europe,
has drawn the materials of his work.

They

encreased upon him as he arranged them ;

but as they did not present themselves either
chronologically, or in the order of their re
spective importance, he was obliged perpe
tually to correct, abridge, and transpose,
which has occasioned a confusion of compi
lation, a want of unity in the cast, which
could only have been corrected by means of
leisure and careful revision.

The Author has

preferred sacrificing these advantages, to that

of seizing the favourable moment for publi
cation.
He must further observe, that the original
is French, although it is not his mother
tongue.

He made use of it on account of his

a4

viii

author's preface.

English translator, thereby renouncing

pretension to elegance of style.

all

It was of

too much consequence to him to bring out

his work first in London.

The continent is

accustomed to receive the truth with less dis

trust when it proceeds from Great Britain.

It

is a homage we owe to her : let her permit us

to wish that we may soon participate with
her in this honourable privilege.
The Author, living at a distance from the
translator, has not

had the advantage of

comparing the work with the original manu

script, or of giving him those verbal explana
tions which might often have been essentially
necessary.

This

is an

additional reason

for not refusing him the indulgence he lays

claim to.
After all, it will be perceived, that he relies
wholly on the interest of the subject, and on
the consciousness of never having altered
facts, to adapt them either to prejudice or to
theory.

He will give his name when the original is

published.
Naples, 26tk January, 1 82 1 .

TRANSLATOR S PREFACE.

If the Author solicits indulgence on account

of the desultory mode in which he collected
his materials, the Translator can claim no less.
The original manuscript was transmitted to
him in detached portions ; he was frequently
left to find out the probable place of the
several paragraphs and documents to be in
serted in various parts of the work, without
a possibility of consulting the Author.

Be

sides this disadvantage, and that occasioned

by the circumstance that the Author himself
did not write in his native language, there is
another with regard to various passages trans
lated from the Italian, such as, the Declara
tions, Laws, &c. of the Carbonari.

The ori

ginals of these are mostly written in a peculiar

dialect, often by very illiterate persons, and
almost always printed very carelessly, so that
in many instances the sense can only be con
jectured.
The Translator has ventured to add a few
notes, which are marked T.

LIST
OF THE
BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS
REFERRED TO IN Til E
MEMOIRS OF THE SOCIETY OF THE CARBONARI.

1. Catechismo di un B. C. in Grado di Apprendente.

Napoli, 1 820. Dai torchj di un B. C. e M. (30 pagine.)
(In fine si legge : Collazionato e trovato regolare ; Il B.
C. 0. (Oratore) presso la R. V. i figlj di Erennio, AH'
0. di B. Sign. Cassito Romoaldo.
2. Catechismo di un B. C. in Grado di Apprendente. 12
pagine, senza indicazione di data e stampatore.
3. Apertura dei Sacri Travaglj, per uso del B. C. N. N.
figlio della R. V. sotto il T. D. (titolo distintivo) . . . .
contiene : ) Apertura dei Travaglj di 1 Grado, p. 16 ; b)
Spiega del Quadro Simbolico, p. 8 ; c) Catechismo, p. 13;
d) Apertura de' Travaglj di 2do Grado, p. 16; ) Costi
4. tuzione
Apertura
dell'
deiOrdine
Travagljdella
di 2do
B. Grado,
C. in Napoli,
p. 15. senza
p. 32.indicaz.
di luogo e stampat.
5. Istruzioni sul 1 Gr. di Appr. Carb. redatto dal Gr. M.
della R. V. all' O. di Napoli. Pasquale Tavassi ; sotto il
titolo distintivo : I Liberi Pitagorici. Napoli, 1820. Dai
Torchj di Gius. Severino, p. 24.
8. Istruzioni del 2d0 Gr. di M. Carb. ; dall' istesso Autore
ed Editore delle precedente Istruzioni.

Xll

AUTHORITIES.

7. Travaglj del 3" Grado, p. 8. (senza indicaz. di luogo e

stampat.)
8. Codice di Carbonera, Parte I" al 1 Gr. degli Appren
denti.
9. Il Mentore dei Carbonari.
10. Diplomi stampati ed incisi, dei BB. CC. di 1 e 2do
Grado.
11. Nuovo Statuto Organico della Carbonera della H.
(Repubblica) Lucana Occidentale, (Principato citra),
sanzionato nella gran Dieta dell' anno II. (1818)O.
Centrale di Salerno. Dalla Tipografa dell. R. L. Oc.
p. 12. qu'0.
12. Tavola della Gran Dieta C. straordinaria dell' anno III.
della R. Lucana Occidentale. Tipograf. della R. L. Oc.
p. 30. quto.
13. Giornale della R. Lucana Occidentale, N. I. e II.
Tipogr. della R. L. Oc.
14. Organizzazione del Potere Giudiziario, sanzionata dai
Rappresentanti del Popolo Carbonaro, della Lue. Occid.
p. 14.
15. Codice di Rito Giudiziario, sanzionato come sopra ;
P-817- Costituzione del Popolo Carbonaro della Repubblica
Lucana Orientale. Anno I. stampat. a Cosenza ; Libert,
Eguaglianza.
18. Breve e fidele Esposizione de' primi Fatti avvenuti
nella Lue. Orientale dal giorno 4 al 7mo Luglio, per lo
19.Stabilimento
Giornale Patriotico
della Costituzione.
della Lue. Orientale : Potenza, dai
20.10,Risposta
20, e 30adLuglio
una Diatriba
e 10 Agosto.
del di llmo Agosto, &c. &c.
dal Inte. Gle- Fr. Pignatelli Strongoli.

AUTHORITIES.

xiii

Cenno dei Fatti accaduti nel Regno di Napoli, nei

primi giorni di Luglio del 1 820 del Inte G'- Fr. Pignatelli Strongoli.
Cenno Isterico su i Fatti che hanno preceduto e pro
dotto il Movimento del Battaglione Sacro di Nola.
23. Rimostranza della Societ de' Carbonari al Sommo
Pontefice Pio VII. Napoli, 20 Sett. 1820. pr. mandato,
G. A.
24. La Minerva Napolitana, lmo Quaderno ... la Nobilt
ed i Carbonari.
25. L'Amico della Costituzione, fascicolo I.
26. Processo Romano contro i Congiurati di Macerata de
1817: Ristretto presentato dal Relatore (Leggieri) alla
Congregazione Criminale. Roma, 1818 : Stampera della
Camera Apostolica.
27. Mmoires sur le Royaume de Naples, &c. par le
Comte Gr. d'Orloff. Paris. 1819.
28. Histoire des Socits Secrtes de l'Arme Frangoise :
Paris, 1815.
29. Joh. v. Miiller. Aug. Wellgeschichte.
30. Baillet, Vie des Saints ; Vie de St. Thobald : Paris,
1704.
31. La Vita di S. Teobaldo, Presbitero, Eremita, e Con
fessore : trad, dal Latino dal B. C. Giacinto di Mattia.
Napoli, Agosto, 1820.
32. - Poesie diverse Carboniche, &c. ; Poesie di una Cugina
Giardiniera.
33. Notizie sulla Condotta politica di Gius. Zurlo; terza
Edizione correttissima. Napoli, 1820.
34. Marangoni, Oggetti Profani adattati ai Sacri, &c. Sic.
35. Editto del Card. Pacca, Pro-Segretario di Stato di S. S.
del 15rao Agosto, 1814, coutr. le Societ Segrete.

xiv

AUTHORITIES.

36. Rapporto del Ministro della Polizia G1' (Saliceti) sulla

Congiura ordita nel 1807, contr. l'Armata Francese, nel
Regno di Napoli, e contr. la persona e gli stati di S. M.
Gius. Napoleone.
: ?
37- L'istesso Rapporto, ristampato, ed accompagnato di
Note dal Principe di Canosa.
38. Capitolazione tra la Truppa de' Carabinieri Ponteficj, e
l'Armata Carbonica Costituzionale di Benevento : nella
Stampera nazionale di Benevento ; (un foglio).
39. Indirizzo al P. N. (Parlamento Nazionale); presso
Pasquale Tizzano, Str. Cisterna dell' Olio N. 26 : (ema
nato dall' Alta Vendita di Napoli.)
40. Al Parlamento Nazionale delle due Sicilie ; (Indirizzo
degli Uffiziali Napolitani, destituiti come Codardi nel
1815, in seguito di una Sentenza della Commissione
Militare preseduta prima dal Amato Gle ed indi dal Glc
Gugl. Pepe.) Presso lo stampatore Gabr. di Filippis,
Salita Stella N. 10.
41. La R. Assemblea Generale dei Carbonari, a tutti li BB.
CC. della Due Sicilie S. S. S. O. . . di Napoli, 24 Ott.
1820. (Questo Proclama, per eccitare i Carbonari
ad impedire i molti Furti, che da qualche tempo si
commettono sulle pubbliche Strade.)
42. Breve Idea della Carbonera, sua Origine nel Regno di
Napoli, suo Scopo, sua Persecuzione, e Causa che fe'
nascere la Setta de' Calderari ; Del Dottor in Legge
Pasquale Tonelli. Napoli, 1820, pr. P. Tizzano. 8
pagine.
43. Il Carbonaro Istruito, Traduzione dal Francese: Mila
no, 1815. pp. 63: (Milano parve luogo supposto.)
Precede la Vita di S. Teobaldo, poi i Travagli del 1 Grado
che non si distinguono ia niente, di ci eh' ensegua il

AUTHORITIES.

XV

Catechismo della Carbonera, &c. Il Giuramento asso

lutamente l'istesso.
All' occasione del 2do, Brindisi a Francesco I. (p. 47.) si
legge in nota sotto la pagine. " Questo Re fu il padre
delle lettere, il prottettore della Carboneria, in guisa che
fece in essa iniziare tutt' i suoi maresciali, da lui sempre
chiamati coli' onorevole titolo de cugini.
Seguetano dopo il Catechismo e le Spiegazioni della Obligazioni particolari, varie canzoni intitolati : la Forna e la
Fede; 2) la Speranza; 3) la Carit ; 4) la Rivizione ; 5) la
Morte.
44. Il Carbonaro Istruito, Traduzione dal Francese. Mi
lano, 1815, pp. 63.
43. I Piffari di Montagna, ossio Cenno estemporaneo sulla
Congiura del Principe di Canosa, sopra i Carbonari.
Dublino, nel Maggio del 1820.
46. Memorie del Avvocato Carlo Quarto nella Causa dei tre
arrestati, Guglielmo Paladini, Salv. Vecchiarelli e Pas
quale Maenza, &c. &c.
47. Circolare dal Ministro degli Affari Ecclesiastici D. G.
Troyse, Agli Arcivescovi e Vescovi, &c. (vid. il Censore,
N. 18 : il 23 Genajo, 1821.)

MEMOIRS

OF THE

CARBONARI.

It is probable that the Society of the Carbonari,

as it actually exists in the Kingdom of Naples, is
of comparatively recent formation, and that it has
originated since the French revolution. But as
individuals are apt to claim a descent from illus
trious ancestors, so associations love to consider
themselves of remote antiquity, and are all de
sirous of proving their connection with the order
of the Templars, or with the famous subjects of
the Old Man of the Mountain.
The traditions of the Carbonari yield to none
in this respect, and it is from the history of
Germany that they derive the proofs of their
antiquity.
The necessity of mutual assistance,
it is said, induced the colliers,* who inhabited the
vast forests of Germany, to unite themselves
against robbers and enemies. By conventional
* Literally Charcoal-burners, or Charrers.
B

MEMOIItS OF

signs known only to themselves, they claimed

and afforded mutual assistance.
The criminal
enterprize of Conrad de Kauffungen, to carry off
the Saxon princes, failed through the intervention
of the colliers.
And at a period much more
recent, a Duke of Wurtemburg was compelled by
them, under threat of death, to abolish certain
forest laws, considered as oppressive or cruel.*
These associations, in the course of time, acquir
ed more consistency, and spread themselves over
Germany, France, and the Netherlands. Their
secret, and the oath which bound them together,
was called the faith of the colliers. Important
services rendered to the members of the order,
sometimes, though rarely, procured, to persons of
rank, admissions into its body ; and it is asserted
that several members of the parliaments of France
were enrolled in it in the years 1770 1790.
The society of Hewers (Fendeurs) resembled
that of the Colliers. Among their symbols of
initiation, we find the trunk of an old tree,
together with other allusions to their occupations
in the woods.f
* The forest laws have given rise to frequent and violent
commotions in Germany, as well as in England. The insur
rection of the German peasantry, headed by the reformer Muncer,
1524, pretended to have the double object of reformation in
religion, and the abrogation of the oppressive forest laws. T.
t For an account of the occupation of the Charrers, or Colliers,
see the story of Martin Waldeck, in the popular novel of the
Antiquary. T.

THE CARBONARI.

A book which excited some attention in France,

namely, " The History of the Secret Societies,
which had in view the Destruction of the Govern
ment of Buonaparte Paris, 1815:" contains a
curious note on the origin of the Carbonari. It
is, at once, an apology for the institution, and for
its object; concerning which the author seems to
be thoroughly informed. Of the whole work if
ing.
is the passage
He asserts
where
thatthe
thedetails
association
are most
of Charboninterest
niers, or Bucherons, has long existed in the French
department of the Jura, and among the inhabitants
of the neighbouring mountains ; and that it is
there called Cousinship, or Good Cousinship, (Le
Bon Cousinage). It was revived and put in activity
under the reign of Bonaparte, nominally by the
Marquis de Champagne.
At the feasts of the Carbonari, the Grand Master
drinks to the health of Francis I. King of France,
the founder of the order* An historical essay in
the "Code of Carbonarism" contains an amusing
account of the origin of the order, and of the
initiation of its royal protector ; and characteristi
cally concludes, by referring the reader to the
Abbe Barruel's History of Jacobinism. It may
be taken as a fair specimen of the many compo* 2 Brind. II G. M. lo porta a Francesco 1" Re di Francia,
(Fondatore dell' Online). See, II Mentore di un B. C. C. App.
(Buon Cugino Carbonaro Apprendente), p. 51.
B 2

MEMOIRS OF

sitions of the sort with which the Neapolitan

Carbonari have gratified the public.
Historical Essay on the Origin of Carbonarisjn*
During the troubles in Scotland, in Queen
narism,
Isabellasmany
time, illustrious
which formed
persons
an having
asra in escaped
Carbofrom the yoke of tyranny took refuge in the
woods. In order to avoid all suspicion of criminal
association, they employed themselves in cutting
wood and making charcoal (the only commercial
produce of Scotland). Under pretence of carrying
their charcoal for sale, they introduced themselves
* The following is a faithful copy : the orthography of the
original is preserved. The sense is occasionally guessed at in the
translation.
Saggio htorico sull' Oi-igine della Carboneria.
L'lstoria della turbolenza nella Scozia, allorche la Regina
Isabella* fisso un epoca della Carboneria, inolti illustri uomini
sottratti del gioco (giogo) della tirannia, si ricoverarono nelle
foreste. Per allontanare ogni sospetlo di criminose adunanze,
si posero a tagliare le legna, ed a fare de' Carboni, ttnico prodotto
commerciale in IscoziaCon questo favore essi si riconducevano
* There was no Isabella, Queen of Scotland, contemporary with Francis I. of
France. The Isabel, whose adventures, while living in the woods with
banished men, the nobles of the country, might be a subject for romance, was
the first wife of Robert Bruce, and must have died within the first twelve years
of the fourteenth century. It is, however, scarcely worth while to search for
Queen Isabella, since the Scotland she reigned over is certainly not part of
Britain, if Francis reached its woods, while hunting, or if its principal produce
is the charcoal of its forests. T,

THE CARBOiVARI.

.5

into the villages, and bearing the name of real

Carbonari (Colliers), they easily met their par
tisans, and mutually communicated their differ
ent plans. They recognized each other by signs,
by touch, and by words ; and as there were no
habitations in the forest, they constructed huts of
an oblong form, with branches of trees. They
established a government, which issued laws.
Tin's government consisted of three persons: their
office was triennial, and they presided over three
vendite, or lodges; one legislative, another ad
ministrative, and the third judicial. This last was
called the Alta Vendita.
These vendite were subdivided into a number
of Baracche, each erected by a Good Cousin of
some distinction among his companions, who
ne' paesi, ed esponendo i Carboni a Vendita, portando l'etimologia
delle loro unioni a' V. C. (veri Carbonari). In tal guisa ottennero
l'agio di rincontrarsi con i loro partegiani, e communicarsi vicen
devolmente i sentimenti de' loro piani. Si] riconoscevano per con
segni, tatto, e parole ; non essendo poi delle abitazioni costruirono
delle baracche di legna con figura quadrilunga. Stabilirono un
governo che eman dei regolamentiQuesto governo rappresen
tato da tre persone era triennale, tenente una Vendita di legisla
zione, una di amministrazione, e la terza giudiziaria, che si chiama
Alta Vendita*
Si divisero in tante baracche ciascuna veniva eretta da un buon
Cugino che non era, se non che il primo tra gli eguali, che com* Vendila may be translated Lodgeit is literally place of sale, or market;
Baracca in Italian and Spanish is a hut, or tent : hence the word barrack, a
temporary dwelling. T.
B 3

MEMOIRS OF

communicated with the Alta Vendita, and was

styled the Grand Master.
There dwelt in the forest a hermit of the name
of Theobald : he joined them, and favoured their
enterprize. He captivated their admiration, and
was proclaimed protector of the Carbonari. Thus
peaceably, these philanthropists passed their days,
and met at certain appointed times.
It happened that Francis I. King of France,
hunting on the frontiers of his kingdom, next to
Scotland, in following a wild beast, parted from
his courtiers. Night came on, and he lost him
self in the forest. He stumbled upon one of the
baracche and asked for shelter; it was granted,
and the Good Cousins unanimously ministered to
him all that he was in need of. Francis I. admired
the happiness of these Carbonari, and their mystic
discipline. He thought he saw something mysmunicava coll' Alta Vendita e che chiamavasi Vi. M. (gran
maestro).
Si rivenne nelle foreste un eremita di nome Teobaldo; costui
si unisce con essi e ne favorisce l'intrapresa. Si rende ammirabile,
ed e proclamato protettore dei B. C. C. Cos pacifici questi
uomini filantropi mettevano i loro giorni e si univano in alcuni
stabiliti tempi.
Avenne che Francesco lmo, Re di Francia, andando a caccia
ne' confini del regno della parte di Scozia, inseguendo una fiera si
allontan dai suoi corteggiani ; si fs notte e si disperse per la
foresta. S'imbatt in una di queste baracche, chiese ricovero e gli
fu accordato, somministrandogli unanimamente tutto il bisognevole.
Ammir Francesco I. il contento di questi uomini C. C. e la loro

THE CARBONARI.

terious and singular in it, and discovered himself

to them as King of France. He earnestly re
quested to be made acquainted with their secret,
and with the object of their association. They
gratified him, and he was struck with admiration ;
and expressed a wish to be initiated into their
order, promising to be their protector. The favour
was granted, and next morning he was restored
to the hunters, who, having missed him, were
seeking him in great anxiety. On his return to
France, he scrupulously fulfilled his oath. He
declared himself the protector of the Carbonari,
and increased their number. The society after
wards spread itself successively over Germany
and England. Any G. C. who wishes to have
further information respecting the origin, progress,
and extension of the sect, may read the History of
Jacobinism by Barruel, which has been most
mistica disciplina. Cred di trovare cosa di misterioso e di singolare,
e si manifest Re di Francia. Domand con istanza di conoscere
i loro misterj e qual fusse lo scopo delle loro unioni. Viene soddis
fatto e ne rimase ammirato. Chiede di voler esser iniziato e
promesse divenirne il loro protettore. Si gli accorda un tal
favore (!) L'indomani fu restituito in seno de' cacciatori che
desolati lo andavano cercando avendolo smarrito. Tornato in
Francia ademp esattamente il giuramento. Si dichiara protettore
C. C. e ne moltiplica il numero, che in seguito si distese in
Germania ed indi in Inghilterra.
Chiunque de' B. C. C. desidera di avere un numero maggiore
de notizie rapporto al nutrimento, al progresso ed all' espansione
B 4

MEMOIRS OF

accurately and carefully translated, and published

in Italy; and since diligently re-translated and
published with notes at Naples.*
The French branch of the Order derives con
siderable importance from the adoption of its
patron saint in Italy, where he had formerly been
little known or honoured. St Theobald has been
elected protector of the Society at Naples, as he
is of the Charbonniers of France.')'

It is he who

della setta C. (Carbonica) potra leggere: L'Hisioire du Jacobinisme di Barruel, che con somma accuratezza e diligenza e stata
tradotta e stampata in Italia, ed in prosieguo e stata anclie
diligentemente tradotta, annotata, e stampata in Napoli.*
* It will be seen in tbe course of tbe work that the religions
sectaries which preceded the Reformation were probably the
founders of most of the secret societies of Italy, France, and
Germany. It is possible, therefore, that the origin of this story
is to be found in the protection granted by Louis XII. to the
Waldenses, who had taken refuge in Dauphine. Francis the
First suffered their persecution with great reluctance, and on his
death-bed enjoined his successor to punish their oppressors. The
injunction was disregarded ; but though a horrid massacre took
place, the mountains of Dauphine continued to shelter a remnant
of the unhappy Waldenses, which occasioned petty disturbances
even in the reign of Louis XIV. See Lacretelle, Guerres de la
Religion, also Mad. de Seiigni's Letters. T.
t See, at the end of this Memoir, the Life of St. Theobald,
extracted from Baillet. " La Vita di S. Teobaldo, tradotta dal
Latino d. buon Cugino Giacinto de Mattia," was published at
Naples, August, 1820.
* Codice di Carboneria, Parte lma. al lmo grado degli A. (Apprendeati)
Londra (Napoli) 1820.

TRE CARBONARI.

is invoked by the Good Cousins in their hymns,

and who is mystically alluded to in two pieces of
verse dedicated to the Friends (Agli Amici) and
printed at Naples a few days after the last revo
lution. The first of these pieces compares the
concord of the Carbonari to a sacerdotal and
precious ointment.*
" Di unguento tal sacrandosi
Teobaldo al tempio, all' ara,
Gli astanti ritrovavansi
Di soavit si cara,
Cosi nostra concordia
E grata al mio Signor."
The second intimates that " the Friends" par
ticipate in the delights of the union, as this oint
ment spreads itself over the person of St. Theobald.
" Cosi qualor consagrasi
Per tutto si diffonde
L'unguento odorosissimo
Che Teobaldo infonde,
Pria sulle chiome spargesi
Poi sulla barba lunga,
Finch scorrendo ali ultimo
Lembo del manto giunga."
It appears certain, however, that neither the
Fendeurs nor the Charbonniers ever rose to any
* No translation of these little pieces has been subjoined, as they
both paraphrastic versions of the 1" and 2a verses of the
W>* psalm. T.

10

MEMOIRS OF

importance, or acted any conspicuous part among

the secret societies of Europe, till the period of
the Revolution. Doubtless such societies were in
being in Italy, as well as in other countries,
before that time; but on the breaking out of that
fearful event, they were superseded by others
more generally known, and of more importance.
The Free-masons were established in Italy
among all ranks. The Illuminati of Weishaupt
reckoned among their initiated some of the Knights
of Malta, with the celebrated Dolomieu at their
head. But the reorganizers of the Carbonari of
the present day chose that order in preference,
because it suited their plan to gain proselytes
chiefly among the middle and lower classes of the
people.
They acted upon the principle that
dictated the clear statement contained in the
letter of the Duke of Otranto to the Duke of
Wellington, dated January 1, 1816: and which
is as follows :
" The tranquillity of kingdoms does not depend
upon the manner in which persons of rank think
and act, nor upon the spirit that governs them.
Their ambition has no influence if it be not united
to some popular interest.
Their intrigues and
their conspiracies are impotent in their conse
quences, if not supported by the active interference
of the multitude. If the monarch has the attach
ment and the force of the people on his side, he

THE CARBONARI.

11

has nothing to fear from opposition in public

debates, nor from secret faction. Public quiet
depends on the moral direction of the labouring
classes who compose the body of the people, and
constitute the base of the social edifice.
It is
these, therefore, that should be the principal
objects of the care and vigilance of a good
police, &c."*
The reform, or rather the restoration of the
order of Carbonari, is ascribed by the grand
masters at Naples to an unknown officer who had
spent some time in Spain.
The next efficient
supporter of the sect, was Maghella, a native of
Genoa, of whom we will give some biographical
traits, which may serve to throw light on his
motives for countenancing and assisting in the
renewal of the order of Carbonari.
He was
originally employed in the counting-house of a
man of rank and influence in his native country,
whose lady introduced and recommended him to
the French authorities.
As minister of police in the Ligurian Republic,
he displayed firmness and talent in some popular
tumults.
Murat became acquainted with him
during the French campaign in Piedmont, and
gave him his protection and countenance. He
was not equally happy in making an impression
* We . find a similar opinion in Cicero's recently discovered
treatise, dc Republic^. T.

12

MEMOIRS OF

on Bonaparte, who, on the annexation of Genoa

to France, only bestowed on him the office of
Director of the Sale of Tobacco. When Murat
succeeded Joseph Bonaparte on the throne of
Naples, Saliceti, then minister of police in that
kingdom, sent for Maghella, and employed him
in his department without any ostensible situation.
On the sudden death of Saliceti, Maghella ob
tained his place, with the title of director-general
of police, and a seat in the council of state.
Before Bonaparte's Russian campaign in 1812,
Maghella had advised Murat to take no part in it ;
and when the latter returned to Naples in Decem
ber the same year, much dissatisfied with that
disastrous expedition, the same minister did not
hesitate to hazard, at a meeting of council held
on the occasion, a still more daring opinion. He
advised Murat to declare openly against Bonaparte,
and to proclaim the independence of Italy ; and
he dwelt on the favourable chances of such a
project
The French
under the
armies
circumstances
were annihilated,
of the moment.
and the
allies, but newly and feebly united, in 1813, would
have lent their aid most willingly to any new
enemy of France. Even at the congress of Prague,
seven or eight months later, they did not oppose
the independence of Italy, which they then con
sidered as a fresh advantage gained over Napoleon.

THE CARBONARI.

13

Some English agents of distinction anxiously

diffused this idea in the country, and even acted
upon it.
The small French garrisons in the departments
of Rome, the lake of Thrasymene, Tuscany, and
Genoa would have been easily driven out, and
Maghella himself offered to excite a movement
in the kingdom of Italy, to put down the govern
ment of the Viceroy. The Revolution at Milan
on the 20th of April, 1814, has since proved that
he did not mis-calculate, and that the viceregal
government of Eugene Beauharnois was not very
firmly established.
That national independence was the object
proposed by the Neapolitan propagators of liberty,
appears from the deposition of the Count Gallo
d'Arpino, who was implicated in the conspiracy
of Macerata, 1817. On his examination at the
Castle of St. Angelo, he asserted that their maxims
were favourable to the papal government, " inas
much as he (Gallo) remembered to have heard
from Zurlo, minister of the interior, and from
Salfi, professor of history at Naples, with both
of whom he conversed at Pesaro, in April, 1815,
during the campaign of Murat against the Austrians,that it was only necessary to drive out
the foreigners, without altering the governments
of the country, and that they therefore dis

14

MEMOIRS OF

approved of his Holiness absenting himself from

his states."*
To throw off the yoke of the transal pines,
" cacciare i barbari dall' Italia," had been the
exhortation directed by Petrarca and Macchiavelli,
and by others before and after them, against all
foreign powers. It was now pointed exclusively
against France. The sovereigns of other coun
tries no longer considered such maxims dangerous.
They ventured to repeat them in their procla
mations against Bonaparte, from 1809 to 1814.
But the cry of Italian independence soon found a
more dangerous application, for it is become the
rallying word of all factions against the legitimate
governments of the country.
Murat was too timid and too irresolute to follow
the course pointed out to him by his minister of
police : and the French party at Naples sent
information of Maghella's sentiments and advice
to Paris.
Genoa being then considered as part
of France, he was claimed as a Genoese, and
consequently a French subject, and was accord
ingly sent to Paris as a prisoner.
Napoleon
endeavoured in vain to win him over to his
interest, and he remained under the surveillance of
the police until December, 1813, when the armies
of the allies entered upon the French territory.
His escape was effected in a daring and romantic
* Printed minutes of the trial. See Appendix.

THE CARBONARI.

15

manner; and his arrival at Naples contributed

much towards determining Murat to declare
against his brother-in-law.
Being once more at liberty, he eagerly endea
voured to rouse Italy to independence in 1815;
and in the name of Murat he organized the Papal
provinces, of which he had taken possession, and
it was there that the lodges of the Carbonari were
then established, and thence they increased rapid
ly in the country.
Maghella ought to have been aware, that his
schemes for the independence of Italy were most
chimerical and impracticable. This consideration,
however, was overlooked in his eagerness for the
cause; but he must have known Murat too well,
to believe, that he was the person who could put
such a project in execution. He probably intend
ed to use him as an instrument, whom he could
afterwards reject at pleasure. He began by en
deavouring to limit the regal power at Naples by
a constitution, in order to hold out such an addi
tional bait to the other Italian States, as might
induce them to join in his views. The nobility
and higher classes of the capital lent themselves
readily to his proposals, and the names of the first
families are among the signatures to the address
printed March, 1815, soliciting a constitution from
Joachim, which he had often promised, though
without any apparent intention of keeping that

16
promise.

MEMOIRS OF
The nobles were influenced by motives

which are easily explained. They had seen their

ancient privileges and their feudal revenues suc
cessively disappear ; the greater number had been
stript of these with very little ceremony, and
without indemnification; and as a body, they
could offer no resistance to the government.
They therefore hoped to find a resource, and their
hopes were not unfounded, in a constitutional
assembly which it would become their business to
manage. Their object was rather to check the
royal authority as opposed to the aristocratic in
terest, than to defend the rights of the people.
The army made common cause with them from
motives equally selfish. They were jealous of a
great number of French officers of all ranks,
employed and often preferred by Murat. They
had attempted to procure the removal of these
foreigners at various times in vain, and they there
fore regarded a national parliament as a remedy
for the particular evil of which they had to com
plain, and hoped that the dismissal of the intru
ders would be among its first decrees.
The provinces of the kingdom, particularly the
Abruzzi and the Calabrias, displayed a feeling of
indifference, and even dislike to the great work of
the Constitution. They still retained an attachment
to King Ferdinand, and an aversion from inno
vations, the utility of which they could not com

THE. CARBOXART.

17

prehend. It was to get rid of these sentiments

aad to gain the people by degrees to the consti
tutional object, without letting them perceive it
themselves, that Maghella and his associates re
solved to introduce the sect of the Carbonari .
This was accomplished ; but it became necessary
also to deceive Murat and the opposite party. They
were assured, therefore, that such an institution
would operate powerfully in drawing off the
attention of the populace, always prone to
rebellion from the remembrance of their ancient
sovereigns, and. would assist in gaining them
over to the new order of things. Meanwhile,
the doctrine preached to the inhabitants of the
Calabrias and the Abruzzi was as perfectly adapted
to their conception as to their inclinations.
It
depended for effect on the two-fold excitement of
religious fanaticism and pecuniary interest; for,
while the imitation of Jesus Christ, himself the
Grand Master of the Order, was the devotional
object proposed, they were shown, at the bottom
of the scene, a political change which must infal
libly diminish the taxes.
But the Austrian successes under General Bianchi, in 1815, put an end to the political intrigues
of Maghella ; for he was taken prisoner and sent
to a Hungarian fortress. After some time, he was
given up to his sovereign, the King of Sardinia,
c

MEMOIRS OF
who confined him for twelve months at Fenestrella, and afterwards set him at liberty.
Some persons at Naples imagine that the Tvigenbund (Union of Justice) in Prussia had suggest
ed to Maghella the idea of forming secret societies
as a means of directing public opinion against the
French; but according to the Minerva Napolitana*
he might have found examples of such in his own
country, with this difference, that they had taken
an opposite direction. " The machinations," says
that paper, "of a few cautious, though ambitious
persons found means, soon after the year 1790, to
spread certain liberal political doctrines among the
numerous class of the real Carbonari of Genoa, in
on
order
of its
to deliver
oligarchy
thatand
flourishing
to annex
city
it to
from
France.
the domi
These
nisame doctrines were preached about ten years after
wards among the lower classes of the kingdom of
Naples, and the proselytes ofthat part of Italy, adopt
ing the same denomination {Carbonari), which was
properly applied to the Genoese colliers, used it in
a metaphorical sense to signify a man of small
property, or a mere husbandman or artisan."
- To give stability to the sect thus introduced at
Naples, and to graft it, if we may so speak, on an
old stock, in order to force its growth, all free
masons were admitted simply by ballot, and with* No. 7.

THg'CARBONAHl.
out undergoing the preparatory trials required from
ordinary candidates.
Hence it is, perhaps, that from the minutes of
the proceedings at Rome against the conspirators
of Macerata,* it appears that all the secret socie
ties of Italy were considered as derived from free
masonry.

The members of the court observe,:

sonic
" We sect
had during
becomepast
fully
calamities,
acquainted
which
withowe
thetheir
ma--,
origin to it.

The other, that of the Carbonari,

was called in just as these calamities were about to

cease, as if to increase and perpetuate them. It
had its origin and principal seat at Naples, whence
it spread to some provinces of the Papal State,
and its inauspicious influence had been particular
ly felt in the Marches.
While, in the midst of
general peace, this Society was making progress
in several cities of Dalmatia, other secret asso
ciations no less audaciously erected themselves.:
The Guelphs extended themselves into Lombardy
from the northern. provinces of the states of the
Church. The Republican brother protectors of
French and Lombard origin insinuated them
selves into some parts of the Marches.
The
Adelphi lurk in great secrecy throughout Piedmont ;
and lastly the Society of the Black Pin (Za Spilla
er/has attempted to introduce itself into Italy
* See App. No. H.
C2

" ' \

' 1 *

MEMOIRS OF
from France. These different denominations, which
succeeded each other, were artfully invented not
only for the purpose of increasing their secrecy,
but to enable their chiefs whenever it suited their
purposes, to get rid of members who had been
admitted, although of the basest condition, or of
such as change of times or circumstances had
rendered obnoxious to suspicion. They also served
to inform all the initiated at once, of whatever
was going on in the way of innovation or reform,
to diseover their inclinations and opinions, and to
keep them in constant activity, that they might be
ready and ardent to support, on the first oppor
tunity, a political change agreeable to their wishes.
" In fact, the adherence of any individual to
one of the secret societies suffices to ensure' his
reception with a corresponding rank into all those
that may be formed afterwards, so that one sect is
always merging in another, while procuring new
proselytes. That they are all, however, no other
than so many ramifications of Masonry, some of the
best informed sectaries themselves allow, and none
of them differ essentially as to the object they have
in view : viz.Independence, or, at least, a con
stitutional government, particularly in Italy."
One consequence of this amalgamation has been
the toleration of all the Christian sects which
Masonry contained. This is clearly expressed in

THE CARBONARI.
the fundamental statute of Carbonarism, in the Wes
tern Lucanian Republic,* central district of Salerno>
1818. "All the Carbonari of the Western Lu
canian Republic have the natural and inalienable
right of adoriug the Almighty according to the
dictates of their own understanding and conscience."t This is of course one motive of the
rooted aversion of the Popes to this order.
But, though such free toleration is allowed, the
ceremonies of admission partake of an almost
fanatic superstition. The novices were told that, in
imitation of their Grand Master, Christ, they
must necessarily pass through sufferings to purity
and happiness ; they were crowned with thorns,J
and a reed was placed in their hands. A dramatic
representation exhibited part of the agonies of the
Saviour, and it was solemnly announced, that the
great requisites were to preserve their faith, and
mutually to assist each other.
The following extract from the 1st. chap, of the
statutes of Carbonarism will tend to explain the
real or pretended principles of the sect.
* Principato Citra.It is to be observed, that the Carbonari
have adopted names, some ancient, some modern, but all differing
from those in common use, for the districts where they have
established their lodge.
t Cap. 2. Art. 8. Delia Esposizione dei Dritti dei Carbonari
della Republica Lucana Occidentale.
t See App. III. for the ceremonies of initiation,
c3

MEMOIRS OF

Of the General Doctrine of the Order.

Art. 1. Good Cousinship is principally founded
on religion and virtue.
Art. 2. The place of meeting is called the
Baracca ; the space surrounding it, the Forest or
Wood; the interior of the Lodge, the Vendita.
Art. 3. The Members are called Good Cousins;
they are divided into two classesApprentices and
Masters.
Art. 4. Tried virtue and purity of morals, and
not Pagan* qualities, render men worthy of belong
ing to the Carbonari,
Art. 5. An interval of six months is necessary
before an apprentice can obtain the rank of master.
The principal obligations imposed on him are, to
practise benevolence, to succour the unfortunate,
to show docility of' mind, to bear no malice against
Carbonari, and to enrich his heart with virtue.
: Art. 6. By this article it is forbidden to talk
directly or indirectly against religion, and by
Art. 7. All conversation on religion in general,
or against good morals, is prohibited.
Art. 8. Every Good Cousin Carbonaro is
obliged to preserve inviolable secrecy concerning
the mysteries of the Order.
Art. 9. No G. C. C. may communicate what
* Pagan. Pagano jnay be translated profane, belonging to the
uninitiated.

THE CARBONARI.
is done or decided upon in his Vendita, to those
who belong to another, much less to persons not
initiated.
Art. 10. The greatest reserve is recommended
to the Members, towards all. persons with whom
they are not well acquainted, but more especially
in the bosoms of their own families.
. The centre of the machinations of the Carbonari
was formed in the capital itself, and was intended
to be permanently established there, as affording
the most effectual means of concealment. The
Alta Vendita, or principal lodge, was composed of
honorary members and of deputies from each
particular Vendita. It was declared to be an ad
ministrative and legislative body, a court of
council and of appeal ; and it was accordingly
divided into different sections. It was the busi
ness of this Vendita to grant charters of organi
zation to new lodges, or to confirm such as were
suhmitted for its approbation. It has continued
to retain its powers, but was eclipsed, before the
revolution of 1820, by the superior activity and
influence of the Carbonari magistracy of the
Western Lucanian Republic* The Diet of the
Carbonari of that district doubted and debated
whether it should acknowledge the Alta Vendita,
* Western Lucania is the Carbonaro name for the province of
Principato Citra.
c4

MEMOIRS OF
or General Assembly of the capital, which met
provisionally, after the revolution, in the Convent
of San Domenico Grande, and referred the de
cision to a committee, who were of opinion that
two deputies from each tribe * should be sent
thither in order to organize a real general assembly
of the Carbonari ; to which, however, it was not
thought expedient to grant the power assumed by
the old Assembly, of dictating laws peremptorily.
The committee further suggested, that if the Alta
Vendita could not be prevailed upon to meet this
plan, the same deputies should be authorized to
negotiate with the Vendite of other provinces,
and especially with the Republics of Hirpinia,
Daunia, Picentia, Eastern Lucania, Lecce, Cosen za, and Catanzaro, to extend the league ; and to
establish a central assembly of the confederate
provinces.
It will appear, in the sequel, that
Salerno lias superseded Naples as the head-quarters
of the Carbonari. We must now return to the
circumstances of the infant institution.
The description of the Vendita, extracted from
the Code of Carbonarism,t will assist the reader to
comprehend the explanations of the 'symbols,
painted on the patents of the initiated, and used at
their meetnigs.
* The subdivisions of the Carbonari are called tribes,
t Sect. 1.

THK CARBONARI.

25

Of the Decorations of the Vendita of the First

Rank.
The Vendita will be represented by a room of
planks covered also with wood.
The pavement must be of brick ; the interior fur
nished with seats without backs. At the end there
must be a block supported by three legs (basi) ; on
the two sides there must be two other blocks of
the same size, for the assistants. On the block of
the Grand Master there must be the following
symbols: a linen cloth ; water; salt; a cross;
leaves ; sticks ; fire ; earth ; a crown of white
thorns ; a ladder ; a ball of thread, and three
ribbons, one blue, one red, and one black. There
must be an illuminated (raggiante) triangle, with
the initial letters of the pass-word of the second
rank in the middle. On the left hand there must
be a triangle, with the arms of the Vendita painted.
On the right three triangles, each with thp initial
letters of the sacred words of the first rank. The
triangles should be transparent; that is to say, with
the light behind.
On the admission of apprentices, the symbolical
picture of the Vendita, and the emblems on the
patents, which are a repetition of it, were explained
after a discourse on the natural liberty of man, its
forfeiture by the pel verseness of the wicked, and

26

MEMOIRS OF

the necessity for recovering it by the efforts of

the Society.
The initiated were addressed more openly as
soon as they had shown an aptitude for seizing al
legories, or when they belonged to a more en
lightened class of society.
-' The two following initiatory discourses present
a striking contrast to each other. The first, ex
tracted from the Constitution of the order at
Naples, is calculated for uncultivated persons. The
second was found among the papers of the Roman
Conspirators of 1817; among whom were many
persons of birth and education.

First Discourse, pronounced by the Grand Master.

" Hear me, dear and good Cousins:
" Nature, when she created man, meant him to
be free. It is, therefore, the duty of every man to
keep himself so, and to fulfil the engagement she
has imposed on him by diffusing liberty among
liis brethren, by communicating his pleasures to
them, by partaking in their pains and labours, and
by considering himself on an equality with all his
fellow creatures, so that he may exalt himself to
the most sublime heights of virtue.
" Unfortunately, the flattering hopes of seeing
such virtue become universal have been deceived.
The tender name of brother has been renounced ;

TH-.P CARBONAfUI.
and man has treated his fellow-man as an enemy.
At first the strong usurped the rights of the weak.
Afterwards violence was superseded by cunning.
Hence arose intrigue, hatred, treason, imposture,
superstition : man became the vile slave of his
infamous passions. Yet Reason, sovereign of the
human mind, enlightened some sager individuals
as to the real nature of things. She preserved
them from the general corruption; and they en
deavoured to bring back their wandering fellow
mortals to the neglected paths of virtue.
But,
deaf to the voice of reason, they rejected her pre
cepts. It was then that, still indefatigable, those
benevolent sages conceived the idea of secret so
cieties, which, assiduously labouring to give a
better education to mankind, might be the means
of exciting them to virtue ; and these societies
are those of the Carbonari."
,

Explanation of' the Symbols according to the Nea

politan Constitution.
1. The trunk of the tree which you see, ex
presses the surface of the earth on which the Good
Cousins are dispersed. It denotes also the firma
ment equally spread above all ; and shows us that
our wants are equal, and our interests the same.
The roots of the tree mark its stability* Its ver
dant foliage, and the strength by which it resists

MEMOIRS OF
the storm, indicate that it never grows old ; and
that as our first parents, after having lost their in
nocence, covered their shame with leaves, the
Good Cousins ought to conceal the faults of
their fellow men, and particularly those of the
Society.
2. The white linen on which you have been
received, is the produce of a plant. By maceration
and by labour it is become such as you see it ; so
ought we to purify and cleanse ourselves by con
tinual efforts. Enveloped in linen when the natural
light first shone upon us, it receives us again at
the3.moment
Water cleansed
of our regeneration
us when we
to virtue.
came from the
womb ; it teaches us here to purify ourselves from
the stains of vice, in order that, being delivered
from its contamination, we may enjoy the pleasures
of virtue.
4. Salt, the means of preserving corruptible
things, exhorts us to preserve our hearts from the
general corruption.
5. The crown of white thorns placed upon our
heads reminds us to be cautious and steady in our
movements and actions, to avoid the pain of being
wounded.
6. The cross foreshows the labours, the persecu
tions, the death that threatens those who aspire to
virtue. It exhorts us to persevere in imitating the
example of Jesus Christ, our Grand Master, who

THE CARBONARI.
willingly suffered death to bring us nearer to sal
vation.
7. The earth buries the body in eternal oblivion ;
and it is thus that the secret of our sacred order
should be buried in the bottom of our hearts. It
is the most important symbol of our institution.
The Pagans spread snares for us ; they are perverse
enough to mistrust our associations, the very in
struments of their redemption and happiness. And
were they to penetrate our secret, they might force
us to sustain an unequal combat.
8. The ladder shows the G. C. C. that virtue is
only to be attained step by step.
9. The bundles of sticks denote the members of
our respectable order, united in peace.
10. The ribbons, the principal decoration of the
Carbonari, express by their colours the cardinal
virtues. Black, or the charcoal, is faith. Blue,
or the smoke of our august furnace, is hope : and
red, or the fire, charity.
11. The specimen of wood,* which is the appro
priate badge of the apprentices, is to be fastened to
their coats at the button-hole by a tri-coloured ribbon.
Several of similar shapes are stuck into the ground
at regular distances, to mark the dwellings of Good
Cousins. Its form is that of the pole of the fur
nace of real charcoal burners; the extremities are
* The specimen of wood refers to the sample offered by the
wood-cutters to their customers.

tkf EMOIkS OF
cut diagonally. The masters wear a badge of the
same form in silver.
12. The thread of that ball is the mysterious tie
which unites us.
13. The axe, the mattock, and the shovel, are
the tools of our sacred labours, &c."
" The President marks tbe signals, and orders
(vantaggi) by a stroke of his axe on the block be
fore him."

Discourse extracted from the Papers found upon

the Conspirators of Macerata, 1817.*
" The earliest societies of men, hoping to find
happiness within the walls of cities, entrusted the
command of their forces to one person for the
common defence. He, instead of protecting and
defending them, became their oppressor.
Ci'vit
equality disappeared ; and the rights of man were
dethroned
ture suffered
by the
despotism.
laws of truth
Corrupted
and justice
humanto na*
be
supplanted by depravity of manners, and by tbi
persecution and oppression of the good.
" A few wise and good men who still cherished
in their hearts that morality, whose principles art
unalterable, either by change of time or the suc
cession of generations, while they wept over these

* Printed Minutes of the Trial.

Rome, 1818.

'

TflE CARBONARI.

31

evils in secret, ruminated on the means of preserv

ing untainted some sentiment of sound morality.
They secretly imparted their knowledge and their
views to a few persons worthy of the distinction.1
Thus transmitted from generation to generation,
their maxims became the fountain of that true
philosophy which can never be corrupted nor al
tered in its appearance. It is in the school found
ed on them that, without veil or mystery, men are
taught to respect and to maintain the rights of their
fellow men..
" The mysteries of Mythras in Persia, of Isis in
Egypt, of Eleusis in Greece, and of the temples
yet to be rebuilt, and the light that is yet to be
spread,* are all so many rays proceeding from the
same centre, moving in an orbit whose field is the
immensity of wisdom.

...

" Carbonarism is not the last or least of the

societies that have proceeded from this school. It
has simplified many various systems, and adopted
only the unaffected language of nature. It pre
sents itself without mystery to those who know
how to understand it; it receives them into its
peaceful bosom, and elevates them to the contem
plation of never varying nature, to the love of
man collectively, to the hatred of oppression and
despotism, to the knowledge of good, and of all
* Ed i Templi da riedificarsi, e la Luce da stendersi, &c.

MEMOIRS OF
that is useful to society, and confirms the general
systems of truth and justice.
" Carbonarism teaches in its baracche the true
end of moral existence, and gives rules of conduct
for social life. It points out the means for diffus
ing the light of truth, and for disseminating the
principles of philosophy and equality. It is to the
sacred rights of equality that the G. C. must espe
cially attach himself."

Explanation of the Symbols.

" The cross should serve to crucify the tyrant
who persecutes us, and troubles our sacred opera
tions. The crown of thorns should serve to pierce
his head.
The thread denotes the cord to lead
him to the gibbet; the ladder will aid him to.
mount. The leaves are nails to pierce his hands
and feet. The pick-axe will penetrate his breast,
and shed the impure blood that flows in his veins.
The axe will separate his head from his body, as
the wolf who disturbs our pacific labours.
The
salt will prevent the corruption of his head, that it
may last as a monument of the eternal infamy of
despots. The pole will serve to put the skull of
the tyrant upon. The furnace will bum his body.
The shovel will scatter his ashes to the wind.
The baracca will serve to prepare new tortures for
the tyrant. The fountain will purify us from the

THE CARBOUAHI.
vile blood we shall have shed. The linen will
wipe away our stains, and render us clean and
pure. The forest is the place where the Good
Cousins labour to obtain so important a result.
The trunk with a single branch signifies that, after
the great operation, we shall become equal to
the N. C."
One would be tempted to doubt the reality of
the last explanation of the symbols, if it were not
given in the minutes of a legal trial. Perhaps the
compiler of the notes may have confounded the
Verbal depositions of some of the witnesses with
what he thought he had read in the catechisms of
the sect.
Although the general doctrine of the order
makes mention but of two ranks of Carbonari, A.
single pamphlet of eight pages, without a title or
the name of the publisher, which has fallen into
the author's hands, makes mention of a third, and
describes its operations and the mode of initiation.*
The object of this third rank or Order is to procure
information concerning the signs and sacred words
known and understood by men of different nations
on the whole surface of the globe towards east and
west, towards mid-day and midnight. The Vendita
represents a cavern in the interior of a mountain.
* TravagH del 3M Grade The style is contemptible ; and the
nse for the most part, must be guessed at.
*
D

34

MEMOIRS OF

In one corner is seen a rustic urn, with this inscrip

tion, " Here lies the hero." The absurd story of
this heroic personage is related to the new member
immediately after his initiation in these words :
* " Philip the Macedonian, having undertaken
to conquer the great city of Thebes in Beotia with
a powerful army, was resisted by the brave citizens
on the borders of their territory with all the forces
* Filippo il Maccdono, avendo, con un poderoso esercito, intra
preso a soggrocare {soggiogare) la gran citt di Tebbe (Tebe) in
Boezio (Beozia), fu da' valorosi cittadini di questi contrade ai
confini del loro territorio con tutta la forza che poterono radunare
(combatuto ?) animati per dal deciso sentimento, o di salvare la
patria, o di morire, e l'essere per loro Duce il Gran Filomelo, cit
tadino cognito per le sue virtla disgrazia volle che ad onta
del loro coraggio, furono oppressi, rotti, e sbarragliati ; il gran
guerriero Filomelo essendo rimasto con altri bravi cittadini circo
per quanto pot di fare conoscere a (contro) Filippo le sue mire ;
ma prima di portarsi all' attacco vedendo che alcuni vili Tebbani
si erano dichiarati della parte de' Macedoni c che cercavano colle
loro mani delle ritorte, il Gran Filomelo pens accio non si
conoscessero gli Eroi di communicargli dei segni e parole : ed
attaccando la seconda volta il tiranno, ma con pi infelice successo
della prima, forono rotti e vinti. Vedendo Filomelo la sua cara
patria in potere di Filippo andiede a darsi una morte gloriosa pre
cipitandosi da un alta rupe et fin da prode qual visse i giorni suoi,
inculcando prima di morire agli amici di tenere celati il segni e la
parola, e che si aumentassero, e spargessero per tutto il globo
terreno, e di essere decisi di fare la guerra alla tirannia, alla falsa
opinione, ed al pregiudizio.
Ed inde il Gran Maestro li comniunicher i segni e la parola
sagra, &c.

THE CARBONARI.

35

they could muster, animated by the resolution to

save their country or to die, and by having for
their general the great Philomel, a citizen cele
brated for his good qualities. Unfortunately, in
spite of their courage, they were overcome, broken
and dispersed.
The great warrior Philomel, re
maining, together with a few brave citizens,
sought by every means in his power to be re
venged on Philip ; but, before he made his attack,
finding that some dastardly Thebans had declared
for the Macedonians, and courted their own chains,
the great Philomel invented the expedient of con
cealing his heroes by communicating to them con
ventional signs and words.
They attacked the
tyrant a second time, but with even less success
than before, and were broken and defeated. Phi
lomel, seeing his beloved country in the power of
Philip, sought a glorious death by precipitating
himself from a high rock, and died as bravely as
he had lived. Before his death he advised his
friends to keep their signs and words secret ; and
exhorted them to increase their numbers, and to
spread themselves over the whole earth, with the
determination of making war against tyranny,
false opinion, and prejudice. After this discourse
the Grand Master explains the signs, and commu
nicates the sacred words."
The other secret sects profess equally to have
the independence of their country solely in view.
d 2

36

MEMOIRS OF

In the catechism of the Guclphs, " Italy, torn and

oppressed," is indicated by the mystic name of
mother. These sectaries, who call themselves her
children, declare themselves bound and resolved to
succour and to comfort her. They assert boldly
that the moment of her resuscitation is at hand,
when the cock shall crow afresh ; when the eagles
shall fight ; when the bulls shall wrestle ; when
the harp shall provoke the dolphins ; when the moon
shall be covered with blood ; and the bark shall
remain aground ; a metaphorical prophecy con
cerning persons and nations, and a new war which
is to overturn the present governments of Italy.
At the time when these societies were formed, the
public mind was singularly prepared to receive
with avidity all that could excite and elevate the
imagination. Men's minds seemed to be possessed
anew with the enthusiasm of the twelfth century*
when the liberties of the Italian cities and repub
lics were founded amidst the struggles between
the Emperors and the Popes, and on the ruins of
the authority of the former.
" It was then," observes an historian of distin
guished merit,t in relating the wars of Frederick
Barbarossa against Alexander III., " that men be
gan to make use of those mystical representations
* 11591162.
t Johannes Von Miiller, AUgeraeiner Geschichten.
Kap. 5.

B.

THE CARBONARI.

57

of religion which had been preserved from time

immemorial in the valleys of the Alps, the seat of
ancient modes of thinking, which had their origin
in Switzerland, the Pays de Vaud, the villages of
the Valais and of the Cevennes. Their character
istics were, the simplicity, the freedom, and the
equality of the first Christian communities. But
some Gnostic prejudices against social order had
gradually led to an exaggerated system of morals.
Could it be supposed that the Emperor would
make use of these men against Rome ? far from it :
he joined the Church against them; their ideas of
liberty did not coincide with his plan of govern
ment, which was formed on that of the Cassars.
He had caused Arnold de Brescia, the most enter
prising agent of the sectaries, to be burnt for fa
vouring the attempt made by the nobility to pro
cure the freedom of Rome by the assistance of the
people.
The spirit of Arnold remained, and
mingled with the rising liberties of the free
burghers."
The error of creating a state within a state, and
of erecting secret tribunals to redress wrongs, has
existed in all barbarous and turbulent times. It is
of very ancient date in the kingdom of the two
Sicilies. About the period to which we have just
alluded, that is 1 1 86, under William II. the Nor
man, according to the Chronicles of the Abbeys
of Fossa Nuova and of Monte: Casino, a sect of

38

MEMOIRS OF

presumptuous men, devanis hominibus, arose. They

took the name of avengers, Vendicosi, and did
all the mischief in their power, not by day, but
by night.
At length Adiorolphus, of Ponte
Corvo, Grand Master of the sect, was hanged by
order of the King, and many of his partisans
branded with a hot iron.
The members of a second Sicilian Society,
almost unknown to the rest of Europe, called
themselves the Beati Paoli. Their actions and
their motives perfectly resembled those of the
Free Knights* in Germany. Persons of all ranks
united themselves secretly, and proceeded especi
ally against the great barons and the tribunals,
whose power was such that they were not to be
reached openly.
This institution, vicious and horrible in itself,
did, however, produce some partially salutary
effects, restraining the arbitrary licentiousness of
the great, by the terror with which it inspired
them.
The punishments inflicted by the Beati
Paoli Were death by poison or the dagger, muti
lation, destruction of property by fire, and for
the slightest crimes or faults, the severest beating.
The ramifications of this Society were spread over
the whole island.
The most formidable com
panies were those of Messina and Trapani. It is
said that papers relating to the Society still exist
* Die Vehmgerichte.

THE CARBONARI.

39

in the archives of the two cities ; and though it

was most powerful in the middle ages, traces of its
existence are to be found as late as the eighteenth
century.
A cavern is shown at Palermo, in a
street called de Canceddi, near the church of Santa
Maria di Gesil, where they held their meetings,
and the grandfather of the present Prince of
Trabia caused one of their most daring chieftains,
surnamed Testa Longa, to be executed.
It was in vain that the government published
the severest laws, and denounced the heaviest
penalties against them in all the pragmatic acts
of the kingdom ; but the change in the state of
society, and the improvement of manners, at length
put an end to the association. A lively recollec
tion of it still, however, remains among the
Sicilians ; and they are heard to exclaim, on
receiving any injury or loss, for which they cannot
apply to justice, " Ah, se fossero ancora i Beati
Paoli
The!" Carbonari
Ah, if the have
Beatiadopted
Paoli were
somestill
of in
thebeing
forms!
of the Beati Paoli. If any unfortunate being has
incurred their vengeance, especially if it be by
any act of infidelity towards the sect, the Grand
Masters meet in what is called a chamber of honour,
and deliberate on his fate. If he be condemned,
they write his name on a piece of paper, which is
burnt, and he is registered in the Black Book with
those, who, having presented themselves as cand4

40

MEMOIRS OF

dictates for admission into the Society, have been

rejected as unworthy.* The sentence is executed
by whoever is especially named for the purpose,
and the rest of the lodge cannot resist or annul it.
Although the printed penal statute of the
Western Lucanian Republic makes no explicit
mention of the punishment of death, yet it con
tains some articles which clearly imply it. The
punishments are divided under the heads of degra
dation and penalties in general. The first head
is again subdivided into
]st. Devoting to general execration.
2d. Burning the name, or the person in effigy.
3d. Unanimous black-ballinganneraniento.^
Among the consequences of these punishments,
are interdiction of water and fire, the prohibition
* " The Black Bqak is that in which the christian and surnames,
the age, the country, and the condition of all the Pagans who have
been unsuccessful candidates for Carbonarism, are inscribed. The
Vendita which rejected them, and the number of votes against them,
must also be entered. The Good Cousins whose names have been
burnt, the usual punishment for betraying the secrets of the order,
by any particular Vendita, or even by the Alt$ Vendita itself, must
be registered in the same book, and the rank they held in the
society is to be noted. The Golden Book is the register of the
regulations, elections, and installations of officers of the order. It
contains besides a list of all the regular Vendite, and such debates as
are of general importance to the society." See Constitution of the
Order of Good Cousins at Naples, section 10 of the Archives.
t Anneramenlo, the consequence of black-balling, i. e. being
inscribed in the Black Book.

THE CAKBONARI.

41

of all communication between other Good Cousins

and the criminal, whose name, written in large
letters, is affixed in all the vendite, and read at
every sitting. " The Anneramento," they observe,
may be effaced by time, but " infamy attaches itself
for ever."
The execration is more than mere disapproba
tion. Its mystery is explained in the 55th article of
the 9th section, " On Crimes against Individuals,"
which declares that a murderer is not punishable,
when the person put to death is a Carbonaro,
condemned, after trial, to general execration, or to
have his name or effigy burnt. The oath of initi
ation itself is a proof that the punishment of
death is among the engines used by this dangerous
society.
Excepting in the case of the absolute power
exercised by the vendite, the Secret Societies flatter
the predominating taste of the age for equality.
The rich and the poor, the noble and the artisan, are
here confounded. The same charm had attracted
thousands of converts to the bosom of the infant
Christian church. The Agapre, the Communion,
and the Catacombs, placed the slave on a footing
with his master. The priesthood, being accessible
to all, levelled all.
And this equality reconciled
the lower order of proselytes to the privations and
dangers to which they were perpetually exposed.
The Roman Emperors perceived the danger. They

42

MEMOIRS OF

put the existing prohibitory laws against secret

meetings in force against the Christians.
Trajan
published no new edict against their dogmas, but
he forbade their meetings as contrary to the wel
fare of the Republic, and of religion*
It was
in consequence of this decree, that the Pagan
magistrates introduced themselves among the
Christians, who, under cover of night, offered up
their prayers and praises to God ; and punished
them tyrannically as forming a college, or fellow
ship, sodalitium, apart in the state, and belonging
to a dissenting religion, whose chief was the Pope,
or Bishop of Rome.f
The Carbonari are called a sect, a name which
seems to imply a religious distinction in Italy ;
and the appellation does not displease them.
It is curious to listen to the fanatics of the
Society, while they detail the miraculous conver
sions which it has already wrought. The ferocious
Lazzaroni of Naples, and the wildest brigands of
the Calabrias and the Abruzzi have been known,
immediately on their initiation, to perform the
most striking acts of benevolence and justice.
Under this pretext, of bringing back the wicked
to the ways of virtue, distinguished brigand
* Pliny, the Pro-consul in Bithynia, writes to Trajan, that the
order to that effect had been published.
t St. Clement, who was first exiled and afterwards received the
crown of martyrdom.Baronius ad Ann. Ckristi 100.

THE CARBONARI.

43

chiefs are admitted into the order. The notorious

Gaetano Vardarelli himself was a Carbonaro.*
So far is this system carried, that an assassin,
condemned to the chain, is permitted to take his
place in the Vendita of the Castle of St. Elmo,
where he is confined with other galley-slaves, and
the commander of the fort, himself a Carbonaro,
has not dared to exclude him, but is obliged to sit
by his side.
The Carbonari, like the English Puritans during
the Civil Wars, affect great austerity of manners,
and talk of reformation. They cause such Good
* The Revolution at Naples has not diminished this sympathy
for malefactors, although their alliance is no longer of such im
portance as at first. Repeated proposals have been made to set
the least notorious at liberty, in order to form them into armed
companies ; and the legislative assembly has deigned to take these
proposals into consideration.
" All the prisons are filled with convicts," says the famous
address to the national Parliament, drawn up in pursuance of an
order issued by the Alta Vendita, by its Grand Master, Giuliano,
in the month of October, 1820." " There are some among them
whom misery has driven to crime. Rome has more than once
armed her slaves, and Sparta has employed her helots, after having
set them at liberty. Select from these prisoners such as are not
guilty of the worst crimes, and form a free corps of them. They
will enter upon a new course of life, and may be rendered useful
to themselves and to the country, which will at the same time be
freed from a burden."
* Indrizzo al P. N. ( Portamento Kaiionale) presso Pasquali Tezzano, strada
Cistema dell' Olio, No. 26. This address was withdrawn from circulation, and
is now difficult to procure.

44

MEMOIRS OF

Cousins as have- committed excesses to do public

penance in the Vendite. They preach against
games of chance, and it is at their instigation, that
such games have been prohibited. Their oath
contains a clause, by which they are bound to
respect the conjugal honour, and the good name of
the Carbonari. And praiseworthy actions are re
ported at their meetings, and registered.*
It is the office of the magistracy or senate to
watch over the conduct of the citizens of the
Republic. And its satisfaction or displeasure is
signified by such public notices as the following :
" From the Central District ofSalerno, 16th of the
1 1th month, 3d year.
tf The Magistracy exercising the executive power
* For example.Art. 31. of the proceedings of the second
sitting of the grand diet of Salerno, (August 20, 1820.)"The
Good Cousin Gatti, who was seized and wounded on the 21st of
the 9th month (June), by the Good Cousin F. Copeta, renews
the generous act of pardoning him, and invites all the Good
Cousins to follow his example.'' The Grand Diet decides that this
" virtuous act be published, and printed, and communicated to all
the Vendite of the Republic," &c, and in the proceedings of the
4th sitting of this Diet, the same fact is again alluded to. Art.
57. " Tthas been debated, whether the person named Copeta, who
seized and wounded the Good Cousin Gatti, ought, to profit by
the pardon of the latter. It has been determined, that the gene
rosity of Gatti is not sufficient to retain Copeta in the family of
the Carbonari, but only to preserve him from severer punishment ;
and it has therefore been decided to bum his name, i. c. to expel
him from the Society.

THE GARBOXAKI.
of
cilsthe
of Western
the Tribes,
Lucanian
and all Republic,*
the Vendite
to of
thethe
Conrcsaid

Republic,f
" The magistracy has hitherto been well satis
fied with the good conduct of the Carbonari, but
some unpleasant representations have lately been
made. It is said, that private revenge pollutes the
virtue of some Good Cousins ; that discord and
dissension divide our families ; that ambition ha3
shown itself, to the disgrace of the moderation of
our order, delta Carbonica moderazione ; that the
abuse of arms, which are now needless, has in
creased beyond measure, that the public authori
ties are despised, and that the property of the
Commons and the Royal demesnes are invaded.
The magistracy cannot believe that all this can be
true. But if it be so, why, Good Cousins, why
throw discredit on us? Why be our own enemies ?
Why subject ourselves to hatred, instead of se
curing the love of the nation ? Why disgrace a
cause, which has hitherto reflected so much
honour and so much glory on the Carbonari? Let
the Grand Masters therefore be on the watch to
admonish with paternal tenderness, and where
that will not suffice, let the orators be ready to

* The province of Principato citra.

t The tribes are the Pecentina, the Pestana, the Consilina, the
Velinai

46

MEMOIRS OF

bring to trial, and to punishment, such offenders as

shall be found obdurate.
The magistracy has
published an advertisement, and directs that the
same be circulated throughout the Republic.
For some days,Advertisement.
private offences, quarrels, and

vexations have been frequent, and the enemies

of good order would fain attribute them to the
Carbonari. They are certainly not capable of
such conduct, having hitherto given most suffi
cient proofs to the contrary ; but if any Good
Cousin should be guilty of the slightest of these
misdemeanours, let the aggrieved party repair to
the authorities, in full confidence of immediate
redress. He who cannot command his own pas
sions is unworthy of the name of Carbonaro."*
The penal statutes of the Western Lucanian
Republic, to which we have already referred, con
tain some laws on general conduct, an extract
from which may not be uninteresting. They are
* In the month of October, 1820, robbery, accompanied with
violence and housebreaking, had increased to so great a degree at
Naples, that the Minister of Justice, Ricciardi, proposed to the
Parliament to suspend the liberty of the individual, in order to
arrest those suspected of such outrages. As public rumour princi
pally accused the armed Carbonari of these crimes, the provisional
assembly of the order thought it expedient to publish the procla
mation, which forms No. VII. of the Appendix.

THE CAItBONARI.

47

so austere, that no ordinary legislator would have

ventured to impose them. It would have been
almost impossible to enforce a strict observance of
them while the sect was still under the restraint
of absolute secrecy, and, consequently, even the
masters of the Vendite subject to mutual oppo
sition. But the importance of such laws at the
present moment will be easily conceived, when we
find that the most uneducated part of the Neapoli
tan population, that part which has been hitherto
destitute of all moral principle, is united into one
society, without much distinction or inquiry.
Penal Statutes, Sect. 4th.Offences* against
Public Order.
Art. 24. Whoever shall be habitually intimate
with persons degraded in the eyes of the public,
shall be punished by suspension from all partici
pation in the sacred labours, for a period of from
two months to a year.
Art. 25. Whoever gambles for wine, or fre
quents public-houses, or who shall appear often in
public in a state of intoxication, shall be punished
by suspension as above.
Art. 26. Those who break the social tie,
by abandoning their families to want, and
who give themselves to a dissolute life, shall be
* Falli.Act. 2. Preliminary Regulations. " All transgressions
against the law* of the Carbonari are called Falli."

48

ME MO I KS OF

suspended for a period of from six months to two

years.
Art. 27- Those who play at games of chance
among themselves shall undergo the same punish
ment for the same space of time.
Section \Oth.Offences against Honour*
Art. 65. Whoever shall attempt the honour of
females, belonging to Good Cousins, shall be pu
nished by being given up to general execration.
Art. 66. By females belonging to Good Cousins,
are to be understood, 1st, wives, daughters,mothers,
sisters, and all female relations to the second
degree; 2d, females devoted to the exclusive
attachment of Good Cousins are included in this
class ; 3d, female relations in whatsoever degree, re
siding with Good Cousins, are also to be under
stood.
Art. 67. Any attempt at violence subjects the
offender to the punishment of execration.
Art. 6$. Those who do not resist the criminal
invitations of the wives of Good Cousins shall
have their names inserted in the Black Book,
anneramento.
Art. 69. Those who lend themselves to the
faili ngs of their family, whether wives, sisters,
cousins, or persons otherwise related, shall undergo
the same punishment.

THE CARBONARI.

49

Art. 70. Such persons as shall take advan

tage of the weakness of degraded females, shall
be suspended from the society, for a period of from
six months to two years.
Art. 73. Good Cousins who are married are
forbidden to have other attachments, under pain of
being suspended from the society, during a period
of from two to six years.
Art. 74. Those who shall seduce or carry off
the female servants of Good Cousins, for base pur
poses, shall be suspended for a term of from one
to three years.
The same crimes are punished much less se
verely when Pagans and their wives are the plain
tiffs ; the proportion is as one to ten, as we learn
from Articles 71 and 72.* So that it is not mora
lity itself which these Lycurguses have at heart,
but the prevention ofjealousies and division among
the members of the order.
No society, intended by its founders to be so
widely spread, ever sought to detach its members
so completely from the state, by imposing on them
a legislation distinct in its form, and at variance
* Art. 71. Violence offered to the wives of Pagans constitutes
an offence punishable by Anneramento, being inscribed in the black
book.
Art. 72. Those who shall seduce the female relations of respec
table Pagans shall be suspended from the society for a period of
from two to six months.
E

50

MEMOIRS OF

with its laws. It seems as if the progress of the

clergy in the middle ages, and their pretensions to
be independent on temporal tribunals, had served
the Carbonari as a model. The Good Cousins are
strictly forbidden to refer their causes to the ordi
nary judges until they have reported them to one
belonging to the sect.
In the statutes of the
Western Lucanian Republic, the only cases in
which it is allowable to infringe the rule, are laid
down.
The institution of juries is solemnly
adopted by the Carbonari.
Art. 22. " In criminal prosecutions the Carbo
nari of the Western Lucanian Republic have a
right to be heard by counsel, and to know the
cause and nature of the accusations brought against
them. They have also a right to confront wit
nesses, to bring forward evidence in their own
favour, and to demand a speedy and public trial
by means of an impartial jury, without whose ver
dict they cannot be pronounced guilty.
No man
can be deprived of his rights, and the judgment of
his peers, but by the laws of the republic.
Art. 23. " The institution of juries shall be re
sorted to in the investigation of any controversy
whatever that may arise among the Carbonari of
Western Lucania.
Art. 24. " The Carbonari of the Western Lu
canian district have a right to bring forward their
respective complaints, of what nature soever, in

THE CARBONARI.

51

the assemblies of the Carbonari ; but no one may

lodge complaints against his Good Cousin in the
Pagan tribunals, except in the following cases :
1. " When .the complaints have not been at
tended to by the Carbonari.
2. " When, after the sentence of the Order, the
assembly by which it has been passed may have
reasons for permitting a further investigation in a
Pagan court."
It certainly augurs but ill for the new constitu
tional government of Naples, and proves how little
confidence is reposed in it, that the Carbonari not
only continue to follow the same system of judicial
separation, but have lately made some alterations
and additions in their code, which show that they
intend to persevere. The grand diet of Salerno,
for instance, Art. 63, at the meeting of the 3d of
August, 1820, decrees, " That the Grand Diet, in
consequence of the happy change of circumstances,
considers a revision of the present laws of the
order to be indispensable. It therefore appoints a
committee, composed of the Good Cousins Rossi,
Giuseppe Nicola, Caviglia Giacomo, and Farina
Giacinto, to take them into consideration. A de
putation of sixteen deputies, four from each tribe,
shall, for the present, ratify their opinion in the
name of the people; and the laws so reformed
shall be put in force until a further decision of the
Grand Diet of the next year."
e 2

52

MEMOIHS OF

The committee having given in their report, it

was printed in three parts, each of which was
ratified by the Diet under the following titles.

Organization of the Judicial Authority.

" The representatives of the Carbonari of the
Western Lucanian Republic, at a meeting of the
Grand Diet of the year, perceiving the necessity
of establishing a constant system of regulation for
the judicial proceedings of the Order, have sanc
tioned, and do sanction the following act, which
distributes and defines the functions of judicial
power," &c. &c.

Code ofJudicial Proceedings.

" The representatives of the Carbonari, &c. have
sanctioned, and do sanction the following act,
which distributes and fixes the regulations to be
observed by witnesses, juries," &c.
Penal Statutes.
" The representatives of the Carbonari, &c. per
ceiving the necessity of establishing a regular
system of punishment for offences of which the
Carbonari may be guilty, have sanctioned, and do
sanction," &c. &c.

THE CARBONARI.

53

A decree of the Western Lucanian Republic

enacts, that " as the Carbonari of the Republic
must preserve a military attitude until the consti
tutional government is really consolidated, they
are all required to be in arms, to maintain the im
prescriptible rights of the nation, and to ensure the
constitution and Royal family against all hostile
attempts."
Again, Art. 14. " exact registers
should be kept, in which the names of such as
come forward willingly shall be entered as ho
nourable and braveOnorati e prodi /while such
as refuse to march, unless they be lame, or other
wise physically incapable, shall be stigmatized as
without honour, and cowards, senza onore e codardi."
These regulations have enabled the magistracies
of the Carbonari to contribute powerfully to cause
young recruits and soldiers on furlow to join their
different corps, and to prevent desertion in the in
terior.
In the capital the patrols of Carbonari preserve
good order, parading the streets night and day,
headed by constables and agents of police, whom
they have forced to be initiated, in order to be
come worthy of the command ; and they are now
organizing a Carbonaro guard of safety, Guardia di
iicurezza Carbonara, dressed in a particular uni
form, of which we give a specimen. It will be
remarked, that one of the characteristic ornaE 3

54
ments

MEMOIRS OF
is

the

death's head on

the cartouch

box.
It is evident, that the troops acting from
this impulse, though its direction is, for the mo
ment, in favour of government, are too little under
its controtil, not to be able to turn against it so
soon as the Vendite, which are in fact political
debating clubs, shall receive orders from their su
periors to that effect. The truth is, that the execu
tive power of the state is in their hands ; and it
rests with them alone to disband the regular troops,
the soldiers of which, being Carbonari, do not
obey their officers from any principle of military
discipline, but solely because it is the will of the
society.
The number of Carbonari has increased with
astonishing rapidity. They amounted to from twen
ty-four to thirty thousand from the very beginning
of their establishment. The whole population of
some towns in the Abruzzi and the Calabrias en
listed themselves. Lanciano, for instance, though
an inconsiderable place, had 1200 men armed in
1814.
Admission to the first rank of Carbonarism is
easily obtained ; and whoever objects to going
through the ceremony in the grand assembly, may
perform it before three grand masters in private.
As nothing was trusted to the apprentices, nothing
was risked by multiplying them. The main ob
ject was to secure a number of satellites, ready to

' '.V.Kn OF THE CARBONAK(\ I.K'ilOi;

Annnfon MM/Attffr' 'Murray UMrntar/t, Cf ///>'/&/ i .

THE CARBONAHI.

55

obey invisible superiors, and directions which they

cannot understand.
The magistrates, as well as the civil and military
officers, have been often obliged to become mem
bers of the society, in order to preserve some
shadow of their authority. But the lower-clergy
enrolled themselves of their own free will ; and
seconded the views of the institution by every
means in their power. The number of priests
initiated, notwithstanding the severest prohibitions
pronounced by the Holy See, is a proof that the
Roman hierarchy, like all other ancient institu
tions, is in danger from its own members. The
lower clergy form the democratic and revolution
ary part of the society ; immense numbers of them
have taken part openly in the late troubles ; among
Avhom Menechini at Nola, and Guida at Salerno,
have distinguished themselves. Thirty priests are
named in the official reports concerning the in
surgents at Benevento; some monks were the
first to exasperate the populace of Palermo against
the Neapolitan troops ; and the Jesuits first insti
gated the declaration of Sicilian independence at
Girgenti.
The greater number of those priests
who, after the temporary abandonment of their
convents, caused by the events of the French Re
volution, had been forced to re-assume the religious
habit either by their own wants, or by the orders
of their superiors, felt nothing but the privations
k 4

56

MEMOIRS OF

and restraints to which they had ceased to be ac

customed within the walls of the cloister; and
they were no longer consoled for these privations
by the veneration with which they had formerly
been regarded without its precincts. Many of the
curates and poor priests sigh for promotion by
seniority, as it is regulated in the army, and look
upon young prelates of rank, as the soldiers and
officers of Bonaparte do upon the noblemen placed
at the head of their companies without having
served in the campaigns. They maintain that the
Pope and the bishops are the usurpers of their
rights ; that the primitive church had opened the
priesthood to all without respect of persons ; and
they hold themselves beyond the reach of the
anathemas thundered against the Carbonari, be
cause they are pronounced by the holy Father,
who is a party as well as judge in the cause.
The lower priests at Naples contend that the
laws of the kingdom ratify the edicts of the Pope
only when accompanied by the " Exequatur" of
the king, which was never added to the edict con
demning the Carbonari. They therefore replied
by a remonstrance to Pope Pius VII. which will
be found in the Appendix.* And the magistracy
of the sect at Salerno issued a public notice, that
" *the
Appendix,
magistracy
No. V. being
The remonstrance
informed itthat
datedsome
20th Septem
super-

ber, 1820.

THE CARBONARI.

57

stitious fanatics, in order to discourage the Good

Cousins, and to prevent the increase of their
numbers, are circulating old bulls of excommuni
cation and other follies, inezie, disgraceful to an
enlightened age, declare that these things should be
regarded with contempt ; and especially as these
bulls are the wicked fabrication of a party hostile
to the country. It is, nevertheless, necessary to
keep an eye upon such fanatics ; and towards
them the vigilance recommended in our 2d Article
shall be directed. Salerno, 19th August, 1820."
The notions of the clergy are chargeable with
the same confusion and error as apply to the
general arguments on political equality.
But
when the foundation of an edifice gives way, all
its angles appear distorted.
The secret societies at Naples had become a re
fuge for the timid during the fearful revolutions
of that city.
The governments which had so
quickly succeeded each other inspired no confi
dence. Hence the unprotected were glad to unite
themselves closely, in hopes of some support in
the vicissitudes with which they were threatened.
The more enterprising rejoiced at finding them
selves exalted into judges on the great questions
of the nation ; they imagined themselves the de
fenders of the injured and oppressed. The secrecy
and dissimulation required, cost nothing to the in

58

MEMOIRS OF

habitants of the south, among whom they have

become habitual. With them passive courage is
highly valued ; and whosoever is not a traitor by
nature, seldom becomes so from fear of punishment
or torments. In the autumn of 1819, one Gaetano
Illuminati of Ferrara was arrested at Rome. The
proofs against him were so strong, that he at
tempted only a momentary denial of his attendance
at some illegal meetings, and was obliged to con
fess that his letters, which had been intercepted
by the police, were sufficient to condemn him.
Yet he peremptorily refused to name his accom
plices, and declared that, to avoid useless impor
tunities, he would starve himself to death. Ac
cordingly, he persevered for twelve days in refus
ing to swallow the slightest nourishment, or to lie
down to rest on his bed. The physicians of the
prison, who visited him daily, perceived that he
was dying ; and he was at length only induced to
renounce his purpose, by awakening his feelings
of tenderness for his mistress and children, and by
the promise of asking him no further questions as
to his associates.
We must now return to the political history of
the Carbonari during the reign of Murat. The
suspicions of that sovereign were excited against
them at an early period ; and he began to hate
and to persecute them. The anonymous author

THE CARBONARI.

59

of a violent pamphlet against the minister Zurlo,*

addressed to the Carbonari, ascribes the persecu
tion to him. The following is his account of his
proceedings; for the truth of which we cannot
pledge ourselves :
" No sooner," says the writer, " was Zurlo
created counsellor of state, than Joseph Bonaparte
employed him to draw up a constitution, in which
the only article favourable to the nation, relates to
the expulsion of foreigners from the offices of go
vernment. This project Joseph never carried into
effect. Afterwards, during a popular commotion,
Murat attempted to conciliate the nation by order
ing the election of representatives according to the
singular method proposed in that constitution.
" By Zurlo's management, a chief of division
belonging to Saliceti's police was among the first
members elected. The minister turned a deaf ear
to the remonstrances of the provinces. He multi
plied the officers of the Civil Administration, of the
University, and of the Benevolent Institution. He
lent his assistance towards the abolition of feudal
rights, as he had done in 1799 towards the sup
pression of the " Sedili" of Naples, only to in
crease the arbitrary power of the monarch.

* Notizie sulla Condotta politica di Giuseppe Zurlo, tcrza cdizione correttissiuia.

MEMOIHS OF
" Tlie * offensive nature of these proceeding
government was perceived by many, and felt
all. The feeling of opposition it excited, g
rise to the associations of the Carbonari, whose
ject
stitution
was tofrom
displace
the the
government.
ministers, and
The
force
spirit
ac

Murat and of his ministers was too well known

its despotic effects ; it was therefore resolved
have recourse to the grand project of disorganis
the
dinand,
army,ininthe
order
hope
to of
assist
obtaining
in recalling
a constitutic
King ]

government from him ; especially as much <

expected at Naples, from the known virtues of
hereditary Prince; a confidence justified by
result.
" Zurlo now perceived the danger of being
posed. He advised Murat to declare all the
diers who were Carbonari infamous. The orde
the day to that effect was read at head-quar
towards the end of 1813. But the societies
creased notwithstanding. The universal desire
a constitution manifested itself even among
magistrates, and in the council of state. Seri
disturbances took place in Calabria Citra.
Abruzzi followed the example on the report t
the intermediate provinces had raised the stand
of the constitution. At that moment Joachim !
* P. 14. of the same pamphlet.

THE CARBONARI.
at Bologna:

01

the only minister with him was

Zurlo, minister of the interior, and of the southern

Italian departments. It was he who issued the
fatal decree of April 4th, 1814, in consequence of
which so much blood was shed among the consti
tutionalists by the ambitious Nolli in the Abruzzi,
and by the ferocious Manhes in the Calabrias.
" The affairs of King Joachim began to decline
after this period. Every one knows the event ;
but every one does not know that fear induced
him to suspend those bloody executions, and to fill
the prisons with Carbonari, in order to massacre
them at leisure. They were indebted to the re
turn of King Ferdinand for their deliverance. A
very short time before the arrival of that monarch,
who was recalled by the suffrages of the constitu
tionalists, the greater number of whom were Car
bonari, Zurlo formed an absurd plan for diverting
the public feeling, as follows :
" In order to save the credit of the decrees
against Carbonarism, and at the same time to
change its object, Joachim was pleased to alter its
form or name. Carbonarism was metamorphosed
into agriculture; the Vendita became Pagliaja,
straw
bandmen.
hut, Murat
and the
created
Goodhimself
Cousins,
grand
Coloni,
master
hus
of\
the order. Zurlo and his friends were the chief
agents in this enterprize. Printed proclamations
were circulated by thousands in the provinces, but

63

MEMOIRS OF

ineffectually : for an order, of which the sovereign

was grand master, his prime minister the second
in rank, and his agents of police the subaltern
officers, was immediately recognized as an associa
tion in favour of despotism, and not of the consti
tution."
Meantime, while such were the measures adopted
by Murat or his minister, the religious feeling
which had been diffused throughout the sect, the
agents of King Ferdinand who had introduced
themselves into it, and the arming of troops under
some of the heads of the Order, who had set up
the standard of the good cause, gave rise to a
suspicion, that the Pope protected the Carbonari,
which a supposititious brief adroitly distributed in
manuscript confirmed.
Murat was so fully convinced of its truth, that
one of the first requests he made to Pius VII.,
when he met him at Bologna on his return from
France, 1814, was, that he would recall the Bull
issued in favour of the Carbonari. His Holiness
assured him, that he had not published the paper
in question ; and to the further request of Joachim,
that he would pronounce a public condemnation of
the Carbonari, he replied, that the Bulls of his
predecessors were sufficient for the purpose.
However, he was no sooner arrived at Rome, than
an edict against the free-masons and secret socie

THE CARBONARI.

63

ties appeared, signed by Cardinal Pacca, Pro-Secre

tary of State*
To give an idea of the variety of opinions con
cerning the Carbonari, entertained not only in the
other countries of Europe, but in Naples itself,
we shall present the reader with some extracts
from a work on the subject published by Count
Orloff, who ascribes the origin of the sect to
Queen Caroline of Austria.! To these extracts,
we will subjoin a few explanatory notes, but it is
impossible to reconcile the different views of the
opposite parties, one of which considered the Car
bonari, as Jacobins and Republicans, and the
other as the supporters of the legitimate sove
reignty of the Two Sicilies.
Extract I."In 1812," says the Count, " the
emissaries of Queen Caroline of Austria laid the
foundations of an association, known by the name
ofCarbonari. This sect spread itself rapidly through
* For the Edict dated loth August, 1814, see the Appendix
No. IV.
t Memoires sur le Royaume de Naplesour first extract is from
VoL II., p. 284.
A wretched pamphlet, entitled " Breve idea della carboneria,
sua origine nel regno di Napoli, suo scopo, sua persecuzionc, e causa
tiefe nasccre la sctta de' Calderari. Dal dottore in legge Pasquale
TonelliNapoli 1820, presso Pasq. Tizano, Strada Cistema
dell'iJioNo. 26" repeats very nearly, but without giving its
authority, some of the assertions of the Comte d'Orloft' respecting
the two sects.

64

MEMOIRS OF

the Calabrias and Abruzzi, and thence throughout

the kingdom, so that it is now believed to consist
of upwards of two hundred thousand members. The
original object of the association was to seize all
opportunities of attacking and subverting the au
thority of Murat."
(Note.) On examining the correspondence
of Salvatore Bruni, in the first report of Saliceti,
Minister of General Police, " on the conspiracy
planned in the year 1807, against the French
army in the kingdom of Naples, and against the
person and states of H. M. Joseph Napoleon,"*
the traces of a secret society are plainly discern
ible, and it is by that title, that Bruni designates
his confederates. The emblems engraved on his
passports and patents, the corresponding deco
rations, viz. heads and orange trees, which he
earnestly recommends should be placed on the
pedestals, on which the figures of the twelve
quarters of Naples were to be exhibited, the incen
diary proclamations in the name of Jupiter Thunderer,f are all so many marks of a secret associ
ation, as well as the letter}; addressed by Queen
Caroline, and dated Palermo, 10th May, 1807,
to the society of Colonel Palmieri, Alia Societa
* Drawn up and printed in July, 1807.
f Giovc Fulminantethe name of one of the lodges of the
Decisi.
t Documents, No. IV. of theReporf.

THE CARBONARf.

65

del Colonello Palmieri. But all this is no proof that

that secret society was that of the Carbonari.
Extract II. " The revolution which Lord Wil
liam Bentinck had effected in Sicily, where the
English were possessed of the supreme authority,
under the very eyes of the Court of Naples,
having obliged the Queen to retire from public
business, the Carbonari remained in a manner de
serted, and without a rallying point. It was then
that men of character and fortune perceived with
terror, that these bands, composed in part of fero
cious wretches already notorious by the excesses
committed by them in 1799, menaced the public
peace with the most cruel disasters, the effect of
which it was not difficult to foresee. To avert
these evils, and obtain such an influence as should
enable them to direct the principles and move
ments of the society, they entered it themselves:
nine of them, under the name of Capi di Vendite,
were put at the head of the Vendite, or Baracche,
names by which the various detached meetings of
the order were designated. Thus organised, the
society or sect united in its body men of all par
tiesRepublicans, Constitutionalists, friends . of
Murat, and partisans of the Bourbons, and it is to
the heterogeneous sentiments which then animated
it, In
that1813,
its subsequent
during divisions
the campaign
are to beofattributed.
Saxony,
Queen Caroline Murat, who was Regent in the
v

66

MEMOIRS OF

absence of her husband, considered the Carbonari

as a sect which could not be tolerated without
compromising the stability of the then established
government
She therefore began the perse
cutions against them, which her husband followed
up on his return to Naples after the battle of
Leipzig, and it was probably this impolitic
measure, which rendered his government so un
popular during the last year of his reign.
" It was about this time, that the division of the
sect took place. The number of the initiated had
increased beyond calculation. Its leaders, aware of
the difficulty of directing the movements of so great
a multitude, conceived the plan of a reform, and
executed it with secrecy and promptitude. The
members who were retained, continued to bear the
name of Carbonari, while those who were expelled
took that of Calderari,* and an implacable hatred
arose between the rival sects. Commotions followed,
and the public tranquillity was often endangered
by their disputes. Murat, alarmed, wavered for
some time between the two parties, and at last
determined on supporting the Carbonari who
were most numerous. But it was too late. The
intentions of the Congress at Vienna were known
or suspected, and the people were unwilling to
exert themselves in support of a man, whose fall
seemed inevitable. Murat, despised by the Car* Braziersfrom Caldaro, a kettle.

THE CARBONARL

67

bonari, and hated by the Calderari, perceived his

throne totter, without a single effort of any party
in his favour."
(Note.) The assertion that men of character
and fortune were placed at the head of the lodges,
in order to oppose the ferocious bands of 1799, is
not conformable with truth. Such persons have
never been members. Neither did the Carbonari
remain in inaction towards the period of Murat's
fall, as the expression, " without a single effort of
any party in his favour" seems to imply. But their
efforts were hostile to Joachim, for they contributed
to the dissolution of his army, and caused his
precipitate retreat after the battle of Tolentino,
by exciting disobedience and desertion. Whole
battalions yielded to patriotic invitations so agree
able to their taste.
The society sent deputies into Sicily to offer the
kingdom as a gratuitous gift to the Monarch.
The Chevalier de' Medici treated with them. They
demanded some concessions, which, as they assert
ed, had been promised to them, and a formal con
firmation of their institution.
The sanction they pleaded for was refused, as
well as the reduction of the taxes, and the estab
lishment of constitutional privileges. They were
simply told, that those to whom they applied were
ignorant of the existence of such privileges : and
f 2

68

MEMOIRS OF

it was recommended to them not to be too impor

tunate.
Extract III. "The Chevalier de' Medici, to
whom, in the interim, the portfolio of Police was en
trusted, seemed, on the King's restoration, to attach
little importance to these internal divisions. En
tirely occupied by the momentous care of the
finances, he regarded both sects with indifference.
The Carbonari attributed his inaction to fear, the
Calderari augured from it, protection to themselvesThe latter had witnessed the restoration with plea
sure. It visited their wrongs on the head of their
oppressor. The Carbonari, on the contrary, appre
hensive of future persecutions which might give
their rivals the advantage over them, took precau
tions for their safety. They drew the bonds of their
union closer, and renewed their oaths of mutual and
eternal assistance and defence. " Such was the
state of the two sects at the moment when the
Prince of Canosa became Minister of Police, in
December, 1813- He adopted a different conduct
from that of his predecessor with regard to the
two mysterious associations. Persuaded that the
Carbonari, who had been protected by Murat,
during the last months of his reign, were irrecon
cilable enemies of King Ferdinand, he formed a
plan of attack against them, whose success would
have involved the subversion of the social order."

THE CARBONARI.

'69

(Note.)General Nunziante, the military com

mandant of the Calabrias, received a secret com
mission in 1816, to take information as to the
number of sectaries in those provinces, in order to
their suppression. He succeeded in corrupting
one of the members ; but a short time afterwards,
the body of the informer was discovered, covered
with wounds, and with a paper attached to it,
addressed to the General, exhorting him to relin
quish his enterprize, unless he wished to share the
fate of the traitor.
This man had been con
demned to death in the presence of his own
brother, who had no possible means of saving him,
or warning him of his fate.
It was on this occasion, that Nunziante sent
information to Naples, that the means at his dis
posal were wholly inadequate to contend with the
Carbonari, whose number in the Calabrias he
estimated at fifty or sixty thousand.
Other instances of assassination of this kind
have always been concealed, or at least they have
been. little noticed by the public; either because
the Government has been afraid of exposing its
weakness, while its agents trembled lest they
should draw upon themselves the hatred of the
sect; or because those who fell beneath the
poignard were obscure or unknown individuals.
Extract IV. " Canosa began his operations by
drawing up a list of all the brigands, who had
fS

70

MEMOIRS OF

played a part in the sanguinary scenes of 1799,

and embodied them in a new society, of which he
himself became the chief, and to which he gave
the name of Calderari del Contrapeso.
He in
vited all the old Calderari to join his association,
on account of their enmity to the Carbonari. He
required the initiated to take an oath, whose prin
cipal articles were, passive obedience to his orders,
and an engagement to exterminate, by every
possible means, the Carbonari and the Freemason."
The following is the
Oath of the Calderari.
" I, N. N. promise and swear upon the Trinity,
as supreme director of the universe, upon this cross,
and upon this steel,* the avenging instrument of
the perjuredto live and die in the Roman
Catholic and Apostolic faith, and to defend with
my blood this religion, and the society of True
Friendship, the Calderari, to which I am about to
belong. I swear never to offend, in honour, lifie,
or property, the children of True Friendship; I
promise and swear to all the Knights, true friends,
all possible succour that shall depend on me. I
swear to initiate no person into the Society before
* The Sikhs, a warlike nation of India, swear by the steel. A
Highlander, to this day, considers no oath so binding as that by
the point of his dirk or knife. T.

THE CARBONARI.

71

I arrive at the 4th rank. I swear eternal hatred

to all Masonry, and to its atrocious protectors ;
as well as to all Jansenists, Materialists,* Econo,
mists, and Illuminati. I swear, as I value my lifenever to admit any of them into the Society of
Friendship.
Lastly, I swear, that if, through
wickedness or levity, I suffer myself to be per
jured, I submit to the loss of life as the punish
ment of my error, and then to be burnt : and
may my ashes, scattered to the wind, serve as an
example to the children of Friendship throughout
the whole world. And so help me God, for the
happiness of my soul, and the repose of my con
science."
(Note.)The Minerva Napolitanaf does not ac
cuse the Prince of Canosa of the institution of the
Calderari. A Bishop of the kingdom of Naples,
says that work, whom it is unnecessary to name,
formed a plan, or it was suggested to him at
Rome, where he had taken refuge as hostile to
the French government, of setting up a sect in
opposition to the Carbonari, then erroneously
looked upon as friendly to that government; on
his return to Naples, and on being reinstated in
his episcopal see, he assembled a number of per
sons of the middle and lower classes, and gave
them the name of Calderari, or Braziers, in order
* Materialists, perhaps, should be read Molinists.
t No. 7, p. 314.
r 4

72

MEMOIRS OV

to resist the Carbonari, as kettles resist coals, which

are exhausted by burning under them !
Extract V." The new sect was divided into
Curia;.
A central Curia in each province was
directed to keep up a correspondence with all the
others in its division. The minister took measures
for ensuring a rapid and secret communication.
He recommended to the chiefs to make proselytes,
and distributed among them twenty thousand
muskets, which he had procured from the Govern
ment arsenals, or purchased from private individuals.
This extraordinary scheme was drawing towards
its execution, and had already spread terror
throughout the provinces, when the King, having
received information of what one of his ministers
had dared to attempt without his knowledge,
and having learned the true character of Canosa,
deprived him of his office and banished him.
Thus terminated a plot which would have
occasioned fresh miseries, and new scenes of blood;
and which, although it produced no immediate
result, has not been without consequences, alarm
ing even at the moment in which we are writing,
(1818).
In fact, the Carbonari, the sect opposed to the
Calderari, have increased, and are still increasing
in the kingdom. The two Societies are constantly
and jealously watching each other ; the slightest
spark would suffice to produce an explosion, and

THE CARBON'AUI.

73

amidst the havoc it would produce, some dexterous

and daring votary of ambition would inevitably
arise, to the eminent danger of the Government."
(Note.)The Prince of Canosa left the ministry
on the 27th June, 1816, after he had been in office
about six months. A fanatical priest, whom he
protected, namely the Padre Cotillo, had pre
dicted that, on that day, venemous serpents would
issue from the earth, and fire descend from Heaven,
to exterminate the Neapolitans.
The populace
was terrified. The 27th of June was expected
by the Lazzaroni with inexpressible anxiety. But
the day proved perfectly fair ; not a single cloud
obscured the sun, and tranquillity was restored.
Three months after the exile of Canosa, the
Official Gazette of the two Sicilies contained the
following article :" Since the publication of the
Act by which His Majesty proscribed all Secret
Societies, some individuals, the greater number of
whom are of the lowest condition, and who had
formerly displayed devotion to the King, and
attachment to the Good Cause, have been in the
habit of meeting in the secret conventicles, combriccole, of the Society called Calderari : His
Majesty has directed them to be arrested and given
up to justice."
Canosa retired into Tuscany.
His confidant,
the Abbate Latini, was banished to Ponza.
This

74

MEMOIRS OF

intriguing person, -who had for some time been

pensioned by England, was now accused not only
of having betrayed the correspondence of Queen
Caroline of Austria, whose private secretary he
was, to Lord William Bentinck, but also of having
forged several letters, which it was pretended she
had written to Bonaparte and his agents. Latini
died at Leghorn in 1819.
We have given above some traits of the cha
racter of Maghella, whom public opinion points
out as the person who first gave influence to the
Carbonari. And in addition to the anecdotes of
Canosa, who has been always considered as the
friend of the Calderari, contained in the extracts
we have already made from Count OrlofFs work,
we shall present the same writer's more elaborate
character of that minister.
It is worthy of remark, that both Maghella and
Canosa were ministers of police ; and that, having
both obstinately followed their own private views,
they but ill served the cause of their sovereigns.
Never' has political police been so much em
ployed as in the present age, and never was it
before imagined so necessary to the preservation
of thrones.
Never, on the other hand, has it proved so
impotent in checking, or so dangerous in exciting,
conspiracy and rebellion.

THE CARUONARI.

75

Extract VI.Of Canosa, Count Orloff says :*

" The Prince Canosa, called to the ministry of the
police, no sooner became possessed of a power
which may become as dangerous as it is useful,
conceived the fatal project of abandoning the
system of moderation which had been so prudently
adopted. He granted to the lowest class of people
the right of carrying arms, which had before been
severely prohibited.
In fact, he armed men,
thirsting for blood, who were always ready to
enrich themselves with the spoils of the more
civilized.
But he looked upon the latter as
enemies, because they professed sentiments differ
ent from his own.
A party man himself, he
protected parties. Bands of brigands organized
themselves, and overran the country in arras,
giving out that they were the agents of the
minister of police, and under his especial pro
tection. The troubles produced by the revolution,
and the changes in the government, had esta
blished in the kingdom parties divided amongst
themselves, and which, notwithstanding the re
turn of the legitimate monarch, still subsist ; and
are preparing perhaps new sources of distress for
this country, which for so many centuries has.
scarcely ceased to be cruelly agitated,"
The information Count Orloff's book had given
* Mumoircs sur le Royaume de Naples, p. 283.

76

MEMOIRS OF

concerning the Carbonari, had been received with

avidity, and reappeared with more or less variation
in the public journals, and more particularly in
the Literary Gazette of London. At length the
Prince of Canosa took up the pen himself, to
answer it in a work, entitled / Piffari di Montagna, ossia Cenno estemporaneo di un Cittadino
imparziale, sulla Congiura del Principe di Canosa,
e sopra i Carbonari ; Epistola critica diretta all'
Estensore del Foglio Litterario di Londra, Dublino,
nel Maggio, 1820, pp. 118.
The Mountain
Pipes; or, an Extempore Essay, by an Impartial
Citizen, on the Conspiracy of the Prince of Canosa,
and of the Carbonari : a Critical Epistle addressed
to the Editor of the London Literary Gazette:
Dublin, May, 1820, pp. 118.
Although this publication is anonymous, the
style and manner leave no doubt as to the author,
in the minds of those acquainted with his. former
compositions.
He attempts to prove that he had neither the
pecuniary means, nor the intention of distributing
20,000 muskets among the Calderari.
Besides,
the great numbers of the Carbonari, which existed
at the very time he entered into office as head of
the police, made him sufficiently conscious of the
impossibility of destroying them by such expe
dients.
He defends himself against the accusations of

THE CARBONARI.

77

cruelty and blood-thirstiness, by retracing his

political life, during the whole course of which,
he had never been sanguinary or vindictive. He
ingenuously confesses the serious fault he had
committed, while minister, in surrounding himself
by subalterns, whom he himself denounces as
stupid and corrupt; and excuses himself on ac
count of the length of time during which he had
been absent from his native country.
He refutes the assertion that the emissaries of
Queen Caroline of Austria did, in the year 1813,
found the Society of Carbonari, for the purpose
of overturning the power of Murat ; because, at
the period in question, that princess was, in a
manner, imprisoned in the country, without money,
without power, and narrowly watched by Lord
William Bentinck.
He seems himself uncertain whether the sect
be of French or of Italian origin; agreeing, how
ever, with many persons at Naples, who assert
that a French officer was the first who, in 1810,
introduced its mysteries at Capua, the Society
having been proscribed in his own country. It
met at first with little encouragement, and for a
long time the number of the initiated did not
exceed seventy-five ; but at length its real apostles
appeared under the forms of the conscription,
the droits reunis, and the free quartering of the
military.

78

MEMOIRS OF

The Carbonari, kept under by an active system

of police, only began to put their doctrines in
practice when the French Empire had ceased to
exist, and the power of Murat began to totter.
They then imagined that the latter was intimi
dated, and on the point of yielding : but they were
mistaken; for he instituted judicial proceedings
against them, and caused some of them to be
executed. At length (1815) the foundation of
Joachim's throne being entirely sapped, and the
Austrian army on the advance towards Naples,
they chose that moment for revenge, and also to
acquire a claim on the gratitude of King Ferdi
nand, by joining him, and by preventing a renewal
of the popular massacres of 1799, which seemed to
threaten the partisans of the French.
On this occasion, the Carbonari made a momen
tary junction with the Calderari, who were not
enemies to monarchy in general, but only to the
French usurpation. But the two factions neither
had a common origin, nor did they ever profess
the same principles. Many of the Calderari had,
in fact, been associated with those who acted a
part in the horrors of 1799; and the Prince of
Canosa had nothing to do with those massacres.
The name of Calderari, as he assures us, was
first adopted in Palermo, not at Naples. In the
former of these towns, there existed different
companies of trades (Maestranze), which had en

THE CARBONARI.

79

joyed great privileges until they lost them by the

constitution of Lord William Bentinck. The nu
merous company of Calderari (Braziers) felt the
loss most keenly : they sent a deputation of their
chief members to the Queen, to assure her that
they were ready to rise and assert the injured rights
of the crown. The flames of insurrection were
communicated to the tanners, to the other com
panies, and to the majority of the people, and of
the Neapolitan emigrants in Sicily.
Lord William Bentinck, aware of what was
passing, put the Neapolitan emigrants on board
ship, and sent them under a neutral flag to Naples,
where Murat received them with a magnanimity
scarcely to be expected from an enemy.
For this they were not grateful.
They had
hardly landed before they entered into the secret
societies then conspiring against the French go
vernment ; and their original name of Calderari
was communicated by them to the conspirators,
with whom they united themselves by new oaths
at Naples.
An event which had recently happened in that
city gave a sort of fashion to the epithet of Calderaro : this was the blowing up of
Saliceti by night, by one Domenico,
trade. The Prince of Canosa was
being the instigator of this crime;
search was commenced, in order to

the house of
a brazier by
suspected of
and a strict
discover the

>

80

MEMOIRS OF

perpetrators. Several unfortunate wretches were

executed on the strength of false evidence, forced
out by torture, or procured by bribery. After
their death an accident brought the real author
and executor of the explosion to light. The whole
was discovered through the simplicity of one of
the private nuns,* named Theresa the dyer, (Te
resa la tintora,) the aunt of the brazier. Even
the model of the infernal machine was obtained :
Domenico had escaped in time, and they could
not arrest him in Sicily.
The name of Calderari of the Counterpoise (Calderari di Contrapeso), professing to be the creation
of Canosa, is derived from a circumstance which
the author of the Piffari di Montagna reveals to us.
The existence of the Trinitarii (for so these
sectaries entitled themselves before they were
called Calderari) was better known to the Minister
of Police, Canosa, than to his colleagues. He had
been but a few days in office when there was a
discussion in council on the secret societies which
infested the provinces, even more than the capital.
Two of the ministers addressed the Prince of Ca
nosa seriously, and exhorted him to employ all his
means against the Calderari, the atrocious remnant
of 1799- The Minister of Police answered, that
* Monaco di Casa : they wear the religious habit, and observe
certain rules at home, without forming themselves into communi
ties, and without being subject to monastic confinement.

THE CARBONAtU.

81

the real objects of all these secret societies were

the same, to enrich themselves at the expense of
their neighbours, and to encroach upon the go
vernment, in order to usurp its power ; that hap
pily all these sects were at variance ; that it
was necessary to foment their mutual hatred as
much as possible ; that as the sect of Calderari
was less strong and powerful than that of the Car
bonari, it was politic to protect and favour the
former, in order to counterbalance the latter, and
to make use of them as agents and spies for the
police against their rivals : and this was the more
eligible, as the Trinitarii, or Calderari, took an
oath to defend legitimate monarchy, while, on the
contrary, the Carbonari took an oath to destroy it.
" In reasoning thus, the Prince of Canosa fre
quently employed the expression counterpoise, ex
pecting that Calderarism would serve him as a>
counterpoise to Carbonarism ; and, notwithstand
ing the rule, that nothing said in council is to , be
revealed, his speech transpired, and gave rise to
the reports concerning the institution, or the re
form, of the Calderari del Contrapeso."
to
many
that
their
Canosa
These
theitsource,
accusations.
course
ispossess
notices
fairand
of
toaevents
attend
double
the
from
Itother
is,
at
the
to
interest,
Naples.
however,
his
work
from
justification
one
the
of time
the
consideratlotl
derived
Prince
toafter
return
from
of
so

82

MEMOIRS OF
In 1817 the Capitanata began to alarm the

government, as well as the provinces of Lecce,

Uari, and Avellino : the inhabitants were pos
sessed of a number of small printing machines,
and made use of them to multiply manifestos,
which they distributed in all directions. In these
they demanded a constitution from the King, and
excited the people to withhold the payment of the
taxes in case of a refusal. Three proclamations of
this kind, various in their expressions and tone,
followed each other within a short period. The
first was couched in the language of entreaty.
The second reminded the King that " he had pro
mised a constitution to his people," and advised
him to keep his royal word. The third reproached
him with delay. The people, it said, have too
long descended to entreaties, to obtain what was
due to the nation ; and it intimated that they
would no longer pay the taxes unless they obtain
ed their constitution. The land-tax gatherers were
threatened with death.
The ministry immediately despatched the Com
missioner Intonti to Foggia, the chief town of
the Capitanata. Intonti had been Attorney-general
there, and was acquainted with several members
of the different sects.
He was entrusted with
unlimited authority, and empowered to inflict
summary justice, or rather injustice, by executing
suspected persons, without trial.
He preferred

THE CARBONA11T.

83

milder measures ; and did not even signify to the

authorities of the place the extent of his commis
sion. On his arrival he summoned the most vio
lent to his presence, and represented to them that
it was impossible for the government to yield to
their demands for a constitution, as neither the
Emperor of Austria, whose troops were either still
within the kingdom, or, at most, had only just
passed the frontier, nor the other allied powers,
would consent to such a measure.
Thus, for a time, tranquillity was preserved by
persuasive measures ; and the operations of the
Carbonari were suspended.
But the Capitanata
was one of the foremost of the provinces in setting
up the standard of the revolution.
The first number of the Amico della Constituzione, drawn up by General Colletta, giving an
account of the proceedings at Naples, from the 2d
to the 6th of July, 1820, contains the following
passage :
" The society of Carbonari was the focus of dis
content, not because it propagated sentiments ini
mical to government, but because those whose
opinions were hostile to government became sec
taries. Whoever therefore is curious to trace the
progress of public disaffection has only to consult
the progressive registers of Carbonarism.
The
number of Carbonari enrolled during the month of
March in the present year amounted to 642,000."
g 2

84

MEMOIRS OF

Not satisfied with this multitude, the Carbonari

recruit daily throughout the kingdom, as well as
in Naples itself, where there are upwards of three
hundred and forty lodges. The Capri line of battle
ship alone contains three. They seek to make
proselytes among the lower orders, particularly
among servants, and the Lazzaroni and fishermen,
whom they dread. Article 13th of the proceed
ings of the Grand Diet of Salerno expresses openly
the opinion of the meeting as to the importance of
facilitating the reception of candidates, and of re
laxing the severity of the scrutiny.
Art. 13. " Good Cousins, Dignitaries! The
magistracy earnestly exhorts you to second the
wish of the Grand Diet, expressed in Art. 78.
Let us augment our strength ; let us be cautious
how we exclude ; let us again examine those who
had been rejected in more suspicious times ; let us
exercise less rigour in admitting members. Let
us refuse such only as are really unworthy and irre
claimable ; those, for instance, guilty of defama
tion, qualified robbers,* and men without honour.
Let us overlook corrigible faults ; they will be cor
rected in our Baracche. Let us not reject those
who have hitherto entertained opinions at variance
Perhaps the Assassini Pensionati persons who, having been
long in prison, are released with a pension, to take from them the
temptation of stealing. This is much practised at Rome, but with
little good effect. T.

THE CARBONARI.

85

with our own. They were then ignorant of the

sanctity of our principles ; if they be now alive to
it, why refuse them the light ? We pray you let
us forswear all revenge, party-spirit, and faction.
Let us endeavour, in short, to be a true people by
uniting the whole nation with us, in order to be in
a state to resist any foreign invasion whatsoever.
Art. 14. " Nevertheless, the magistracy, while
it recommends indulgence in receiving members,
proposes a certain means of assuring ourselves of
those who enter our order. They must sign the
oath ; and this solemn act will be sent hither to be
laid up in our archives. Such as cannot write must
make the sign of the Cross in the presence of three
witnesses, who must add their signature.
This
document will over-awe those who may wish to
betray us."
This admonition not having produced all the
effect desired, the magistracy adds, in the official
journal of the republic :* " We are sorry to be
obliged to express the most decided disapprobation
as to the number of black balled candidates, (anneramenti,) announced by the last courier, there
being no less than thirty in a single Vendita.
Where will such a spirit of exclusion lead us, my
Good Cousins? Supposing that 200 Vendite were
to black-ball as many, not in a day or in a month,
* August 19, 1820. Art. 2.
G 3

86

MEM01KS OF

but in a year, we should not only lose six thousand

faggots for our furnaces,* but we should create an
army of 6000 enemies, without reckoning their
friends and adherents. Our force would be but as
one to a hundred ; and, in the end, we should be
reduced to a petty faction, unable to stand our
ground against so many, who, in the event of a
sinister result, not being of our body, would fall
upon us. What absurd policy is this ! What im
prudence under circumstances not only not secure,
but even dangerous ! The magistracy therefore
again earnestly recommends attention to the 13th
Article of this Journal."
The legislative statutes of the Carbonari of the
Western Lucanian Republic of 1818, section 5th,
Art. 80, settle the following proportions between
the population and the Vendite, whose effective
members then consisted of the small landholders
of the provinces, upon whom the land-tax weighed
heaviest, and of the lower ranks of civil and mili
tary officers.
" In every district, Ordone, of any number of
inhabitants not exceeding 1000, one Vendita may
be established.
From 1,000 to 2,000two.
From 2,000 to 4,000three.
* Faggots, legni, for the furnaces, /oroc7/Carboiiaro terms for
members of their society.

Ln Cxi iMixi CH T>T I .

Itlustre Primo Promotore detia
/. ( 6erta Nam on ate
:/.,-v)K.P'<.b'rncci6v.JMurray (ZtSrmar/eKi't.apVOJ&Zt.

THE CAKBONAM.

87

From 4,000 to 6,000four.

From 6,000 to 8,000five.
From 8,000 to 10,000six.
From 10,000 to 1 8,000eight.
In 1820 there were one hundred and eighty-two
Vendite in Western Lucania, who sent deputies to
the Grand Diet.
The persons who, from the beginning, have di.
rectal the labours of the Carbonari towards a
political and constitutional object, have always
been few in number. The impulse once given and
received, they voluntarily withdrew behind the
scenes, and have been forgotten. Even the late
revolution brought but few to light.
The Canonico Menechini at Nola, and Lieu
tenant Morelli, only declared themselves because
the exigency of the moment required it. Of these,
Menechini alone seems to have been possessed of
power. Sonnets in honour of the Canonico poured
in on all sides ; and copies of his portrait, engraved
on stone, were sold by thousands in the streets of
Naples.
He was appointed one of the members of the
Committee of Public Safety : and during the first
days of the revolution, his popularity enabled him
twice to serve the cause of humanity. First, by
calming the enraged populace assembled before the
Royal Palace, at the time of the massacre of the
G 4

88

MEMOIRS OF

Neapolitans, and of the sanguinary scenes at Pa

lermo; and afterwards, by disarming the resent
ment of the ferocious Carbonari in the Field of
Mars, when they threatened the lives of the exministers Medici and Tommasi. But the reputa
tion of Menechini soon declined, and he set out
for Messina, to organize Carbonarism in Sicily.
Some other individuals, all sons of St. Theobald,
to use their own expression, have had the boldness
to publish an account, authenticated by their sig
natures, of the contrivances and means employed
by them at some distance of time, to bring about
the revolution of July, 1820. They call it " An
Historical Statement of the Facts which preceded
and produced the Movement of the Sacred Bat
talion of Nola,"* for so they call that detachment
of the cavalry, belonging to the Bourbon regiment,
which deserted from Nola on the 1st of July, and
was led by Silvati and Morelli to raise the standard
of rebellion at Monteforte.
This pamphlet, which was speedily and cautiously
withdrawn from circulation, is become exceedingly
scarce, and we have therefore inserted it in the
Appendix, as essential to the history of Carbo
narism.
It is hardly necessary to observe, that an asso
ciation of a million of men can no longer be con'
* Ccnno storico sui Fatti die hanno preceduto e prodotto il MoiU
viento del Battaglione Sacro di Nola.

THE CARBONARI.
sidered as a secret society, although such a mass
may be united by conventional signs unknown to
others, as well as by oaths.
The spirit of such an institution cannot fail to
evaporate in a multitude which its chiefs can no
longer controul. Besides, the object of overturning
and destroying the government has been obtained :
it is all that such a sect can bring about : it has
not the power to create or to rebuild.
This inundating sea will retire of its own accord
from the shores which it has laid waste; but it
will leave the germs of other sects and associations,
which, from their very essence, must be in oppo
sition to existing governments.
It was long imagined that the Po was the boun
dary line of the sect in Italy ; but this is a mistaken
notion. Its principles are more widely diffused,
but under different forms, and among various
classes, which renders it less powerful than at
Naples, where its members acted in concert, had
absolutely the same interests, and looked upon
events in the same light.
The Carbonari of the Roman States appear to
be of higher rank, but of a more sanguinary and
vindictive character. The account of their con
spiracy, extracted from the minutes of the trial of
the conspirators, is inserted in the Appendix to
this work ; from the time of its failure, they seem
not to have attempted any important movements ;

90

MEMOIRS OF

but a number of individuals, especially in Romagna,

bave fallen singly beneath their daggers.
In the Lombard- Venetian kingdom, His Ma
jesty the Emperor of Austria found it necessary to
publish the following decree, dated August, 1820,
against the Carbonari.

Regno Lombardo Veneto.

Notification.
The society called Carbonari, which has spread
itself over various neighbouring states, has at
tempted to make proselytes even in the Regal
dominions of the Caesars. From the investigations
that have been made on the subject, the views of
this Society have been discovered to be as dangerous
to the state, as they are criminal in themselves,
although they are not communicated by the supe
riors to every member of the society.
By the
express command of His Majesty the Emperor and
King, the object of these persons is publicly set
forth, as a warning to each and every of his
subjects.
The precise object then of the Carbonari
is the subversion and destruction of all go
VERNMENTS. It follows, therefore, that whosoever,
being already acquainted with this object, has,
notwithstanding, entered into the society of the
Carbonari, is guilty of high treason, according to

THE CARBONARI.

91

52 of the first division of our criminal code.

And whosoever has not opposed the progress of the
Society, or has neglected to inform against its
members, agreeably to the
54 and 55 of the
same, has thereby become an accomplice, and has
incurred the penalties provided by the law.
Therefore, from the date of the publication of
this present Notification, no person can avail him
self of the excuse of not being aware of the pre
cise object of the Carbonari; and consequently,
whosoever shall enter into the said Society, or shall
not oppose its progress, and inform against its
members, shall be proceeded against according to
the provisions of
52, 53, 54, and 55, of the first
part of the criminal code, set forth in the annexed
extract from the statute.
Extract of Chap. 7. 1 . of the first division of
the criminal code.
52. He is guilty of the crime of high treason
(a) Who attempts any thing against the personal
safety of the supreme head of the state :
(b) Who engages in any scheme tending to pro
duce a violent revolution in the system of govern
ment, or to draw upon the state any danger from
without, or to encrease an existing danger, whether
such schemes be publicly or privately pursued, by
persons singly, or associated by machination, by
counsel, or by act; by force of arms or otherwise,
by participation of secrets conducing to such an

MEMOIRS Of
end, or by plots directed towards it ; by instiga
tion, by raising the people, by espionnage, or aid,
by any action whatsoever, tending to such an
object.
53. This crime is punishable with death even
if it fail, and is within the limit of a bare attempt.
54. He who shall deliberately neglect to op
pose a treasonable conspiracy, having it in his
power without peril to himself so to do, becomes
an accomplice in the crime, and is punishable with
the severest imprisonment for life.
55. He, also, who shall deliberately neglect
to give information before the magistrates, of per
sons known by him to be guilty of high treason,
becomes an accomplice in the crime (unless it shall
appear from the circumstances, that, notwith
standing such neglect, no evil consequence is to
be apprehended.) Such accomplice being punish
able with severe imprisonment for life.
56. He who shall have joined the secret so
cieties alluded to, 52. (b.) tending to high treason,
but who shall afterwards repent, and give infor
mation to the magistrates concerning their mem
bers, regulations, objects, and enterprizes, while
they are still secret, and their bad effects may be
prevented, is assured that his full pardon will be
granted, and his information kept secret.
It has been questioned whether the Neapolitan

THE CARBONAKI.

93

Carbonari aim at a republic, or whether they are

satisfied with the constitution they have obtained.
The solution of. this problem does not appear to
be very difficult. Constitutional monarchies are
so complicated, and their advantages are so little
within the comprehension of ordinary minds,
having hardly any direct influence on the inferior
classes ; they are unquestionably and necessarily
so much more lavish in expenditure than absolute
monarchies, that the mass of the people can only
feel their just value, after a long and painful edu
cation, and after the lapse of many generations,
harassed by political storms. Now it is the lower
classes of society who compose the bulk of the
Carbonari of Naples ; and although the Spanish
charter offers them numerous openings for demo
cracy and licentiousness, it does not flatter their
imaginations sufficiently to induce a sincere or
lasting attachment.
The principal attractions of the present system
consist in the popular courts, the voting by ballot,
the power of trying and condemning by the list,
even the most distinguished of their fellow citizens,
and also of repressing such as might aim at rising
above the ordinary level.
These privileges also
reconcile them to the continuance of their heavy
taxes, and to that of the evils of the conscription,
the motives or the pretexts of the revolution.
The high sounding words, independence, liberty,

94

MEMOIRS OF

and equality, which are pepetually rung into the

ears of the Carbonari ; the whole system of edu
cation adopted by the order, its completely repub
lican form, and even the very language of the sect,
familiarize
wealth, andthe
keep
people
it constantly
with the in
idea
their
of view.
a commoifIt would be very difficult to discover, in the
maxims of Carbonarism, any thing that bears re
ference to a monarchy, even constitutional. That
form of government would never satisfy the revo
lutionary fanatics and votaries of unreserved equa
lity, for the general principle that every man is
qualified to rise to any office in the state, tolerates
with reluctance the exceptions of a king and royal
family.
That the professors and pedagogues of the Car
bonari do not dissemble on this head, their various
publications furnish a convincing proof.
The
Catechisms, the Mentors, the Circulars, the Patents,
and the Emblems of the sect, all speak a language
not to be misunderstood. The following is a dis
course pronounced by the orator of the Vendita of
the Pythagoreans at Naples.

Discourse.*
Know, finally, that the object of respectable Car* From a pamphlet entitled, Istruizioni sul Secondo Grado di
M. (maestro) Carbonaro redatto dal G. M. della R. V. (Rispet

THE CARBONARI.

95

bonarism is to restore to the citizen that liberty and

those rights, which Nature bestowed on us, and
which tyranny itself, once, did not deny us. To
attain to this object, it is necessary to try the virtue,
and to consolidate the union of courageous and
exemplary citizens : this is no trifling labour, since
the cunning of political tyranny has interposed a
thick veil between men's eyes and the sublime
light of truth. Wretched mortals study those false
maxims, which, leading to prejudice and supersti
tion, envelope them in darkness, and induce them
to lead a life of slavery and submission to ill treat
ment, blind to the origin of their misfortunes. Oh,
men ! do you not hear the clank of the chains with
which you are bound? They are fastened upon
you by the tyrant.
By the law of Nature, he who seeks to destroy
others should himself be annihilated.
And are
not kings, who, forgetting, that they are men,
proudly regard themselves as superior beings, and
usurp the right of disposing of the blood of their
fellow men, and of looking upon them as slaves, are
they not the lords of the wives and children and
possessions of those, slaves? And yet honour, and
homage and respect, are still paid to those infernal
monsters !* Oh, blindness of man ! ! !
tdile Vendita) all' O. (ordone) Napoli. Pasquale Tavassi, sotto il
titolo distintivo, I liberi Pitagorici. Napoli, 1820, dai Torchi di
Giuseppe Severino, Vico nuovo della pace. Nos. 18 and 19.
* Mostri Jnfernali.

96

MEMOIRS OF

But as the maxims of the Carbonari are founded

on the simple principles of nature and reason, and
on the doctrines of Jesus Christ, it belongs to them
to overturn the throne raised by fanaticism and
ambition, and to expel from it the monster who
pollutes the whole creation.
The blood of so
many innocents, torn by main force from the
bosoms of their families, and sent to perish in
capricious wars ; the blood of so many illustrious
citizens slaughtered for speaking the language of
truth ; this blood, I say, calls on us for vengeance :
and the number of our friends now groaning in
fetters claim our assistance. Yes ! the Carbonari,
knowing what truth and justice are, and possessing
humane and compassionate hearts, will one day
vindicate the rights of man. Having found your
conduct to be regular and zealous towards the
Order, we have admitted you into the chamber of
honour, that is to say, among the sworn members
of the Republic. You are come here to tender
your lives for any service, when the Carbonari
shall invite you to save your country from op
pression.*
* After the discourse, the symbols were explained as in the
other Vendite, but with some difference, probably such as to suit
the various degrees of information possessed by the members.
The instructions contained in the master's catechism suggests,
that, of the earth may be said" The earth reminds us that we
should not be ambitious or covetous of greatness, for we must all

THE CARBONARI.
The oath administered to those admitted to the
second rank in the same Vendita, i. e. the Pytha
gorean, breathes the same sentiments. " I swear
eternal hatred against all tyrants, and their satel
lites, and to avail myself of all opportunities to
destroy them." Another remarkable proof of the
prevalence of the same sentiments is the prayer of
a G. C. Apprentice, affixed to the Mentor.*

A. G. D. G. M. D. U.

(Al Gran Bio Gran

Maestro del Universo.)

Carbones succensi sunt ab- eo.Ps. Xvn.-\
0 Thou Great God, Author and Master of Na
ture, Thou who hast formed men to be free and
independent, and not to be the tyrants and op
pressors of their brethren, Thou who kindlest in
the hearts of thy children the holy flame of charity,
of that charity which considers all men upon the
earth as forming one family ! Thou who guidest
through the desert of life those souls which are
be changed to dust. Life is no other than a short journey, breve
pauo. Of the thorns the orator may say, " The crown of thorns
shows us, that under despotism, instead of tasting of the sweet
and precious productions of the earth, and the delights of liberty,
we gather bitter thorns, which are for ever tormenting us, and
therefore we should seek to free ourselves once for all from the
yoke of tyranny."
* II Mentore di un B. C. App.
t In the English version, Ps. xvii. v. 8. T.
II

98

MEMOIRS OF

faithful unto Thee, and protectest them by thy

omnipotence; who smitest with the axe of thy
vengeance the thrones that are raised upon pro
fane principles, and erectest upon their ruins the
rightful sovereignty of the people: receive the
homage of adoration and respect which we render
up to Thee from the bottom of our hearts. Pro
tect the people of the free Carbonari, who humbly
invoke Thee : and if Thou hast defended them from
the injuries of arbitrary power and ferocious ty
ranny ; if Thou hast made them feel the gift of thy
all-powerful patronage, continue to stretch over
them thy beneficent hand. Permit them not to
degenerate from the divine law. May virtue every
where accompany them. May they be enabled to
defend those principles which they have sworn to
maintain, even with their blood, and may they
continue in unanimity and concord until the sun
" Shall shine upon human miseries."*
Thanksgiving, honour, and glory to Thee for
ever.

Such readers as may be inclined to interpret these

expressions in a less sinister sense, may read the
last stanza of the lyrical motto which decorates
the title-page of the Constitution of the Eastern
Risplenderi sulle sciagure umane."

.J

THE CARBONAIU.
Lucanian Republic, printed at Potenza, its head
quarters, 1820.
Ma tua pianta rudice non pone
Che su' pezzi <F infrante corone :
Ne si pasce di fresche ruggiade,
Ma di sangue di membra di Ri*
Monti.
It cannot be said that, the chiefs of the Eastern
Lucanian Society are men without authority or
influence, because the principal members of its su
preme magistracy have been elected deputies to the
National Parliament.
Alt the republics of the
Carbonari do not, however, so shamelessly preach
the disgusting doctrines of horror and jacobinism.
The Elder Sister, i. e. the Western Lucanian Re
public, is more crafty in the pursuit of its object,
and conceals it better. It sometimes assumes the
credit of wishing to support the constitution, and
will surely not fly in the face of the monarchy till
the danger of foreign invasion shall be past.
In the detail of the fundamental principles of

* Thy plant will strike its roots alone

'Midst fragments of a shatter'd throne ;
Nor freshest dews its leaves may nourish,
Tis regal blood must make it flourish.
The ode to Liberty, consisting of only two stanzas, of which the
one quoted is the second, is not printed in the ordinary editions of
Monti's works. T.
H 2

MEMOIRS OF

100

its statute of organization, it explains its intentions

more mildly.
" The Representatives of the Western Lucanian
Republic, met in Grand Diet :*
" Wishing to consecrate anew the social ties
of the Carbonari of Western Lucania, formed by
the statute of the year I, according to the reiterated
manifestations of the general' feeling, and to the
declaration of the first principles which were its
basis, and which must secure its duration for the
common welfare By virtue of the authority re
ceived from the people, and in their name, have
sanctioned and do sanction, &c.
chap. r.
Of the Creation of the Order ; of its Object and
its Essential Relations.
Art. K One single united society shall be formed
of the Carbonari of Western Lucania.
Art. 2. The boundaries of its territories shall
be those of the pagan province of Principato Citra.
Art. 3. The Western Lucanian Republic shall
be one, indivisible, and independent.
Art. 4. The Carbonari of the W. Lucanian Re Nuovo Statuto organico della Carboneria della Republica
Lucana Occidental^ (Principato citra) Sanzionato nella Gran Dieta
deli' anno 2, (1818.) Ordone centrale di Salerno. Dalla Tipografi*
della Rep. Luc Occid. (Printed August, 1820*)

THE CARBONARI.

101

public shall preserve inviolate the ties which unite

them by confederation with all the Carbonari dis
persed over the face of the earth.
Art. 5. The Carbonari of the W. Lucanian Re
public will naturally be the friends and allies of
all associations of liberal and philanthropic men.
Art. 6. This Society shall propose for its object
the general wish of the Order, which particularly
aims at the diffusion of knowledge, the uniting of
the different classes of citizens in the bonds of
love, the impressing of a national character on the
people, in order to interest them in support of
their country and religion : the destruction of the
source of crimes by the inculcation of good
morals : the protection of the feeble, and the re
lief of the unfortunate.

CHAP. III.
Of the Form of Government of the Western
Lucanian Republic.
The Republic shall be governed, first, by a Senate
to propose laws and to debate ; ?dly, by a
representation of the people to decide ; and Sdly,
by a magistracy to execute."
On the first revolutionary movement at Naples
all these republics of the Carbonari emerged from
their obscurity, and seized the command of the
h3

102

MEMOIRS OK

Government, till the King had signed the decree

adopting the Constitution of the Spanish Cortes.
The Eastern Lucanian Republic was so conspicu
ous by its vehemence, that not only foreigners, but
even the inhabitants of Naples, and those members
of Government initiated into the Order, thought
that it intended to detach itself altogether from the
body of the kingdom, and to form a sort of insu
lated state in its very centre.
This report continued in circulation, even for
some days after the Spanish Constitution had
been proclaimed, and sworn to at Potenza, and
the magistracy found it expedient to publish the
following Advertisement:
From the Patriotic Journal of Eastern Lucania,
Potenza, 20th July, 1820.
Advertisement.
Some evil disposed persons have raised an outcry,
because the Government of the Carbonari of this
district has styled itself the Eastern Lucanian
Republic. They have represented this as an ap
proach to a democratic constitution, and have
thereby endeavoured to agitate the public mind.
Without thinking it worth while to advert to the
Constitution of Carbonarism, which should be
concealed from the profane, we beg leave to in
form these oligarchical pedants, that the term

THE CARBONARI.

103

Republic is not confined in its application to a

state in which either the many or thefew govern,
but it signifies also, any government lawfully
constituted, as Rousseau teaches in his Social Con
tract, B. ii. chap. vi. where he thus expresses him
self" I call every state, governed by the 'laws,
under every possible form of administration, a
Republic : provided that public interest alone
governs, and where the public welfare is considered,
every legitimate government is a Republic."

The Declaration " In the name of God," of the

6th July, and the " Notice" published on the 8th
of the same month, are documents that appear to
us sufficiently curious to be inserted in this place.
Among other interesting matter, the restrictions
to be imposed on the executive power, and the
imperfect state of the constitution, which is as
sumed,
Declaration
are not the
in least
thedeserving
Name of
ofattention.
God, and

under the auspices of the neapolitan

People.
Art. I. The united citizens aim at rendering
the Monarchy constitutional, for upon that must
depend the welfare and prosperity of the nation,
which has been condemned for so many centuries
to slavery and degradation.
Art. 2. The national assembly which is about to
be confirmed will endeavour to obtain every posh4

104

MEMOIRS OF

sible diminution of the taxes. And to give an

immediate proof of the interest it takes in the
condition of the indigent class of citizens, as well
as in that of the proprietors, it assumes to itself
at once the power of decreeing the diminution of
one half of the duty on salt, one third of the
land tax, and the abolition of the conscription.
Art. 3. No tumult or crime should obscure the
fortunate epoch of the regeneration of the country.
Whoever therefore dares to interrupt the public
tranquillity, or attempt the honour, the liberty or
the property of the citizens, or in any way what
ever offend religion or its ministers, shall be tried
and severely punished by a military commission.
Art. 4. That social order may effectually be
preserved, the laws actually in force shall con
tinue to be observed till the publication of the
new legislative code.
Art. 5. All the magistrates and officers of
government, in whatsoever branch of admini
stration, shall remain in their situations, pro
vided that, within twenty-four hours from the
publication of the present Declaration, they take
the oath of fidelity to King Ferdinand I., and to
the Constitution, to be administered to them by
the highest ecclesiastical dignitary in the town
where they reside, and at a public ceremony to take
place in the principal church : the constitution is
established on the following basis:

THE CAKBONARI.
only. The King is to have the executive power
2. He cannot make or interpret the laws, par
don, confer appointments, impose contributions, or
make peace or war. These rights belong to the
people, which is to be represented by its legitimate
deputies.
. .
3. At the end of every year the Ministers
of government shall give a public account of their
transactions.
4. The citizens are to enjoy full liberty of
thought and of the press.
5. Situations are only to be bestowed on those
born and residing in the kingdom.
6. The preservation of public order should be
the care of every citizen; but this charge is
entrusted (under responsibility) especially to the
officers of the militia, to the Ecclesiastics, to the
Syndics, Decurions and principal proprietors.
7. In order that the party- spirit which divides
the nation may cease, and that all the citizens
may form a people of brothers, it is forbidden to
insult or offend in any way whatever, those who
have hitherto entertained an opinion contrary to
liberal ideas, and who, convinced of their error,
shall have the right of again taking their place
among honest citizens.
The country receives them with transports of
jy8. On

the

other hand,

whosoever seeks to

MEMOIUS OF
check or oppose the operations of the Consti
tutionalists, either by word or deed, shall be tried
and punished by a military commissionattempts
to discourage and alarm constitute the former of
these offences.
9.
10. The
All national
military debt
ranksis and
guaranteed.
honours, with their
corresponding pensions of whatever nature, and
for whatever service they may have been granted,
are confirmed.
1 1. All such soldiers and citizens, as distin
guish themselves in the service of the good cause,
have a sacred claim on the national gratitude.
The country will generously reward their labours.
And those soldiers who are the first to support the
operations of the constitutionalists shall immedi
ately be promoted a step.
12. The Ministers of religion are invited to
offer up public prayers to Almighty God, that he
may protect the Neapolitan nation in its glorious
enterprize.
1 3. The present declaration shall be published
by the Syndics and Rectors upon the altar, and
read at the head of the companies, who compose
(Signed.)
theLucanian
constitutional
TheRepublic
orator
army.
of certifies
the Senate
that
of this
the Eastern
Decla

ration is conformable to the original.

Egidio Marco Giuseppe.
Potenza, 6th July, 1820.

THE CARBOXAKi.

Extract jrom the Patriotic Journal of Eastern

Lucania.
"Advertisement. (%th July, 1820J."*
The Senate of the Eastern Lucanian Republic
represents the people of Basilicata, and supports
their rights at the price of its own blood.
Until the constitution of Ferdinand I. shall be
published, and accepted by the deputies of the
people of all the provinces of the kingdom, no act
or decree of the late government shall, from this
day forward, be published or observed in the terri
tory of Eastern Lucania or Basilicata.
The administrative and judicial authorities shall
exercise their functions in the name of the Con
stitution and of the King ; and the articles con
tained in the Declaration printed at Potenza the
6th July, 1 820, which has been proclaimed to the

* The Lieutenant-General F. Pignatelli Strongoli, sent about

this time to Basilicata and Potenza, quieted some tumults and dis
sensions which had agitated that province during fifty days.
Libels and incendiary letters were distributed, the public autho
rities were, disregarded, the public money was retained. The
most violent talked of marching against the capital, and the
election of the new magistrates of the Carbonari took place in the
Hit of the greatest confusion, and the threats and the poignards
Pf the rioters.
,,-

108

MEMOIRS OF

people of Basilicata, shall be entirely observed,

till the said Constitution be given.
Whoever opposes this, is declared an enemy to
his country and the interests of the people.
The command of the constitutional forces of
Eastern Lucania is entrusted to General Sponsa
and Colonel Corbo, who, having particularly dis
tinguished themselves in the defence of our cause,
have merited the gratitude of the country, accord
ing to the 1 1 th article of the said Declaration.
The President, Carlo Corbo.
First Assistant, Gaetano Scalea.
Second Assistant, Germano Marone.
Secretary,
Giuseppe Stcorella.
Gaetano Corrado.
Senators.
Marco Lacapra.
Luigi Spera.
bonaventura marone.
Pasquale Manta.
Gen. Bagnulo.
Pasquale Cilento.
Fr. Marone, G. M. dei Pitiliani.
It has been observed, that the Carbonari are in
great measure independent on the judicial authori
ties. This is still more the case with regard to the
executive and legislative powers, which they look
upon with suspicion. Hence their anxiety to form

THE CARBONARI.

109

leagues* and provincial republics, in order to keep

a watchful eye even upon the Supreme Vendita at
Naples, which they consider too close to the
government The project for the confederacy,
communicated by the Supreme Magistracy of Sa
lerno to the General Assembly of the Carbonari,
places the fears and the wishes of the order in the
clearest light.
The reader must not suffer himself to be de
ceived by some expressions of respect towards the
royal family, and of attachment to the new
constitution in this singular document : for the
King, the Hereditary Prince, the Ministers and
their agents, the army and its officers, all in short,
who possess power or influence in the state, are
not the less exposed to continual accusations of
bad faith, and of secret intentions hostile to the
sect and to the revolution. Such members of the
Parliament, also, as are not returned from the body
of the Society itself, or such as lean towards the
Ministry, or even towards moderate measures, are
obnoxious to such attacks.
The consciousness of having been the principal
movers of the rebellion, and of having raised the
political storm which impends over the country,
induces the Carbonari to gain as many accomplices
as possible, openly to implicate such as are back
ward in acknowledging their fellowship, and to
xact security from all new members.

Hence

1 10

MEMOIRS OF

proceed their memorials, and addresses, and the

violent measures forced upon the government.
Hence, also, their anxiety never to lose sight of its
operations,
them.
and, if possible, to controul and direct

Journal of the Western Lucanian Republic.

.
From the Central
No. District
2.
of Salerno, the
J 9th of the 1 1th month, year 3. (19th of
August, 1820.)
PROJECT OF CONFEDERATION.
Respectable Good Cousins,
The Magistracy exercising the Supreme Execu
tive power of the Western Lucanian Republic,
taking into serious consideration that, although
the moral and physical efforts of the Carbonari,
generously seconded as they are by our august
monarch Ferdinand, and his destined successor to
the throne, Prince Francis, Vicar General of the
kingdom, have attained their object of overturn
ing a despotic government. Much still remains to
be done, in order that the constitutional govern
ment may be consolidated and preserved from
iniquitous plots within, and from aggression from
without.
Maturely considering that, although the Carbo

THE CARBONARI.

Ill

nari are already united by feelings, principles, and

force of action; yet it is necessary that such a
confederacy should be bound together by a solemn
act, in order that, with combined and well-directed
forces, they may be enabled to resist any hostile
attack whatever, and to sustain the Bourbon
dynasty on the constitutional throne.
To obtain this salutary result, it proposes the
following articles .
I. There shall be a confederacy between the
Carbonari of those provinces, not excepting the
province of Naples, which are already formed into
regular governments. Every one of them, how
ever, shall preserve its own independence, with
sovereign, legislative, and executive power, within
the limits of its own territory.
II. The confederacy may be afterwards extend
ed to the Carbonari of other provinces, adopting,
as a principle, that the territory of every Republic
shall be circumscribed in the same manner as the
Pagan provinces.
But they must first establish a
regular government, summoning, as occasion shall
require, one or more deputies from every Vendita
to the General Diet, in order to establish its own
internal independent organization, and the election
of its own magistrates.
III. Meanwhile, till such regular government
be established in the provinces that are not yet
organized, insulated Vendite, and even tribes, may

1 1

MEMOIRS or

ments
attach ; themselves
being obliged,
to the
however,
neighbouring
to send deputies
govern-*
to the general diet of their own province, and
afterwards to return to the government of the
same, as soon as it shall be reduced to form.
IV. The object of the confederacy will be,
1. constitutional
The consolidation
government
and preservation
of the monarch}',
of the
fi. The defence of our most holy religion, as
well as of the august reigning Bourbon
dynasty.
3. Our mutual defence against the blind
enemies of the Order of the Carbonari.
4. The direction of the public spirit to. the
principles of sound and correct morality,
by means of education and instruction, in
order that religion and the legitimacy of
thrones may be respected.
5. The active and efficacious co-operation of
all our moral and physical efforts to obtain
such important objects.
V. The confederacy should be governed,
1. By a periodical congress, composed of
three representatives from every Republic.
2. By a permanent deputation composed of
one third of the said representatives, one of
each region, to be chosen from the body of
the congress itself.
VI. The peprmanent deutation shall

always

THE CARBONARI.
act on behalf, and in the name of the congress.
The duties of the same shall be as follows :
1. To examine and pronounce sentence upon
the acts of government ; to watch over the
conduct of its agents ; to effect the reform
of abuses by moral influence, and by peti
tions, if necessary.
2. To suggest to the Confederate Republics,
all means and measures which can conduce
to the national prosperity, and to acquaint
them, on the other hand, with their wants.
3. To open treaties with philanthropic and
liberal societies in other countries, and to
interest them in the general welfare of
humanity.
4. To form into independent Republics, all
the provinces not yet organized, and to
admit them to the confederacy.
5. To give the private watch-word every half
year to all the Confederate Republics.
6. To keep an eye upon every attempt which
may be made against the welfare of the
nation, from within and from without.
7. If the country or royal family are in
danger, or if any attempt be made to
overturn the constitution, to declare it
upon sufficient evidence to the Confederate
Republics ; to wait the deliberations of the
i

MEMOIRS OF
same, and then to act according to the
instructions which shall be communicated.
8. To call an extraordinary meeting of the
congress, when necessary.
9. To put in motion the whole or a part of
the forces of the Carbonari, and to appoint
a temporary commander-in-chief, even with
out the consent of the Republics, or of the
congress; but only in the following most
urgent cases that do not admit of delay.
1. An attempt against the royal family.
2. An anti-constitutional revolution.
3. An unforeseen hostile attack from with
out, by land or by sea ; in which cases
the deputation shall be most strictly and
personally responsible.
VII. The duties again of the congress shall be:
1. To fix the place of its own sittings, as well
as that of the permanent deputation, with
the power of varying it according to cir
cumstances ; preferring the most central
provinces, such as the two principal, Terra
di Lavoro and Naples.
2. To fix the regulations for the internal
management as well of the congress as of
the deputation.
3. To fix the probable expenditure of the
Confederacy.

THE CARBONARI.

115

4. To fix the contingent of the forces of every

Republic.
5. To examine all the operations of the per
manent deputation, to approve or cen
sure them, especially if the forces of the
order be in motion.
6. To propose to the Confederate Republics,
three illustrious personages, so as to be able
to select from them a commander-in-chief
of the forces of the Carbonari by a plu
rality of votes.
7. To accommodate with prudence and wis
dom, the disputes which may arise among
the Republics.
8. To preserve uniformity in the journals of
proceedings, and in the catechisms of the
order.
9. To propose to the Confederate Republics,
the improvements of which the respective
VIII.statutes
Neither
may
thebecongress
susceptible.
nor the deputation
should ever oppose the deliberations of the par
liament, or the acts of government, by active
measures, but merely watch over them to inform
the Republics and await their determination.
They can neither impose any contributions nor
dispense aid. Much less can they initiate prose
lytes, grant rank, honours, distinctions, or punish
i 2

1 16

MEMOIRS OF

any one, on pain of being prosecuted as guilty of

high treason against the people.
IX. Besides the extraordinary convocations, the
congress will meet regularly on the 18th of
September of every year. The duration of its
deliberations shall not be less than fifteen days,
nor shall it exceed a month. The place of meeting
shall for this year be at Salerno, several Republics
having expressed a wish to this effect.
X. The duration of the congress shall be three
years.
Every year, however, one third of the
members shall vacate their seats by lot, and be
replaced. The deputation shall be renewed every
year. At the end of the three years, it will be
determined whether the Confederacy shall continue,
be modified, or dissolved ; and this determination
will depend on observing whether the constitu
tional government be completely established.
XI. No member of the deputation, even if he
have a legitimate motive, shall quit his post with
out acquainting the body, and the Republic he
represents, on pain of having his name burnt,
besides being burnt in effigy, if he acts so from
prevarication or treachery.
XII. The Republics which shall find this pro
ject adapted to the general good are requested to
send their act of adherence as soon as possible to
the magistracy exercising the supreme executive
power of the Western Lucania (Salerno), di

THE CARBONARI.

117

recting their letters in the Pagan style, to D.

Pietro Sessa, the secretary of the said magistrac}1.
If they have any observations to make on the less
essential parts of the project, they may reserve
them for the discussion of the congress, which,
for the first time, shall be considered as an assem
bly representing the Confederate Republics of the
Carbonari.

Fortunately, this sect, which arrogates to itself

so much independence, and the right of interfe
rence in all public affairs, is daily losing ground by
its own imprudence. It is a jacobine or radical
party, such as is to be found elsewhere, far beyoud
the limits of the two Sicilies. The curiosity of its
members is no longer irritated by an unknown
object.
Their zeal is no longer kept alive by
mystery. The ceremonies and emblems have lost
their power as symbolical of great events, and a
happy futurity ; for habit has rendered them fami
liar and uninteresting. The abuse of them has
often made them ridiculous,* and the lower orders
of candidates have learned to speculate more on
* The fair sex has thought fit to form societies, and as Free
masonry had its lodges of "Mopses,"' so Carbonarism tolerated
female lodges, under the name of Vendite dellc Giardiniere : i. e.
Lodges of Garden-women. These ladies boast of their Good
Cousinship, and the glorious title of Giardiniere figures in their
publications, especially in their patriotic verses ; which will not,
I 3

118

MEMOIRS OF

the alms which they expect in case of want, from

the Society, than on the marvellous secrets to be
revealed to them.
The old members have begun to look down with
contempt on the new, although they are them
selves disappointed and disgusted with a reality by
no means corresponding with the expectations
they had formed.
Free-masonry appears now to be destined as a
retreat for such Carbonari as begin to despise their
old associates, and who are glad of a pretext for
joining a more respectable order. The lodges of
the Free-masons are daily increasing in number at
Naples, and its publications are read with much
more avidity than those of the Carbonari. It is
not uncommon to hear the expression, "Such an
one is more than a Carbonaro, he is a Free-mason."
The government follows the example of the
Spanish Cortes, and seems inclined to put in force
the decree of Madrid against clubs and political
societies, as the best means of attacking the sect.
Some general officers, particularly General Florestan Pepe, have shown that they are not afraid
of the Vendite in their corps, who endeavoured to
however, we think, turn the heads of the Neapolitan youth.
Several of them, now before us, are the productions of the muse of
the Cousin Giardiniera G. A. D. R. and are addressed " To the
Glorious Young Men of the Country" La C, Giardiniera G. A.
D. it. ai Gloriosi Giovani della Patria.

THE CARBON ARI.

U9

influence their fellow-soldiers : and General Carascosa shows them so little deference, that when
certain officers, who had been disgraced for cow
ardice in 1815, demanded re-admittance into the
service, alleging, among other reasons, their attach
ment to Carbonarism, he answered, " Poco mi
premeva di S. Teobaldo, e del Grand" Architetto
delThus
Universo."
the natural
What
progress
care I for
of the
St. Theobald,
evil itself has
&c.
been the means of discovering the remedy. It is
this remedy, which the small number of the friends
of order look to as the only port of safety ; and
good policy will be extremely cautious not to shut
that opening against them, by having recourse to
violence and persecution.

As a supplement* to the account we have given

of the Secret Societies, particularly the Carbonari,
it may not be uninteresting to retrace some of the
events connected with General Church's campaign,
as it has been called, against the brigands of
Calabria and the Abruzzi. The tranquillity of
those provinces had been disturbed by bands of
* To tie Reader. A sheet of the M.S. of tjis work was un
fortunately lost. It contained the introductory part of this Sup
plement, as far as the words celebrated mass before he began tie
conference. As both the Author and Translator are on the Con
tinent, the Editor could only supply the following paragraphs from
memory; they contain, however, the only facts stated in the original
i 4

120

MEMOIRS OF

outlaws, who, under the names of the different

Secret Societies, Carbonari, Decisi, Filantropi, &c.
and even sometimes without any such pretence,
way-laid travellers, interrupted the course of public
justice, and went so far as to seize the government
supplies.
One of the most celebrated leaders of those
gangs was the Priest Ciro Annichiarico.
Driven
from society by his crimes, he had taken refuge
in the mountain forests, and having collected a
desperate band of outlaws like himself, he had
long carried on his depredations unmolested.
Upon the adoption, however, of vigorous mea
sures by the government, in order to put down the
brigands, he took the alarm, and determined, if
possible, to persuade all the various bands of out
laws and brigands of whatever faction or deno
mination, to make a common cause, and to oppose
the march of the King's troops, with all the forces
they could muster. He imagined that the more
formidable they could make themselves, the better
terms they might expect when they came to treat,
and he was the more eager to induce the chiefs of
the bandits to join him, as he had less hope of
personal indulgence, being already under sentence
of at least perpetual imprisonment for murder.
The Vardarelli, it was believed, who had made
themselves very conspicuous by their activity in
plundering both private individuals and the public,

THE CARBONARI.
had obtained good terms, yet they would not have
objected, perhaps, to rebel anew, if they could
have hoped to better those terms. Giro, therefore,
invited them, and the heads of other bands, to a
personal conference, in order to treat of the mea
sures to be pursued against General Church, and
they accordingly had two different interviews,
the first at the end of 1816, or the very beginning
of 1817, in a little deserted chapel, where he
celebrated mass before he began the conference,
and the second in the month of March or April,
1817, in a farm between S. Eramo and Gioja.
Gaetano Vardarelli differed as to the propriety of
a junction: " He represented that it was better to
act in concert, but separately, and to avoid a
general insurrection, of which they might easily
become the victims. As long as our bands are not
numerous, government will be deceived, and make
war upon us feebly, as it does now ; but as soon
as we form ourselves into a more important body,
it will be forced to send more troops against us."
Vardarelli at this moment had already obtained a
capitulation, and was in the service of King Fer
dinand; but he would have been ready to quit it,
if the enterprize of Ciro had been attended with
marked success: he therefore kept himself in readi
ness, and remained at hand to wait the event.
Ciro Annichiarico, born of parents in easy cir
cumstances, in the little town of Grottaglie, was

122

M EMOIRS OF

destined to the ecclesiastical profession, and enter

ed it very young.
His brothers are respectable
farmers ; his uncle, the Canonico Patitaro, is a man
of learning and information, and never took any
part in the crimes of his nephew. The latter began
his infamous career by killing a young man of the
Motolesi family in a fit of jealousy. His insati
able hatred pursued every member of the family,
and he exterminated them one after the other, with
the exception of a single individual, who succeed
ed in evading his search, and who lived shut up in
his house for several years, without ever daring to
go out. This unfortunate being thought that a
snare was laid for him when people came to tell
him of the imprisonment, and shortly after of the
death of his enemy; and it was with difficulty
that he was induced to quit his retreat.
Ciro, condemned for the murder of the Motolesi,
to fifteen years of chains, or exile, by the tribunal of
Lecce, remained there in prison four years, at the
end of which time he succeeded in escaping. It
was then that he began, and afterwards continued
for several years, to lead a vagabond life, which
was stained with the most atrocious crimes. At
Martano, he penetrated with his satellites into one
of the first houses of the place, and after having
offered violence to its mistress, he massacred her
with all her people, and carried off 96,000 ducats.
He was in correspondence with all the hired

THE CARBONARI.

123

brigands; and whoever wished to get rid of an

enemy had only to address himself to Ciro. On
being asked by Captain Montorj, reporter of the
military commission which condemned him, how
many persons he had killed with his own hand,
he carelessly answered, " E chi lo sa ? saranno tra
sessanta e settanta."
Who can remember? they
will be between sixty and seventy. One of- his
companions, Occhiolupo, confessed to seventeen ;
the two brothers Francesco and Vito Serio, to
twenty-three: so that these four ruffians alone
had assassinated upwards of a hundred !
The activity of Ciro was as astonishing as his
artifice and intrepidity. He handled the musket
and managed the horse to perfection ; and as he
was always extremely well-mounted, found con
cealment and support, either through fear or in
clination, every where. He succeeded in escaping
from the hands of the soldiers, by forced marches
of thirty and forty miles, even when confidential
spies had discovered his place of concealment but
a few hours before. The singular good fortune of
being able to extricate himself from the most
imminent dangers, acquired for him the reputation
of a necromancer, upon whom ordinary means of
attack had no power among the people, and he
neglected nothing which could confirm this idea,
and increase the sort of spell it produced upon
the peasants. They dared not execrate, or even

124

MEMOIRS OF

blame him in his absence, so firmly were they

persuaded that his demons would immediately
inform him of it. On the other hand, again, he
affected a libertine character; some very free
French songs were found in his portfolio when he
was arrested.
Although a priest himself, and
exercising the functions of one when he thought
it expedient, he often declared his colleagues to be
impostors without any faith.
He published a
paper against the Missionaries, who, according to
him, disseminated illiberal opinions among the
people, and forbade them on pain of death to
preach in the villages, "because, instead of the
true principles of the Gospel, they taught nothing
but fables and impostures." This paper is headed,
" In nome della Grande Assemblea Nazionale delV
Ex-Regno di Napoli, o piuttosto dell' Europa intera,
pace e salute."
" In the name of the Great
National Assembly of the Ex-Kingdom of Naples,
or rather of all Europe, peace and health."
He amused himself sometimes with whims, to
which he tried to give an air of generosity.
General d'Octavio, a Corsican in the service of
Murat, pursued him for a long time with a thou
sand men. One day, Ciro, armed at all points,
surprised him walking in a garden.
He dis
covered himself, remarking that the life of the
General was in his hands, " but," said he, " I will
pardon you this time, although I shall no longer

THE CARBONARI.

125

be so indulgent, if you continue to hunt me about

with such fury." So saying, he leaped over the
garden wall and disappeared.
Having hidden himself, with several of his
people, behind a ruined wall at the entrance gate
of Grottaglie, the day when General Church and
the Duke of San Cesario, accompanied by some
horsemen, reconnoitred the place, he did not fire
upon them ; he wished to make a merit of this
before the military commission, but it was pro
bably the fear of not being able to escape from
the troops who followed the general, that made
him circumspect on this occasion.
Ciro's physiognomy had nothing repulsive about
it; it was rather agreeable. He had a verbose,
but persuasive eloquence, and was fond of inflated
phrases.* Extremely addicted to women, he had
mistresses, at the period of his power, in all the
towns of the province over which he was con
stantly ranging. He was of middle stature, well
made, and very strong.
When King Ferdinand returned to his states on
this side the Faro, he recalled such as had been
exiled for political opinions. Ciro Annichiarico
attempted to pass for one of these, and presented
himself to the public authorities at Lecce. They
gave him a safe conduct to Bari, which was fixed
* See his Justification at the end of the Memoir.

126

MEMOIRS OF

upon as his residence. He pretends that he felt

some repentance at this time, and had some idea
of shutting himself up in the college of the
Missionaries; but being informed that a new
order of arrest had been issued against him, he
proceeded secretly to Naples, to seek to avert its
effects. Soon finding that the attempt was use
less, he retired to resume the execrable mode of
living which he had not long quitted.
It was about this time that he put himself at
the head of the Patrioti Europei and Decisi.
These associations increased at first, from the
weakness of the government in neglecting to
punish the guilty, and from the corruption of the
lower clergy, and inferior government officers. It
was found that priests were attached to all the
camps and detachments. The arch-priest, Cirino
Cicillo of Cacamola, Vergine of Coregliano, and
Leggeri, filled important situations in the sect.
The signature of the last was found under the
patents, in quality of Captain Reporter, (Capitano
Relatore).
The arch-priest Zurlo, of Valsano,
celebrated mass there on Christmas Eve, armed
from head to foot.
As soon as these bands had acquired some
strength, they sent detachments of resolute men
into every town and village.
Supported by a
larger troop in the neighbourhood, they soon
became the despotic masters of insulated places.

THE CARBONARI.

127

A horde of twenty or thirty of these ruffians over

ran the country in disguise, masked as Punchi
nellos.*
In places where open force could not
be employed, the most daring bandits were sent
to watch for the moment to execute the sentences
of secret death pronounced by the society.
It
Mas thus that the Judge of the Peace of Luogo
Rotondo and his wife were killed in their own
garden, and that the sectary Perone plunged his
knife into the bowels of an old man of seventy,
dell' Aglio of Francavilla, and afterwards massa
cred his wife and servant, having introduced
himself into their house under pretence of deliver
ingThey
a letter.
would not suffer neutrality: it was ab
solutely necessary to join them, or to live exposed
to their vengeance, which appeared to be inevi
table. They did not invite the support of the rich
proprietors and persons of distinction, against
whom their hostilities were to be directed, but they
unhappily found partisans among the less wealthy ;
and some of the inferior nobles, who were jealous
of the great, also joined them. The government,
instead of summoning the opulent proprietors to
its assistance, disgusted and offended them by
distrust.

A meeting at the fair of Galantina to

* We spare the English reader the enumeration of some of the

horrors committed by these ruffians.

128

MEMOms OF

deliberate on the means of checking the disorders,

was cried down, and treated at Naples as a revo
lutionary proceeding. They proved, however, the
purity of their intentions, by aiding the govern
ment to their utmost, as soon as more energy was
shown, and by co-operating with General Church,
with whom many individuals of this class served
both as officers and private volunteers.
While General Pastore, commandant of these
provinces, and the Marquis Predicatella, Intendant
of Lecce, inflamed party-spirit by imitating the
system of Canosa; the national guard, under their
orders, suffered itself to be partly seduced by the
sectaries, as well as a number of soldiers and some
officers of the crown battalion of reserve.
The number of the sectaries had arrived at its
greatest height in the month of December, 1817,
and of January, 1818. At that period, they were
estimated at 20,000 men. Several of them lived
at home, in apparent tranquillity, on the produce
of their professions ; but they were not the less
active in committing unheard-of crimes, as their
detection was more difficult. Persons have been
known to sign, under their poignards, contracts
for the sale of their houses or lands, the objects of
the avarice of these ruffians ; these contracts were
executed in all the forms of law, and acknow
ledgements were given by the owners for sums
which they had never received.

THE CARBONARI.
The Lodges of the Decided (i Decisi) were
called Decisions (Decisioni)the Assemblies of
the Reformed European
Patriots, Squadrons
(Squadriglie), each from forty to sixty strong ;
and those of the Philadelphes, Camps (Campi),
about three or four hundred strong. There were
one hundred and thirteen Camps and Squadrons
in the province of Lecce, and four in the city of
that name. The organization of these Gamps and
Squadrons was military ; we find in them a Pre
sident Commandant, two Counsellors, two Cap
tains, an Aide -de-Camp, a Captain Reporter, a
Secretary, a Keeper of the Seals, &c. &c. Their
sittings were at first held in the night, and care
fully guarded by sentinels; their military exer
cises took place in solitary houses, or suppressed
and deserted convents; but taking courage by
degrees, they were afterwards seen performing
their evolutions by day, and in the open air.
Many of them had fire-arms, almost all had poignards. They began at the same time to organize
a corps of cavalry. On the day appointed for the
great revolution, Ciro had promised to furnish
horses to two hundred armed conspirators of
Francavilla, who were to repair, on the 27th of
February, 1818, to a certain place near S. Marzano.
It appears that the engagement was kept on
neither side, for in the very prison of Francavilla,
Ciro, and some conspirators of that town, mutually
K

MEMOIRS OF

130

reproached each other with having betrayed their

cause by neglecting this agreement.
The Institution of the Decided, or Decisi, is so
horrible that it makes one shudder. The patent
given at the end of this Memoir, aud transcribed
and commented on here, will give some idea of
the Society.*

S. (Salentina) D. (Decisione)
S. (Salute)
No. 5. Uo. Mazoni Grandi, (Muratori Grandi)
L.
La D.
Decisione
D. T. G.del
S. A.
Tonante
F. G. Giove
C. I. T.(name
D. U.of&c
the

Lodge or Decision) spera a fare Guerra contro i

Tiranni dell' Universo, &c.
(The Initials and the letters printed in red, are "written vitk
blood in the originai.)
Il mortale Gaetano Caffieri un F. D. (Fratello
Deciso) No. cinque, appartenente alla De. (Deci
sione) del Giove Tonante sparsa sulla superficie
della Terra; per la sua De. (Decisione) ha avuto
il piacere di fare parte in questa R. S. D. (Republicana Salentina Decisione). Noi dunque inviti
amo tutte le Societ filantropiche prestare il loro
braccio forte al medesimo ed a soccorrerlo nei suoi
bisogni, essendo egli giunto alla De. (Decisione) di
* See the Piate.

THE CARBONARI.
acquistare la liberta o morte.
18)7.

131

Oggi li 29 Ottobre,

Signed,
Pietro Gargaro, II G. M. D. No. 1.
(II Gran Mastro Deciso, No. 1 .)
V. de Serio, 2. Deciso.
Gaetano Caffieri,
Registratore dei Morti.

TRANSLATION.
The Salentine Decision.
Health.
No. 5. Grand Masons.
The Decision of Jupiter the Thunderer hopes
to make war against the tyrants of the universe,

The mortal Gaetano Caffieri is a Brother

Decided, No. 5. belonging to the Decision of
Jupiter the Thunderer, spread over the face of the
Earth, by his Decision, has had the pleasure
to belong to this Salentine Republican Decision.
We invite, therefore, all Philanthropic Societies to
lend their strong arm to the same, and to assist him
in his wants, he having come to the Decision that
k2

132

MEMOIRS OF

he will obtain liberty or death.

Dated this day,

the 29th of October, 1817Signed,

Pietro Gargaro (the Decided Grand
Master, No. 1 .)
Vito de Serio, Second Decided.
Gaetano Caffieri,
Registrar of the Dead.

As the number of these Decided ruffians was

small, they easily recognised each other. We find
that the Grand Master bears the No. 1 . ; Vito de
Serio, No. 2 ; the proprietor of the patent, Gaetano
Caffieri, No. 5.
He figures himself among the
signatures with the title of Registrar of the Dead,
which does not allude to the deceased members of
the Society, but to the victims they immolated,
and of whom they kept a register apart, on the
margin of which were found blasphemies and
infernal projects. They had also a Director of
Funeral Ceremonies, for they slaughtered with
method and solemnity. As soon as the de
tachments employed on this service found it con
venient to effect their purpose, at the signal of the
first blast of a trumpet they unsheathed their
poignards ; they aimed them at their victim at the
second blast; at the third they gradually approach

THE CARBONARI.

153

their weapons to his breast " con vero entusiasmo"

(with real enthusiasm), in their cannibal language,
and plunged them into his body at the fourth
signal.
The four points which are observable after the
signature of Pietro Gargaro, indicate his power of
passing sentence of death.
When the Decisi
wrote to any one to extort contributions, or to
command him to do any thingif they added
these four points, it was known that the person
they addressed was condemned to death in case of
disobedience. If the points were not added, he
was threatened with milder punishment, such as
laying waste his fields, or burning his house.
, The Salentine Republic, the ancient name of
this district, was also that destined for their
imaginary Republic, which they called "unanello
della Republica Europca," a link of the European
Republic.
The symbols of the Thunderbolt darting from a
cloud and striking the crowns and tiara; the Fasces
and the Cap of Liberty planted upon a death's head
between two axes ; the skulls and bones with the
words " Tristezza, Morte, Terrore, and Lutto,"
Sadness, Death, Terror, and Mourning, sufficiently
characterize this Association. Their colours were
yellow,
It is dated
red, and
according
blue, which
to the surround
common style,
the patent.
29th

k3

134

MEMOTRS OF

of October, 1817, while those of the Philadelphes

and Reformed European Patriots, which are also
given at the end, have an aefa of their own ; the
first is dated Lecce, the 15th of March, third year,
which corresponds with the year 1816, and the
second " Lecce, at the camp of Avenged Liberty,
fifth year," that is to say, in 1817The fees required for these certificates formed
a branch of the revenue of the Society, as well as
the forced contributions in money and provisions.
Such were the excesses which accompanied
these disorders, when it w as at last considered time
at Naples to put an end to them. In the summer
of 1817, General Church was sent to Lecce to
reconnoitre the country, and the state of things ;
some months afterwards, he was entrusted with
the command of the provinces of Bari and Otranto,
and General Pastore was recalled. The Intendant
Predicatella was superseded in his functions for a
time, by the Secretary-General Amanti. General
Church, armed with the royal Alter- Ego, or, in
Other words, with full and unlimited powers, passed
the Ofanto with 1200 men of the foreign regi
ments in the Neapolitan service, formed by him
self ; among them were some companies of
cavalry. He could depend upon these soldiers,
the greater part of whom were Germans, Swiss,
and Albanians. Those who were in the Country,

THfc CAKBONAKI.

]35

were only to be depended upon, after having wit

nessed the firm determination with which the
General set about the enterprize, and after the
factious individuals had been weeded out. It was
the same with the militia.
The ready co-operation of the wealthy pro
prietors has been already noticed. The Dukes of
Cesareo and of Monte Jasi were the most zealous.
Encouraged by their example, several individuals,
even of the lowest class, furnished information
concerning the criminals. The fear of not being
supported had prevented them from doing so before;
but the greatest part of the latter description were
silent, and maintained a line of conduct which indi
cated that they would not hesitate to declare for the
sectaries, if the latter should succeed in eluding the
efforts of the new General, as they had done those
of his predecessors. This was particularly the case
in the neighbourhood of Tarentum, at Grottaglie,
S. Marzano, Martina, and Francavilla, the usual
haunts of Ciro and his friends. When General
Church first visited these places, the inhabitants
looked on in gloomy silence, and no person saluted
him; a poor monk was the only person who
bowed to him.
The bandits and the banished (fuorusciti e fuorbanditi) were summoned ineffectually for the last
time, before the Royal Commission at Lecce,
instituted by the decree of the 17th of July,
K4

136

MEMOIRS OF

1817. Ciro Annichiarico sent the Justification

annexed to this Memoir. General Church made
his military dispositions. He divided his troops
into moveable columns sufficiently strong, and
only placed garrisons upon some points which
were absolutely essential ; either from their com
manding the vast plains of that country, or because
they were strong enough to serve as places of
retreat for the brigands. The ground offered little
difficulty in beating and traversing in all directions,
but it was extensive compared to the number of
the troops, and exposed them to constant fatigue,
which, however, they supported without a murmur,
encouraged by the example of their chief and
officers, and well fed and paid. The moveable
columns all operated towards a common centre,
by gradually narrowing the circle, in the middle
of which were the towns of Grottaglic, S. Marzano,
and Francavilla.
Other columns of reserve ac
companied the General, who proceeded wherever
the spies had traces of Ciro Annichiarico.
" E uri altro Uomo qudloGeneraledai precedenti
che nC hanno mandati sul corpo" said Ciro, biting
his thumb, in token of rage and disappointment:
"ho b
tanti Generali, Francesi, Italiani, e
Napolitani, ma
" This General
whom they sent
fools of many

guello Jinisce a b
mi a me."
is another sort of man from those
against me before. I have made
Generals, French, Italian, and

THE CAKBONARI.

137

Neapolitans, but this one will end by making a

fool of me.7
He soon perceived that he lost resources daily, that
his credit was weakened, and that those who were
still faithful to him would probably turn their
backs upon him. He had a proof of their fickle
ness, when, despairing of success, he attempted to
embark at Brindisi.
The captain of the vessel
recognised him, and demanded 2000 ducats as the
price of his safety ; not having them to give, he
wrote to his friends, who refused to advance the
sum.
Pressed and surrounded more and more closely,
Ciro resolved to risk a general rising and a pitched
.battle. He fixed the 27th of February for this
purpose, and appointed the place of rendezvous
under the walls of S. Marzano, but his catastrophe
took, place before that time.
S. Marzano, an Albanian colony, is a miserable
little village, containing from 900 to 1000 inha
bitants, belonging to the Marquis Bonelli, of
Barletta, and situated some miles distant from the
road between Manduria and Tarentum.
It is
admirably calculated for a military position, the
rocky hill on which the town is built, and which
is planted with olives, is surrounded and intersect
ed by garden walls ; it is quite insulated and ex
tends from east to west.
The view from the

MEMOIRS OF
terrace of the baronial castle is magnificent.
From this spot, the town of Oria and the towers
of Francavilla are discerned, and in another di
rection Monte Asole and Grottaglie.
It was from the latter place that Ciro Annirhiarico set out, on the 25th of January, 1818, with
forty horsemen and ten foot ; when at two o'clock
in the afternoon he fell in with a detachment of
cavalry consisting of eighteen men, commanded
by Captain Montorj, who charged him, and drove
him as far as Neviera, a farm at the foot of the
hill of S. Marzano. He there made some resist
ance, and afterwards retreated into the town itself.
Captain Montorj attempted to enter by the
steep and narrow path which wound up to it,
but Ciro Annichiarico and his adherents of S.
Marzano posted themselves on an elevated point
and repulsed him. He turned the hill in order to
scale it on the side of Manduria, but there, too, he
was received by a shower of balls. He observed,
however, that they were the same men who had
followed his movements, and hence concluded
that they were not strong enough to defend all
the points at once, and that he should gain his
object by deceiving them. Concealed by the wall
of a garden, he attracted the enemy by firing a
carbine or two on one side, while he suddenly
hastened with the rest of his men to the other.

THE CARBONARI.

139

This stratagem succeeded : Montorj entered S.

Marzano, and the panic-struck followers of Ciro
dispersed. Ciro himself effected his escape, Cap
tain Montorj not having men enough to guard
the,passes. Immediately afterwards, the infantry
of the moveable column arrived. A census of the
town was taken, the Mayor suggested to Major
Bianchi of the National Guard a method of dis
covering the delinquents.
Every house was
searched, and the guilty were recognized by the
smell or the blackness of their hands, a proof of
their having recently handled fire-arms and pow
der.
Vito Serio, the brothers Francesco and
Angelo Vito Lecce, Raffaello Zaccharia, and Pietro
Barbuzzi were arrested, and all executed, on the
3d of February, at Francavilla. Their heads were
placed before the church of S. Marzano, which
was blown down by a hurricane some months
afterwards, and they were buried beneath its ruins.
On this occasion the black standard and decora
tions of Ciro were taken. General Church sent
them to Naples, and they were presented to the
King by Prince Nugent, the Captain-General.
Major Bianchi followed up the advantage that had
been gained. The next day he proceeded to Fran
cavilla. He there found the inhabitants in great
fermentation, determined to break open the prisons
and release those confined, in them.
Having
ascertained who were the ringleaders, he lost not

140

MEMOIRS OF

a moment in causing them to be seized in their

houses.
He sent his gendarmes iuto the streets
with orders to lay hands on all they should meet
in arms. This daring measure terrified the people,
and fully succeeded in quelling the tumult.
The troops drew nearer Francavilla ; a military
commission was established there to try the offen
ders. General Church arrived in person. Know
ing that Ciro could not be very far distant, and
that he had the most intimate correspondence with
S. Marzano, he threatened that town with pillage
as a punishment for its rebellious conduct, unless
it enabled him to secure the person of Ciro within
eight days.
Trembling for their property, the
militia undertook to pursue him. On the 5th or
6th of February, the militia of S. Marzano learnt
that Ciro had thrown himself into the farm-house
(Masseria) of Scaserba, belonging to the chapter
of Grottaglie, at about ten miles from Francavilla
The Masserie in Apulia and the provinces of
Otranto and Tarentum are all built on the same
plan, and are capable of defence ; the word is not
altogether rendered by " farm-house," which gives
but an inadequate idea of the Masseria. They
date from the period when the incursions of the
Turks and pirates were apprehended, and when
the country people shut themselves up in their
holds with their cattle and most valuable effects,
in order to secure themselves from a sudden attack.

THE CARBONARI.

141

A square wall of enclosure, sufficiently high and

solid, generally surrounds the dwelling-house,
built against one side, and containing two or three
habitable rooms, and sometimes a small chapel,
the asylum for culprits" Qui non si gode asilo,"
(Here no sanctuary is enjoyed) informs them if this
privilege is not attached to it. The stables and
out-houses form a right angle with this dwellinghouse; but without touching it. At some dis
tance from the surrounding wall, rises a round or
square tower of two stories, standing quite alone.
The ascent to the first story is either by stone
steps inserted in the tower, by a drawbridge, or
by a ladder easily drawn up. This was the case
in the Masseria of Scaserba, the plan of which is
here given.

142

MEMOIRS OF

Plan of the Masseria of Scaserba, last place of

retreat of Ciro Annichiarico.

A. A. A. Wall of enclosure.
B. Large entrance gate.
C. Square insulated tower.
D. Door of the tower.
E. E. E. E. Granaries and stables.
Worn out with fatigue, Ciro and three com
panions, Vito di Cesare, Giovanni Palmieri, and
Michele Cuppoli, had taken refuge in Scaserba,
to repose themselves for a few hours. He had
previously provided this and all the farm-houses
of the district with ammunition and some pro

THE CARBONARI.

143

visions. When he saw the militia of S. Marzano

marching against him, he appeared very little
alarmed, and thought he could easily cut his way
through their ranks. He shot the first man dead
who came within range of his musket. This delay
cost him dear: the militia sent information to
Lieutenant Fonsmorte, stationed at the " Castelli,"
a strong position between Grottaglie and Francavilla. This officer hastened to the spot with forty
men. On seeing him approach, Ciro perceived
that a vigorous attack was to be made. He shut up
the people of the Masseria in the straw magazine,
and put the key in his pocket. He took away the
ladder from the tower, and loaded, with the aid of
his companions, all the guns, of which he had a
good number.
Major Bianchi, informed of what was going on,
sent on the same evening a detachment of Gen
darmes, under Captain Corsi, and the next morn
ing proceeded in person to Scaserba. The siege
was formed by 132 soldiers; the militia, on which
little dependence was placed, were stationed at
some distance, and in the second line.
Ciro vigorously defended the approaches to his
tower till sun-set. He attempted to escape in the
night, but the neighing of a horse made him
suspect that some cavalry had arrived, whose
pursuit it would be impossible to elude.
He
retired, after having killed, with a pistol shot, a

144

MEMOIRS OF

Voltigeur, stationed under the wall he had at

tempted to scale. He again shut himself up in
his tower, and employed himself till morning in
making cartridges. At day-break, the besiegers
tried to burst open the wooden gate of the outer
wall ; Ciro and his men repulsed the assailants
by a well-directed fire, they killed five and wound
ed fourteen men. A barrel of oil was brought in
order to burn the door. The first man who set
fire to it was shot through the heart.
A four
pounder which had been conveyed to the place>
was pointed against the roof of the tower. Several
of this calibre had been contrived to be easily
dismounted from their carriages, and transported
on mules. This little piece produced great effect.
The tiles and bricks which fell, forced Ciro to
descend from the second story to the first. He
was tormented with a burning thirst, for he had
forgotten to provide himself with water, and he
never drank wine. This thirst soon became in
supportable.
After some deliberations with his companions,
he demanded to speak with General Church, who
he believed was in the neighbourhood, then to the
Duke of Jasi, who was also absent; at last he
resolved to capitulate with Major Bianchi. He
addressed the besiegers, and threw them some
bread. Major Bianchi promised him that he
should not be maltreated by the soldiers.
He

THE CARBONARI.

145

descended the ladder, opened the door of the

tower, and presented himself with the words.
" Eccomi, Don Giro !"Here I am, Don Giro !
He begged them to give him some water to
quench his thirst, and desired them to liberate
the farmer and his family, who had been shut up
all this while in the straw magazine. He declared
that they were innocent, and distributed money
among them.
He suffered himself to be searched and bound
patiently; some poison was found upon him ; hq.
asserted that his companions had prevented him
from taking it.
He conversed quietly enough
with Major Bianchi on the road to Francavilla,
and related to him the principal circumstances of
his life.
In prison, he appeared to be interested for the
fate of some of his partisans, begging that they
might not be persecuted, and declaring that they
had been forced to do what they had done.
He had entertained some hope, till the moment
when he was placed before the Council of War,
under the direction of Lieutenant-Colonel Guarini.
He addressed a speech to him, taking him for
General Church.
He insisted on speaking to
that officer; this was refused, and he resigned
himself to his fate, drily saying,

" Ho capito,"

(I understand ).
, .
When condemned to death, a Missionary offered

146

MEMOIRS OF

him the consolations of religion, Ciro answered

him with a smile, " Lasciate queste chiacchiere;
siamo del? istessa prqfessione ; non ci burliumo fra
noi.nLet us leave alone this prating ; we are of
the same profession ; don't let us laugh at one
another.
As he was led to execution, the 8th of February,
1818, he recognised Lieutenant Fonsmorte, and
addressed these words to him, " Se io fosse Re, vi
farei Capitano,"If I were King I would make
you a Captain. This officer was the first to arrive
at Scaserba with his soldiers.
The streets of Francavilla were filled with
people : there were spectators even upon the roofs.
They all preserved a gloomy silence.
On his arrival at the place of execution, Ciro
wished to remain standing, he was told to kneel,
he did so, presenting his breast He was then
informed that malefactors, like himself, were shot
with their backs towards the soldiers; he sub
mitted, at the same time advising a priest, who
persisted in remaining near him, to withdraw, so as
not to expose himself.
Twenty-one balls took effect, four in the head,
yet he still breathed and muttered in his throat;
the twenty-second put an end to him.
This
fact is confirmed by all the officers and soldiers
present at his death. " As soon as we perceived,"
said a soldier, very gravely, " that he was cn

THE CARBONARI.

147

chanted, we loaded his own musket with a silver

ball, and this destroyed the spell."* It will be
easily supposed that the people, who always attri
buted supernatural powers to him, were confirmed
in their belief by this tenaciousuess of life, which
they considered miraculous.
On the following day, the 9th of February, ten
of the most criminal among the Decisi were
executed at Francavilla, among whom were all
the dignitaries whose signatures are contained in
the patent given at the end.
They were led through the streets of Franca
villa ; several of them recognized, at the windows,
the fathers, the sons, or the relations of those
whom they had assassinated, and asked pardon of
them. But these were the only ones who express
ed the least feeling of repentance. All the others
were so hardened and fanatical, that they died
without regretting their crimes, and with a fero
cious indifference.
The military tribunal afterwards brought about
227 persons to trial ; nearly half of them, having

* It is still believed in Scotland, that Viscount Dundee, comflionly known by the name of Graham of Claverhouse, was invul
nerable to all ordinary weapons, and that his death, at the battle
of Killiecrankie, was owing to the presence of mind of a young
officer, who, finding himself within pistol shot of Dundee, twisted a
silver button off his jacket, with which he loaded his piece and shot
the Viscount through the heart. T.
L 2

MEMOIRS OF
been guilty of murder and robbery by force of
arms, were condemned to capital punishment, and
their heads were exposed near the places of their
residence, or in the scene of their crimes.
In a short time, peace was restored to these
desolated provinces. General Church used his
power with discretion. His established principle
was to listen to, or receive no accusation against
political opinions, or connexions with secret so
cieties; but he punished crimes and deeds of
violence with severity.
He caused the accused
to be tried without delay ; expelled vagrants ; and
dismissed from their situations such government
officers as could not be depended upon. Instead
of seizing the arms without an equivalent, he
caused their value to be paid. He threatened with
death such artisans as should dare to manufacture
prohibited arms. He exhorted the confessors to
endeavour to get possession of the poignards, or
to oblige the penitents to throw them into wells.
The city of Lecce, grateful for the blessing of
restored tranquillity, voted a statue to the King,
and a sword of honour, with the freedom of the
city, to General Church.
The following are extracts from the several
publications and circulars of the Field-Marshal,
Plenipotentiary Commissioner of the King, ad
dressed to the authorities of the provinces of
Lecce and Otranto, to efface even the traces of

THE CARBONARI.

149

the impression which these scenes of horror had

produced there.
General Church to the Syndics, 6$c.
Head-Quarters, Lecce,
20th September, 1818.
. 1. H. M. the King has commanded the publi
cation of an act of perfect amnesty as to the past,
as far as regards the criminal associations held in
different parts of the province by some persons
who attempt to mislead the people. The act of
H. M. comprehends all those who, from ignorance
or fear, have consented to belong to these associ
ations, it being well understood that they have
returned
The General
to the straight
having made
line of
a duty.
report to the Kingi
on the tranquillity which reigned in his division,
and on the dissolution of the sects, H. M. declares,
through him, that he no longer believes in the
existence of such associations.
2. Persons imprisoned, exiles, or fugitives, as
well as those guilty of assassination, or ordinary
crimes, are not comprehended in this amnesty.
3. After this declaration of the sovereign, the
General, commanding this sixth military division,
publicly announces that he will receive no accu
sation against the individuals of this province, on
the subject of the principal or secondary part
l 3

150

MEMOIRS OF

which they may be accused of having taken in

the unfortunate events of the province.
4. The Kins: thanks all those who have contributed to the establishment of good order."
A proclamation of the month of April, 1819,
directs all the Local Authorities who, till then,
had addressed their reports directly to the General,
to send them in future to their ordinary superiors,
as they did before these troubles.
Lastly, a letter dated Lecce, 28th of April, 1819,
contains the following dispositions :
" The reign of the assassins being at an end, and
all the province tranquillized, it is resolved, in
order to extinguish their memory, that the heads
of the malefactors executed in pursuance of the
sentences of the military commission, and which
are exposed under the church towers, and other
parts of the town, shall be taken down and
interred, and that the places where they were ex
posed shall be entirely cleaned and white-washed.
This letter shall be read by the Arch-priests in all
the churches."
The death of Giro and his principal accomplices
happily put an end to disturbances which had
threatened to take a wider range. The following
Justification, which Ciro sent to Lecce, in answer

THE CARBONARI.

151

to the summons addressed to him, will complete

the portrait of this audacious robber captain, who
was not altogether destitute of those talents which
most impose upon the multitude.

Justification of Ciro Annlchiarico.

To the Commission assembled by the Royal Decree
of the \7th of July, 1817.
The Priest Ciro Annichiarico, of the town of
Grottaglie, has learnt with surprize that the com
mission appointed in Lecce for the purpose of
launching the thunders of exile against those who
range the country in arms, committing excesses,
and resisting the public force, demands the reason
why Ciro Annichiarico lives out of his country.
At the same time the definitive sentence of exile
is threatened to be passed, unless within the space
of eight days, the relations or friends of the
accused explain to the Commission the reason of
his non-appearance.
It is not to be hoped, Most Respectable Signors,
that any person can be found to undertake the
defence of Annichiarico, since the fear of the
soldiers, who would mark such a person out for
destruction, prevents even his nearest relations
from lending the succour they owe, to one who
L4,

152

MEMOIRS OF

belongs to them by every tie of nature and of

blood, I am, therefore, obliged to make my own
defence, which I write in a gloomy forest (dalla
piu orrida foresta), that is at once my home and
my sanctuary. I write it with boldness of heart,
for I feel within me no tumult which reproaches
me with having ever acted against reason, or with
having in the slightest degree offended against the
sacred laws of virtue, of probity, and of honour.
At this moment I appeal to your own unsullied
justice, and am quite certain that, having laid
aside all prejudice and passion, your generous,
wise, and well-formed hearts will be penetrated
with compassion for one who, till this moment,
has been, through misrepresentation, the object
of In
hatred
the and
year
execration.
1803, the murder committed on
the body of Giuseppe, son of the late Nicola
Motolese, was imputed to me. At that time the
town of Grottaglie was divided by two parties,
which are always the cause of private and public
ruin. I was supposed to belong to one of these,
for which reason the above imputation was cast
upon me by the opposite faction. The govern
ment which then regulated the province of Lecce
began to persecute my innocent brothers without
ceasing, expecting them to deliver up their own
brother. Trusting in my innocence, and induced
by fraternal love, I instantly flew to present my

THE CARBONAKI.
self to the extraordinary commission of Apulia
sitting at Trani. That assembly being dissolved,
I was handed over to Lecce to be tried by the
ordinary tribunal. It was to me a most fearful
instance of the intrigues of power ; for without
defence, without a possibility of obtaining per
mission to extend the very limited time allowed
for trial, and, as I was told, even without the con
sent of my feeble counsel ; my cause was pervert
ed, I became the victim of imposture, and was
sentenced to fifteen years of exile.
For four
successive years I was kept in the most dreadful of
prisons, without being sent to my destination,
notwithstanding the repeated petitions which
I sent to the ministers of justice.
I at last
succeeded in escaping, by eluding the vigilance
of my keepers. I found myself free, it is true,
but every effort, every possible intrigue was
employed to arrest me. From that moment, the
most cruel and incessant persecutions were begun,
even to attempting my death by a black scheme
of treachery to which my innocent brother fell a
victim, and by which I was severely wounded.
For a long time I was obliged to live in a wretched
state, in remote solitudes, and my existence differ
ed in nothing from that of savages and wild
beasts.
The most gloomy caverns formed my
retreat, and in constant want of the merest neces
saries for human sustenance, I passed my days

MEMOIRS OF
amidst the horrors of the forests and of the rocks.
I sometimes obtained a scanty meal from the pity
of the keepers of the flocks ; and the wild fruits of
mother earth often supplied me with the means of
satisfying hunger.
All that remained with me
was my invincible courage, and the peace of a
conscience which reproached me with nothing. In
the mean time, disturbances took place in various
parts of the province, and the blame was always
unjustly made to fall upon me. Whatever robbery,
whatever murder, whatever assassination* was
committed on the face of the earth, was instantly
given out by the cabal to be owing to the Abbate
Annichiaiico.
The very offenders themselves,
either to conceal their own names or to excuse
their iniquitous actions, have implicated no name
but that of the Abbate Annichiaiico. And why
have they not said that the wars, fomented by
cruel ambition, to the destruction of miserable
human beingswhy have they not said that these
also were kindled by the Abbate Annichiarico ?
In consequence of such accusation, without proofs,
because all were false, the government of the
military occupation-}- declared me without the pale
of the laws.
* (qualunque assassinamento) : assassiiiamento means strictly a
high-way robbery. The brigands are called assassini. T.
f "L'occupazione niilitare," the terra appropriated to Murat's
government.

THE CARBONARI.

155

My innocent brothers, sent for the second time

to the prisons of Lecce, suffered for many months
a punishment which they had done nothing to
deserve; while their families, abandoned, and des
titute of all human succour, languished in the
greatest misery. These, indeed, would have been
circumstances sufficient to drive me to every excess,
had not the Almighty (il grande Architetto dell'
universo), by his timely assistance, revived in my
heart the sentiments of religion.
In the mean time, the arms of the Bourbons
re-entered the kingdom, and the glorious reigning
monarch benignly resolved to recal into the order
of society all those who had been banished from
it. Among the rest, I sought to profit by the
beneficent determination of the sovereign, and
therefore presented myself to the authorities at
Lecce. The government favoured my wishes, I
obtained a temporary safe conduct, I was fixed at
Bari under the inspection of the police, and the
most pleasing hopes were kindled within me, of
seeing myself for once at rest, living without fear,
in society and order. It was then that I examined
myself and called to mind my duties. I reflected
seriously on the indelible obligations imposed on
me by my sacred profession, and I determined to
retire to the College of the Missionaries at Bari,
with the permission of the usual minister employed
for this purpose by the Eccellentissimo Capece

MEMOIRS OF
,

Latro, Archbishop of Tarentum. I was on the

point of following up my noble resolution, when
the thunderbolt burst upon my head (allorcki intest lo scroscio del violentissimo fulmine, che si seagliava sul mio capo). Ah! let it be permitted
me, most respectable Signors, to exclaim this mo
ment with iEneas, (coW Enea di Virgilio) " Infandum jubete vosrenovare dolorem."
I have
not force enough to express to you how my heart
was rent, or the deplorable state which I miserably
sunk into, when I was secretly informed by a
faithful friend, that my arrest was ordered on the
cruel accusation of having infringed the mandate.
I vanished like lightning from Bari ; I went to the
capital to obtain redress, and to discover once more
the black conspiracy against me. All was vain.
The hopes I had cherished, disappeared ; and while
perplexed as to the steps I ought to take, the power
of my relentless persecutors prevailed.
At last
I left the capital, and guided only by that fortitude
and constancy so necessary in my misfortunes, I
betook myself to my old haunts in the solitude
of the forests, and recommenced a savage and
wretched life.
In this miserable state, circumstances invited
me to crimes and vengeance; but the feelings of
nature and religion within me recalled me to
duty. After some time, I learnt with horror from
the charitable shepherds, that a set of brigands

THE CARBONARI.

157

infested the Apennines that lie between Martina

and Grottaglie my native town. I was told that
husbandmen had abandoned their farms, flocks and
herds, and the labours of the field, to fly from
repeated incursions of these assassins. I was in
formed of the robberies and outrages committed
on passengers, and I felt my heart bleed (spezzare)
when these disasters happened, and especially
when my townsmen were the victims. A better
opportunity could not, certainly, present itself to
an irritated man, to improve his miserable state, by
joining this horde of robbers. But I felt just the
reverse : I conceived in my mind the noble idea of
succouring mankind. This thought raised within
me the pleasing hope of being one day able to un
deceive the government, as to the calumnies that
were heaped upon me. I therefore issued from my
cavern with courage, and forsaking the deep forest
that had been my home, I at last arrived at the
road to Martina in the Apennines. I forbear to
disclose what happened afterwards; suffice it to
say, and I can say it with truth, that these roads
through the Apennines are free, the traveller
journeys without dread, the farm-houses are re
opened, and the shepherd sings while he leads his
peaceful flock to pasture.
Such, most noble Signors, is the faithful narra
tive of the actions of the priest Ciro Annichiarico.
I live at a distance from my dear country, because

MEMOIHS OF
the government will not receive me into society
and order: I fly my father's house, because the
seizure of my person and my death are meditated.
Treachery has confined me to the woods, and
deprives me of human intercourse. If the govern
ment of the province had not been so precipitate,
in lending faith to calumny, I should certainly be
enjoying my natural and civil liberty ; and I should
at this moment be in the bosom of my family, or
at least I should continue to live at Bari, under
the inspection of the police. I should at any rate
be living in order, and I too should taste the sweets
and blessings of society. Thus have I myself
assigned the reason of my absence, which was
asked of my relations and friends. The Commis
sion has, however, declared me out of the pro
tection of the law, and has threatened to pass the
definitive sentence against me. Let me be per
mitted to ask, in one word, what are my offences?
Just those that are falsely attributed to me by my
adversaries, those that are the offspring of cabal
and imposture, those that are brought forward by
culprits in custody, who, either corrupted by in
trigue, or secretly flattering themselves that they
may escape punishment, have been induced to
name the Abbate Annichiarico. And do these
deserve to be believed? and are these the grounds
of my banishment? and is it thus that your incor
ruptible (incorrotta) justice, most excellent Si

THE CARBOXARI.

159

gnors, is induced to heap the most opprobrious

punishment upon a citizen, in whose breast the
sincerest sentiments of honour and virtue are
engraved? upon a man who, with the warmest
feelings of charity, has been ready to shed his
blood to aid his fellow-creatures, by snatching them
from the fangs (branche) of bandits? Have I
ever resisted in arms the public force? Have I
ever ranged the country in arms for the purposes
of robbery, and to load myself with crimes? If
such actions had ever been committed by me, I
should certainly not find a hand charitable enough
to prolong my life, and the earth itself would not
afford me an asylum from destruction.
Ah ! most gentle Signors, why will you drive
me to desperation, and to crimes which my heart
so much abhors ! Why seek the total ruin of a
man, of an honest citizen, of a priest, of a faithful
friend to public order? At this moment I appeal
to your rigid justice ;you, who cherish in your
breasts the sentiments of pity, exert yourselves, at
length, in favour of an unhappy being, miserably
oppressed and persecuted for the long space of
fifteen years; make an energetic representation to
the Sovereign, that permission may be granted me
to return to society, and to live in the discharge of
my sacred duties. I see the abyss that threatens to
swallow me up; I foresee the series of evils and
crimes into which I may be compelled : I shudder

160

MEMOIRS OF THE CARBONARI.

at the prospect. Spare me, for pity's sake, this sad

catastrophe of misfortunes, and lend assistance to
one whose life is passed in the gloomy solitude
of the forest, and the loathsomeness of the ca
vern.
The Priest Giro Annichiarico.

The 6th November, 1817.

CONCLUSION

LETTER
FKOM THE
AUTHOR TO THE TRANSLATOR.

Naples, Jan. 25th, 1821.

Sir,
I trust this letter will reach you in
time to be inserted at the end of the Memoirs of
the Carbonari, as it contains some facts in support
of the opinions already advanced as to the natural
progress of the sect, if not disturbed by external
force.
A pamphlet* which appeared about a month ago,
in defence of G. Paladini, S. Vecchiarelli, and P.
Maenza, proves, that, from the month of August,
1820, that is to say, shortly after the revolution of
Naples, the Carbonari were divided into two dis
tinct parties: the first may be called, that of the
Constitutional Carbonari, who considered their
labours ended, and their object obtained, on the
* Memoria del Awocato D. Carlo Quarto, nclla Causa dei tre
Arrestati Guglielmo Paladini, Salvatore Vecchiarelli e Pasquale
Maenza, colla Decisione della Gran Corte Criminale di Napoli ; si
aggiunge una Leggenda delle Operazioni combinate per forraare c
wjtenere la Calunnia, ed tin Indirizzo di Accusa al Parlamento
wotro i Calunniatori.
M

16G

ALTHOll's LETTER

establishment of a constitutional government. The

second, or Ultra Carbonari, redoubled their zeal at
that period; and had it not been for the opposition
of the others, they would, undoubtedly, have forced
the revolution of their country to run through all
the changes of that of France, and have hurried it
as soon as possible into a reign of terror.
At the time when the Austrian reinforcements
had begun to assemble in Lombardy, when the
Prince of Cariato had been sent back from Vienna,
and Palermo was in a state of insurrection, men of
sense perceived that nothing could avert the storm
but moderate conduct, and carefully avoiding the
horrors which have hitherto been but the too
faithful attendants on popular insurrections.
With these intentions, they endeavoured to gain
the Carbonari, to which order they belonged, and
contrived to win over the Supreme Lodge of Naples,
whose president, Giuliano, had formerly been a
police officer; and . also some of the provincial
magistracies.
But their views were displeasing to the UltraCarbonari, whose doctrine it was, that blood must
cement all revolutions, and that it was impossible
to answer for their partizans, unless they implicated
them in the commission of crimes, to cut off all
hope of retreat. They raised the cry of imbecility
and treason, and demanded vigorous measures
Several provincial lodges hastened to send deputies

163

TO THE TRANSLATOR.

to Naples, in order to stir up the Carbonaro popu

lace, and to arm it tumultuously. But, whether it
was that the deputies acquitted themselves imper
fectly of their commission, or that the Committee of
Public Safety, with Borelli at its head, had coun
teracted them effectually; they were but coldly
received.
But the ultras of the capital were not
ened at this first repulse : they, on their
patched emissaries into the provinces.
Vecchiarelli and Maenza, were of the

disheart
part, des
Faladini,
number :

they went to Salerno on the 2d September, thence

to Avellino on the 5th, and came back to Naples
on the night between the 5th and 6th ; they were
arrested in their carriage, in the Square of La Carita.
It appears that letters from the Governor and
from the General Commandant of Avellino gave
the first alarm concerning their mission.
They
were accused of " attempting to stir up sedition in
the three provinces, Naples, Salerno, and Avellino,
in order to overturn the high government autho
rities ; and of conspiring against the sacred persons
of the King and other members of the Royal
Family."* The suspicions against them were in
creased, by their destroying their papers the mo
ment thev were arrested.
* Memorial of the Advocate D. C. Quarto,, p, 3.
ai 2

164

author's letter

After passing sixty-seven days imprisoned in the

Castles of St. Elmo and Del' Ovo, the persons
accused were dismissed by the ordinary tribunals
to which this cause had been referred, for want of
proof.
Meantime the Jacobine lodges, though forming
but a slender minority, continue their dark in
trigues. Their members, interdicted and rejected
from all community with the others, bear the name
of Solitary or Dispersed Greeks, i Greci solitarj o
dispersi. The lodge of the Pythagoreans, whose
oath has been given in the body of the work, as
well as the acts of the third rank of Carbonari,
which we mentioned as an anomaly in the sect,
appear to bear reference to them. A short time
ago, Lucente, the Governor of Teramo, caused
their lodges to be shut up. It is these Dispersed
Greeks who have filled many peaceable persons
with such terror, that they do not think them
selves safe from their violence at any time or
place, and who have alarmed the minds even of the
most august personages, although they have hi
therto been watched with sufficient vigilance to
prevent their attempting any serious outrage.
Theexcellent constitution of the National Guard,
Guardia di Sicurezza, of the capital, formed as it
is of proprietors interested in the maintenance of
order, has greatly facilitated the means of doing
this. The Neapolitan legions, on the contrary,

TO THE TRANSLATOR.

165

composed ot the classes in less easy circumstances,

and of which almost every soldier is a Carbonaro,
represent the most turbulent party. Bebind-hand
indiscipline as in dress, they are not in habits of
cordiality with the National Guard, and still less
with the Royal Guard, who are believed to incline
towards the Calderari.
These misunderstandings broke out openly a
few days since, on occasion of the suspending
veto of the Prince Regent pronounced upon cer
tain modifications of the Spanish constitution,
relative to religion. The veto had been instigated
by the violent remonstrance of Cardinal Ruffo,
Archbishop of Naples, and of twenty-two of the
other archbishops and bishops of the kingdom.
On the 15th January, some hundreds of persons,
said to belong to the legions and to the violent
lodges, assembled in the Court of Parliament, and
took possession of the tribunes. They had the
impudence to address the deputies, and to demand
the punishment of the Cardinal Archbishop ; the
adoption of the modifications, in defiance of the
veto; the dissolution of the Committee of Public
Safety ; and the reduction of the Royal Guard.
The reproaches, however, of the popular deputies,
who taxed them with having sold themselves to
some foreign power, in order to dishonour the
nation, sufficed to silence and disperse the mob.
But the same evening, skirmishes between the

166

AUTHORS LETTER

legionaries and the National Guard, took place in

several quarters of the city : happily, the latter
were uniformly successful ; and we are assured,
that a reform in the legions of the capital, and a
purging of the lodges, in order to get rid of the
unavowed members, will be the consequence, and
that they have already begun, by withdrawing and
burning some thousands of patents which had
been granted to Carbonari of that kind.
The war which threatens the Kingdom of the
Two Sicilies, and which the sects have in some
measure drawn upon it, makes the constitutional
Carbonari exert themselves to the utmost, to efface
from their association the character of a secret
society, and to impress it with that of an institution
for the maintenance of the present order of things,
which they look upon as their own work.
It is on this consideration, that Don G. Troyse,
minister of pardon and justice, addressed a circular
letter to the higher clergy, in order to convince
them, that the Papal bulls refusing absolution
after confession to the members of secret societies,
are no longer applicable to the Carbonari :*
" It is time," he says, " to abjure the errors into
which we had fallen with regard to these societies,
* Circolare del Ministro di Giustizia c Grazic, agli ID- e
Riv" Arcivescovi, Vescovi, &c. del 23 Dec. 1820. Napoli. Signat. II Ministro degli Affari Ecclesiastici,
G. Troyse.

TO TUF. TRANSLATOR.

167

whose object is no longer a mystery, because they

are so widely extended that no class of citizens
can now be ignorant of the purposes of their
meetings. They laboured to obtain that consti
tution, which was solemnly acknowledged and
sworn to by his Majestythat constitution, which,
by its twelfth article, acknowledges no religion
but that of the Roman, Catholic and Apostolic
Church, professed by our fathers, and which shall
always be ours.
" Now is it not wilfully diminishing the respect
due to the Holy See, when we attribute to it power
nutters merely political, and completely foreign
to its province ? All mystery being now laid aside,
and the object of the Carbonari openly avowed,
their societies are no longer subject to the bulls in
any way, but are amenable directly and exclu
sively to the laws of the realm."
With regard to the occurrences at Lecce, in
1817, &c. of which I have placed the particulars
after the account of the Carbonari, you will do
well to turn your attention to the debates of the
Neapolitan Parliament, on the 3d of January,
1821.
The deputy Arcovito brought up a report, in the
name of the Committee of Legislation, upon the
prisoners of the province of Lecce, endeavouring
to prove, in the first place, that real anarchy
reigned in that province in 1817, &c. ; in the

168

AUTHOR'S LETTER TO THE TRANSLATOR.

second, that it arose from the strife of political

parties ; and in the third, that the crimes committed
by the prisoners in question were all in conse
quence of their various political opinions. He
therefore ended by proposing a decree to suppress
all criminal proceedings against such as had not
been tried, and to remit the remainder of the
punishment
The deputy
ofNicolai,
such as had
andbeen
several
already
of hiscondemned.
colleagues,
declaimed vehemently against the proposal of the
Committee : they observed that, far from extenua
ting the enormity of crime, the pretence of com
mitting it for the sake of liberty, only served to
aggravate it.
The majority of votes in the assembly rejected
the proposal of the legislative committee, and by
their decision, confirmed the general opinion, that
the associations of Lecce, in 1817, only used the
pretence of politics, to cloak their infamy and
rapine.
Accept, Sir, the assurance of the very highest
consideration.
&c. &c. &c.

END OF THE MEMOIR.

APPENDIX

Baillet (Vie des Saints, ler Juillet, 9me siecle, vers 1'an
1017, Paris, 1704,) informs us that St. Thibault or Theobaldus was descended from the first Counts of Brie and
Champagne. Surrounded with luxury and riches, his fond
ness for solitude displayed itself, notwithstanding, at an
early age ; Thibault refused to marry, or to command the
companies which one of his uncles had levied in 1037
against the Emperor Conrad the Salic*
He quitted his father's house, with a nobleman (Gautier),
a friend of his, about 1053 ; they left their followers and
equipage at Rheims, and proceeded on foot into Germany,
and in the forest of Piting in Suabia they began to live as
poor hermits.
* If St. Theobald was descended from the first Counts of Brie and Cham
pagne, he could scarcely be the nephew of Eudes II. fifth Count of Cham
pagne, who claimed the crown of Burgundy, in opposition to Conrad the
Salic, and was killed in battle, 1037, as Eudes himself only succeeded to the
title of Count of Champagne and Brie, on the death of Count Stephen without
heirs. He might, however, be the nephew of Eudes, if we suppose hira the na
tural son of Theobald, or Thibault, Count of Blois, who was never married,
the brother and predecessor of Eudes, in the county of Blois. This line of
Blois, Count of Champagne, descended from Tbibaut le Tricheur, whose daugh
ter Leutgard married Herbert of Vermandois, of the House of Charlemagne,
nd first Count of Champagne. This Thibaut was the son of Gerlo, the near
relation of Rollo, first Duke of Normandy, and the intermarriage of his poste
rity with that of Rollo connects them almost equally with the royal race of
England.See Art de Verifier kt Data. T.
N

170

APPENDIX I.

Convinced that they could live only by labour, they oc

casionally went to the neighbouring villages and hamlets
where they worked as journeymen, carrying stones and
mortar under the direction of the masons, or laboured in
the fields under the reapers, assisted in loading and un
loading carriages, cleaned stables with the farmers' ser
vants, and, above all, prepared charcoalfor theforges, &c. &c.
Notwithstanding their humility, the respect which their
virtue gained them in the villages, procured for them
honours which they were resolved to avoid by pilgrimage.
They returned to France, after having walked barefoot to
St. Jacques de Compostella in Gallicia. Thibault met
his father at Treves in 1054 ; but that he might not be af
fected, aud so turned from his devotion, he renewed his
pious travels with the blessed Gautier. After having
adored the tombs of the Apostles at Rome, they went to
Venice to embark for the Holy Land, but the war between
the Christians and Saracens prevented them from reaching
it. In 1056 they set about travelling through various
parts of Italy, and after wandering up and down they came
to a woody place called Salanigo, near Vicenza, where they
established themselves in an old chapel dedicated to the
martyrs St. Hermagoras and St. Fortunatus. Gautier died
in 1059. Thibault continued in the same place, and lived
in the greatest austerity. The Bishop of Vicenza, called
Sindeker, raised him to sacred orders, and made him a
priest. He obtained from God, even in his life-time, the
gift of miracles ; but he was tormented by temptations
which ceased only two years before his death, at the end of
a painful and offensive disease. The fame of his sanctity
reached his parents, who went to see him, and his mother
established herself in a little cell not far from his own. He

APPENDIX I.

171

expired the last day of June, 1066. Three days before his
death there was a considerable earthquake ; Thibault's
dwelling received five shocks, which were followed by a
violent agony, in which he suffered extremely.
There are various opinions as to the place where his re
mains were deposited ; the most authentic account is, that
they were carried back from Vicenza to France some years
after his death. His relics were distributed in France,
Switzerland, and Upper Germany, as far as Vienna in
Austria, and in Venice itself, where a parish was founded
in his name in 1171, which was called by corruption
S. Baldo.
It is said that Thibault was canonised by Pope Alex
ander III. His principal festival is celebrated in some
places on the 30th June, the day of his death; in others, on
the 1st July, &c. He is sometimes confounded with St.
Thibault de Vengadice, St. Thibault d'Alba, and St. Thi
bault de Marly de Vaux des Cornay.*
* The existence of secret religions societies in the reign of Alexander III.
has been noticed in the extract from Miiller, given in the text. It is remark
able that, about the period of the canonisation of St Theobald, the patron of
file Carbonari, Panvinius placed the foundation of the order of Umilianti by
certain Fuoruscili, or banished men of Milan.See Cronologia Eccltiiastica. 1.

N 2

172

APPENDIX II.

The minutes of the proceedings (at Rome) against the

conspiracy of the Carbonari discovered at Macerata have
been often mentioned in the preceding Memoir. They
contain, in fact, a correct statement of their intentions and
mode of proceeding in the Papal states.
These minutes, presented by the Advocate Leggieri,
Recorder of the ordinary criminal court of Rome, ap
pointed to conduct this celebrated cause, were printed by
order of Government.
The title is" A sua Eccellenza reverendissima Mon
signor Pacca, Governatore di Roma e Direttore Generale di
Polizia, e sua Congregazione CriminaleMacerata ed altri
luoghi di fellonia, contro : Giacomo Papis, il Conte Cesare
Gallo, Luigi Carletti, Francesco Riva, il Conte Vicenzo
Fattiboni, l'Avvocato Pietro Castellano, Antonio Cofr
toloni, e Pio Sampaolesi, ed altri, inquisiti, arrestati ed
assenti. Ristretto del Processo informativo. Roma, nella
Stamperia della Rev. Camera Apostolica."
But as very few copies were printed, it is now become
almost impossible to procure one. It has therefore been
judged necessary, in order to complete and vivify the pic
ture that has been just drawn, to add an extract from these
official notes. The introductory part has been selected in
preference, as embracing the whole subject.

APPENDIX II.

173

" Towards the end of June in the year 1817, a regu

lar proceeding was instituted, by the delegation of Macerata, against certain individuals who were discovered to be
long to secret societies, and who had made attempts against
the public tranquillity and safety.
The active machina
tions in which the Carbonari of the Papal departments
were indefaligably engaged, particularly in the beginning
of the autumn of 1816, were directed to the same object.
They began to unite more closely, and established Vendite
in many places where they had never existed. As they
increased in force they sent a confidential agent from Fenno
to Bologna, believing that there existed in that city a Su
preme Vendita, which regulated all the others. Instead of
this they found there the Central Council of the Guelphs,
which received the petitions conveyed by the agent, and
concerted with him on the means of instituting Guelph
Councils. The plan laid down was effected by instituting
these councils in places where they had not before exist
ed, as far as the Marches, and composing them of secta
ries of all kinds, and particularly of Carbonari.
A secret and impenetrable correspondence was set on
foot by them, by means of a dictionary of various words,
referable to others of real meaning, with the aid of
numbers, and fictitious names, for the safe conveyance of
letters to the individuals composing the different councils.
The secret societies were united together by a Project
which has fallen into the hands of government, and among
whose articles there appears a particular engagement-To
maintain an extensive and active correspondence among
the sectaries, expressly for the communication of the or
ders of the general centre in BolognaTo augment the
number of sectaries, and to obtain monthly information of
N 3

174

APPENDIX II.

their
readiness
progress,
or fitness
and respective
to bear arms,
qualities
(attitudine
; including
all' armi,)
that of
as
may be gathered from the following articles.
Plan of Organization, for the Union of Secret Societies,
andfor establishing an extensive Communication, and an
active and secure Correspondence:
1 . The Roman state shall be divided, for the present,
into three grand divisions ; these shall be divided into pri
mary centers ; and these again into secondary centers.
2. The first division in the Legation of Bologna is a pri
mary center ; the second division consists of the Legations
of Ferrara, Ravenna, and Forli; which last shall be a pri
mary center, as well as Ancona, for the three Marches of
Fermo, Macerata, and Ancona, which will form the third
division.
6. Every secret society will observe its own constitution,
and will act according to its own regulations.
7. In order to have an accurate and active communica
tion, and that the correspondence may be secure, the al
phabet of the Guelphs will be adopted.
9. Every representative will attend to the particular in
terests of the respective society by which he was elected,
and will keep up an uninterrupted correspondence with it,
in order to secure a free communication with the centers,
. according to the orders emanating from the general center,
. (fixed by the same plan at Bologna.)
16. In the monthly statement, particularizing every so
ciety subordinate to the primary center, individuals will be
classed and described as proprietors, wealthy or otherwise,
young, old, titled, fit to bear arms, &c.

APPENDIX II.
In the same plan of organization, it is settled by a par
ticular provision for the Society, that
" Every council that shall have appointed its committee
will assign to every individual composing such committee,
a certain number of Guelphs, proportioned to the extent
of the society, to instruct them in their duties, and to cul
tivate a general public feeling.
" Those who are at the head of small divisions will be ex
pected to report their own proceedings to the counsellors
ofthose divisions, in order that the latter may acquaint the
council with all the advantages resulting from such instruc
tions, and from the influence of the spirit of the Guelphs ;
that it may reckon upon, and avail itself of, such individuals
as are most zealously attached to the great general cause."
Ancona, the center of Guelphism in the Marches, and
the principal seat tof Carbonarism, went still farther in its
zeal, by constituting within its walls the Supreme Vendita,
which had been sought in vain at Bologna. Its proceedings
were directed to the same object, expressed in the plan
already quoted, but it rendered itself singular, by making
use of secret passports, consisting of cards of spades and
hearts, provided with a dry seal, with the initial letters
A. V. A. Alta Vendita di Ancona, in order that the Good
Cousins might be recognized without difficulty in their tra
vels, and might receive all those demonstrations of hospi
tality, which (they say) peculiarly belong to the philan
thropic principles of Carbonarism.
This Vendita allotted the distribution of these passports,
in the provinces of Romagna and Lombardy, to the secta
ries of Bologna, reserving to itself the dispensation of them,
in the Marches and the Roman state.
It was expressed in the instructions of these passports,
n4

176

APPENDIX II.

that their system was only known to the First Lights, (the
Grand Masters,) in order that " it might be more effec
tually concealed from the eye of the vigilant wolf; and the
necessary signs were added, in case the departure of the
Good Cousin should be secret, or that he should be obliged
to travel under afeigned name."
In the midst of these insidious proceedings, they did not
omit to impose, by means of crime, on the sectaries them
selves, as well as on the uninitiated, called by them Pagans,
to remove every possible obstacle to the free prosecution of
their labours ; as well as to confirm the former in the obli
gations they had contracted, and to convince both of the
formidable power of the Society. Several individuals, who
were adverse to their maxims, were destined to the poignard,
and were actually wounded in a sudden attack, one of
them mortally. These victims were, (in addition to
their colleague Priola, of S. Elpidio, accused of perjury,)
Feliziani, of Ascoli ; the advocate Martini, judge in the
tribunal at Fermo ; the commissary of police Ricci ; the
legal vicar of Petritoli, D. Ignazio Scarsini ; Vareriani, of
Montelpare; and the brigadier of Carabiniers, Pastori,
who, after repeated threats of death, conveyed in public
notices, although he escaped a pistol shot, was afterwards
poisoned ; &c. such aggressions and homicide (without
reckoning that of Pastori) having been committed without
any immediate cause, in the night, by persons unknown,
and in disguise.
In fact, it is a system universally observed by the Carbo
nari, that every one of them should be armed with a
poignard, as the hand grasping a dagger upon the seals of
the order denotes ; rior do they deny this.
When a new member is admitted to their Society, they

APPENDIX II.

177

brandish these weapons before the novice ; intimating that

they will be always ready in his defence, if he is faithful to
the Society, and that they will shed his blood if he violates
his oath.
It is on this account that al the accused, in whatever
manner they have confessed, tremble lest they should fall
beneath the stilettoes of their colleagues, which would
infallibly happen if their confessions were made public.
It is on this account they entreat secrecy. The ex
pressions employed by Massone, President of the Supreme
V endita of the Carbonari, and of the Guelph Council at
Ancona, on this subject, are very remarkable.
" Giacomo Papis," (this particular mention of his name
seems to prove that he is fully informed on this subject)
* Giacomo Papis fears the vengeance of the sect much
more than the decision of justice in the present cause."
This terror, unlike other circumstances of which this is not
the place to treat, accounts of itself for the crimes above
alluded to. Poison was at last called in to aid the poignard,
as fitter to destroy in some circumstances, by placing the
assassin in less danger. This atrocious system, notwith
standing the restriction of the chief sectaries, is at this
moment followed up by the most abandoned of the order,
who are not easily shaken in their resolutions. But their
audacity went still farther, although the vigilance of go
vernment, towards the end of 1816, was enabled to check
the course of these proceedings, by the arrest of some
individuals at Ascoli. The sectaries did not desist from
the practices above alluded to, but, more insolent then ever,
dared to conspire against the sovereign and his throne.
A general revolt, intended to begin in the Marches, and
to extend to Bologna, was the object of their earnest and

178

APPENDIX II.

incessant labours. They would have hailed the moment

which ended the precious days of the adorable Sovereign
Pontiff,
In fact,
(whom
it wasGod
in long
the month
guard and
of April
preserve.)
or May of last
year, (1817) exactly the period when the recovery of his
Holiness was doubtful, that the Supreme Central Council
of Bologna committed to Paolo Monti, Grand Master of
the Vendita of the Carbonari of Ferrara, a sketch of a
plan of revolution, which the latter, by means of the con
fidential emissary first sent to Bologna, drew up on
principles suggested partly by the Central Council, and
partly by his own judgment, and that of the other chief
sectaries in that province. The period at which this revolu
tion was to take place was, as soon as the chair of St. Peter
should be vacant; its extent, all Italy, except Naples;
its object, the attainment of liberty and independence : in
tending, if they failed to obtain it, to place themselves
under the protection of a foreign power. This plan was
sent to Count Vincenzo Fattiboni, at Cesena, in order that
he might communicate it to the Supreme Central Council
in Bologna. He returns for answer to Monti, that " the
plan was excellent, and that it was accepted by the Council
itself, but that it was necessary to await the decision of the
Grand Dignitaries of Milan (the precise expression) upon
whom two commissioners (sectaries) had waited to hasten
their ratification."
It was also about the same time (27th of March) that
the person called Papis sent a letter from Ancona to Count
Cesare Gallo, at Macerata, relative to the object of the
revolt ; it contained the following passage :" Be active
then : for if ever an opportunity *as propitious, it is cer

APPENDIX II.

179

tainly the present, when the just indignation of the people

favours our design, and the information we have received
assures us of success in our enterprise."
It was also about the same time, that is, between April
and May, that the ex-gendarme Francesco Riva, of Forli,
one of the principal executive agents, presented at
Ancona a plan of a revolt throughout the state, to Papis,
who threw it back to him, saying, that he had not sufficient
talents to draw up a plan of such importance. Finally, it
was at the end of this period, viz. May, that Count Gallo
proposed to the sectaries of Macerata the execution of the
revolt.
In the mean time nothing was left undone which could
tend to alienate the attachment of the subjects from the
Sovereign, and excite their indignation by ascribing to him
(a lui) the scarcity of provisions, although occasioned by the
inclemency of the preceding seasons. A sonnet was read
in a baracca at Ascoli, whose seditious and sacrilegious
meaning may be gathered from the following triplet, re
membered by one who was present :
"Figli di Bruto, il brando omai scuotcte,
Poichfe spunta nel ciel, di sangue tinta,
Stella,che batte il rioTiranno il Prcte."*
But in the following spring, that of the last year (1817),
a secretary in Fermo composed another not less impious,
which was circulated among the inferior Vendite.

Now, Sons of Brutus ! lift the blade on high,

Forlo! emerging from the blood-stained sky,
The star that blasts the priestly tyranny.

180

APPENDIX II.
Sceso dall' Alpi sitibondo il Tauro
Alia Ligure donna il sen trafisse,
L'Aquila avvezza all' Italo tesauro
SulT
L'irsute
Adriatico
orecchieLion
awolte
gli artigli
entro infisse
il Camauro
;
II Lupo Tiberin, che in laeci visse,
Spezzolli, e setc di vendetta, ed'auro,
Quanto ha dal Tebro al Tronto e al Reno
afHisse :
Fame intanto di vita i germi adugge,
Scnza che i mostri rei v' abbian riparo,
E pestifero niorbo il popol strugge :
che pill Italia sonnachiosa aspetti ?
Perche non stringi il preparato acciaro,
E il gran momento del tuo scampo
affretti?*
Fierce from Uie Alps, the Bull intent on spoil.
The bosom gores of the Ligurian dame,
The Eagle, wont to batten on our soil.
Seeks Adria's Lion with his grasp to tame ;
His shaggy ears in the tiara twin'd.
The Tyber wolf, who long in thraldom pin'd.
Bursts from his bonds, and eager to destroy,
Spreads desolation wide thro' central Italy.*
Famine, the while, checks every germ of life,
Nor guilty rulers shelter us from ill,
Death gains the victory that hath no strife :
Then why, O ! slurab'ring Italy, dost wait ?
Where is the sword that thirsts for vengeance still.
To speed the crisis of thy better fate ?

The Reno is the main branch of the Po di Primaro, on which Fenanu

built, a few miles South of the Po Grande. The Tronto is a considerable
stream in the March of Fcrmo, which it separates from Abruzio Ultn,
consequently divides the States of the Church from the kingdom of Ktpl*
r.

APPENDIX II.
During the last winter and spring (1817) fires, which
were reported to have succeeded each other rapidly, took
place, accompanied with the escape of convicts and pri
soners in various places, from Bologna to Spoleto, where
the sectaries particularly abounded.
These fires were
discovered to be generally supposititious, although some
were really accidental. The escape of prisoners could
only have been effected by co-operation from without.
This, with the support of other arguments, warranted the
conclusion, that all was owing to the sectaries, whose
object was to unsettle the people of those provinces, to
promote brigandage, to call the attention of the govern
ment forces against robbers, and to divert them from their
stations, by which means the intended revolt would have
been easily and securely effected.
The sentiments expressed in the letter of Papis, quoted
above, were echoed by the speeches of the members in
language equally specific, and corresponding with the
object of the revolt. Such too were the discourses held
by the chief orators and sectaries in various meetings,
both before and after the date of Papis's letter. In one
of these meetings held at S. Elpidio, the sacred purple
was strongly inveighed against, and it was announced that
the day would come when it would be changed into a
mantle of blood.Proc. Mac. fol. 85. In another, held
subsequently in the same place, the necessity of destroying
monarchy, and especially the holy authority of the Pope,
was set forth ; and the sectaries were exhorted to under
take any project, however difficult, for the purpose of
regaining liberty.Proc. Mac. fol. 828. 841. 86 1. In
another, held at S. Ginnesio, it was recommended to the
members to provide themselves with arms and ammuni

APPENDIX IT.
tion to serve as occasion offered; for, they were told,
liberty and independence would soon be attained.Proc.
Mac. fol. 1470, &c. In another, he!J at Macerate, in in
culcating the necessity of rigid attention to secrecy with
respect to the operations of the Society, a threat of death
by the poignard was expressed against those who should
attempt to violate their oath, and it was hinted that the
same means would be necessary, ere the happy moment
would arrive, when liberty would be regained, and the yoke
of the present government thrown off.Proc. Mac. fol.
218, 296. 690. 979. 1317. &c. At Loreto, on the estab
lishment of the Guelph Council, a discussion was held on
the revolution which was shortly to take place, and on the
satisfactory accounts of preparations for it, in consequence
of which all the sectaries evinced a determination to follow
it up.Proc. Mac. 771. &c. At Monte Lupone the same
subject was discussed, and the members animated each
other to action, declaring themselves eager for the crisis,
and exulting in the prospect of establishing an indepen
dent republicProc. Mac. fol. 137.201. 220. 236. 283.
467.594.605. 704.
Again, at Montolmo, in another assembly, the members
were assured that liberty and independence would be soon
regained.Proc. Mac. fol. 781. In another, at Monte
Lupone, held on the 5th of June, one of the sectaries,
grasping a dagger in his hand, caused his companions to
rehew their oath of secrecy, and declared that whoever
betrayed it should perish by the weapon he held. After
this preface he showed the advantages that would be ob
tained by taking the reins of power out of the hands of the
actual government, and by erecting an independent re
public. Another member recommended the imitation of

APPENDIX II.

183

Brutus, by dethroning tyrants and destroying monarchy,

and by erecting upon their ruins an independent republic
and concluded that in a short time the yoke of the present
government would be thrown off, exhorting his associates
to provide themselves for this object, even with poisoned
weapons (arme anche awelenate) and with ammunition, in
order to be ready on the first opportunity.Proc. Mac.
fol. 100. 105. 114. 124. 138. 140. 155. 160. 180. 201. 209.
211.222. 224. 239-241. 284.286.298. 596. 607. 1559,
1562.
The plan for the execution of the revolt was the most
terrible and sanguinary. An incendiary proclamation was
to have been circulated in the Marches and other provinces
of the state, immediately on the breaking out of the con
spiracy in Macerata, to excite the people to join it. To
that place the various Vendite of the Carbonari and Coun
cils of the Guelphs, expressly informed of the event, were
to have sent, in the same night, a number of armed rebels
of their order. These were to have been admitted into
the city, in which part of the Sectaries were to have been
ready to act. The watchword for the rebel-bands in
answer to the challenge, " Chi evviva?" was to have been,
" San Teobaldo" (whom the Carbonari consider the pro
tector of the order.) The other secret word among the
leaders was " Vendetta al Popolo." Having insinuated
themselves by stratagem into the places where the govern
ment troops are stationed, they would have overpowered
them and deprived them of their arms, confining such as
were unwilling to take a part in their operations. In the
same manner, entering the public prisons, they would have
confined the keepers, and released the prisoners, selecting
from the latter those who are fit to bear arms.

184

APPENDIX II.

Afterwards dividing the number of the rebels into patroles of twelve men, some were to have attacked the
public treasuries, others the habitations of rich private in
dividuals whose property was to have been plundered;
and some, known to be hostile to the sect, were to have
been seized and conducted to the deep subterraneous cells
of the Monastery of Santa Chiara, which was fixed upon
as a rebel stationthere they were to be destroyed by fire
or poison, their relations being made to believe that they
were sent as hostages elsewhere. The plunder, under the
faith and responsibility of the appointed heads of the
patroles, was to have been deposited in the Convent " dei
Bernabiti," where others would have registered it, to be
afterwards employed in the necessary expenses. The
principal civil and ecclesiastical authorities would not have
been exempted from seizure and imprisonment.
Four cauldrons of burning pitch, on the summit of the
tower of Macerata, together with sulphur rockets let off
from the square, would have announced to the other
cities the completion and success of the revolution.At
sight of this a number of fires, on appointed heights,
would have communicated the result from the Marches to
Bologna, in order that the dreadful enterprise and example
might have been every where imitated.The tolling of all
the bells on the following morning would have attracted
the peasants of the neighbouring country into the city.
This was to give the appearance of an insurrection of the
people, and to conceal the operations of the sectaries.
They would then have proclaimed a free and independent
government, and the Conte Cesare Gallo would have been
elected Consul with pretended reluctance to assume tbe
office. An inviolable law was to have reduced the most

APPENDIX II.

185

necessary articles of support to a just price.All taxes

were to have been abolished. Public thanksgiving, with
the performance of the Auibrosian hymn,* was to have
been appointed in the Cathedral. A regiment of infantry,
and a corps of cavalry were to have been organized with
the tempting pay of five pauls a day+ to each soldier, in
order to ensure the immediate consummation of the work.
It appears however that some of the less violent secta
ries differed as to the necessity of accompanying the revo
lution with these horrors.
The auspicious improvement and final restoration of the
health of the Sovereign Pontiff disconcerted the seditious
intentions of the Central Council, which decided on de
ferring their execution. But the plot was already too ripe
to be laid aside, and the inferior sectaries in the Marches
were too deeply involved to free themselves from their
engagement or to listen to delay.
The execution of the revolt, after having been already
fixed earlier in the month of June, was finally appointed
for the night of the 24th of that month, the anniversary of
the festival of St. Johnand the impious attempt proceeded
to its execution by the shortest means. An incendiary pro
clamation, which had been probably sent from the Marches
to Forli to be printed, had been previously affixed, during
the day, in various parts of the former province, and even
in Umbria. Its tenor was as follows :
The Ambrosial) chant is, or was till very lately, used in the Cathedral sery'xx of Milan in honour of its bishop and benefactor, St. Ambrose; the other
Latin churches having for many centuries adopted the Gregorian chant. T.
,f About it. 6d. sterling. T.

186'

APPENDIX II.

Proclamation.
People of the Roman States (Popoli Pontifici) ! when
it is the will of the Most High God to punish nations, he
consigns them to the government of idiots.
When He sees that they are sensible of their error*
and wills their happiness, he inspires them with courage
and commands them to shake off the yoke of oppression
(il barbaro giogo). People of the Roman States! you
have already suffered long enoughthe scythe of Pestilence
and Famine will complete your destruction and that of
- our children, if you delay any longer to protect yourselves.
arms, then! to arms! Let your battle-word be the love
of your country and compassion (carita) for your offspring.
To overthrow the despot, to tax the rich and to succour
the indigent be your sole objects. You have only to show
yourselves resolutely (col vostro aspetto imponente) and
order and justice will triumph. History already prepares
for you a distinguished rank among her heroes. People,
to arms ! He alone is worthy of life (viva solo chi) who
loves his country and succours the wretched. The people
of the Marches and of Romagna are devoted to our cause.
Last evening they embraced it, and are you, blind people,
asleep ?
In the night, within and without the city of Macerate,
the sectaries mustered in companies, waiting for their as
sociates, who were to join them in greater numbers from
the neighbouring towns. Some of these repaired punctu
ally to the appointed places a few miles from the city ; but
two muskets were incautiously fired near the walls at a

APPENDIX it.

187

Sentinel who observed them. The Carabiniers, commanded

by Captain Pesci, instantly hastened to the place, as well
as to the other points where the rebels were assembled.
The latter were disposed to attack, and thus make a begin
ning of their enterprize, previously to completing it within
the walls. They would have done this had the reinforce
ment of the principal body of the insurgents arrived as had
been previously concerted but the want of these auxilia
ries, who did not appear, obliged them to abandon their
evil intention and to separate. The principal agents in the
plot did - not, however, lose sight of their object, but con
tinuing a close correspondence reserved its execution for
some fitter opportunity, and in particular that of the vacancy
of the Papal throne. With this idea, spreading false poli
tical intelligence among themselves which seemed to pro
mise new troubles, new wars and successive changes, they
kept alive and stimulated the spirit of sedition.
Meanwhile the police of Macerata lost no time in making
the necessary investigation of the events of the night. Some
of the criminal agents were arrested and imprisoned during
the following days. The necessity, however, of becoming
fully acquainted with all their depositions in order to crush
future plots, delayed to the end of last November the arrest
of the principal delinquents, who were seized about the
same time in their respective provinces and conveyed to the
castle of St. Angelo and the prisons of the capital.
The trial of all the accused having been at last terminated
by means of special Pontifical powers extended to eccle
siastics, the minutes of the investigation, as far as it relates
to the projected revolt and the particular offences of those
most heavily implicated, (for the other offenders will be
, ,
a

188

APPENDIX II.

treated of separately) are here given. The names of these

delinquents are
Luigi
Conte
Giacomo
Francesco
Carlelti,
Cesare
Vincenzo
Papis,
Riva,
Gallo,
ofof
Fattiboni,
Macerata,
Forli,
Rome,
di Osimo,
ex-geudarnie
merchant,
offormerly
Cesena;
residing
residing
a; soldier
intogether
Macerata
in; Ancona
with
; the
;

Advocate
Fietro Castellano, of Ancona, residing in Macerata;
Antonio Cottoloni, of Macerata, aud the notary Fio Sanpaolesi, of Ancona.*
The following was the sentence pronounced and put in
execution
The Ordinary
against
Criminal
them, Court
in the of
month
the Government
of October,Tribunal,
1818:
composed of
His Eminency Monsignor the Right Reverend Tiberio
Pacca, Governor of Rome, President;
The
signor
MostMarcantonio
Illustrious and
Olgiati,
RightClerk
Reverend
of the Signor
Chamber,
Moore
presenting the first Assessor of Government;
Monsignor Carlo Alessi, second Assessor ;
The Signori
Camillo Benzi, first Lieutenant ;
Vincenzo Trambusti, second Lieutenant ;
Niccola Bruni, exercising the functions of third Lieute
nant, all in quality of Judges.
Francesco Leggieri, Assessor of the General Direction of
Police, in the quality of Recorder, under the direction
of the Most Illustrious and Right Reverend Signori
* Then follow the minutes of the trial.

APPENDIX II.
Monsignor
(AvvocatoBelisario
Filippo
dei Poveri),
Invernizzi,
Cristaldi,
and Pro-Attorney-General
Attorney for the Poor,
;

Signor Quirino Francini, Chief Notary of the Govern

ment Tribunalt
assembled at 24 o'clock of this day in conformity with the
intimation published eight days previously, in one of the
chambers of the Apostolic Palace of the Government, the
usual place, to judge
Giacomo Papis, of Home, &c.
Conte Cesare Gallo, &c. &c.
accused of felony, together with others under arrest and
absent.
The proceedings having been opened, and the Divine
assistance invoked with the usual prayers : His Eminency
Monsignor the Right Reverend the Governor of Rome,
President, received from all the members of the court, a
declaration that no relationship existed between themselves,
nor between them and the accused, within the limits pre
scribed by the law. Afterwards he directed the chief
notary to place upon the table before him the Edict pub
lished by the Eminentisshno Paca, Pro-Secretary of State,
the 15th August, 1814, and the other published the 11th
August, 1815, by the Most Illustrious and Right Reverend
Monsignor Tiberj, then apostolic delegate inMacerata;
together with the general proclamations of the government
of Rome, and of the Holy Council published under the
Pontificate of the sacred memory of Benedict XIV.
The proceedings of the trial having been read, together
with the abstract and all the papers respectively for and
against the accused ; the report of the Recorder (Relatore),
and the representations and arguments of Monsignor the
o3

190

APPENDIX II.

Prp-Attorney-General, that the punishment decreed should

be according to the provisions of the Laws, having been
heard : as also the defence derived from printed papers,
and viva voce by Monsignor the Attorney of the Poor,
who moreover declared that he had for this object re
ceived the proceedings of the trial and the abstract many
days before the intimation to the court. The documents
produced in favour of the accused, by Monsignor the
Attorney of the Poor, who was the last to speak, and who
declared he had nothing more to add, having been read
The Court
1 . Having found that it is evident from the trial that all
the above-named individuals had planned a general revolt,
to be executed as occasion offered, in the Pontifical Domi
nions, making use for this object of the means afforded
them by belonging to the sect of the Carbonari, whose aim
is the overthrow of legitimate governments
2. Having found that such a revolt was actually at
tempted in the night of the 24th of June of last year, in
Macerata, and that according to the plan it would have
been accompanied with the murder of good and peaceful
citizens and with the plunder and usurpation of private and
public property
3. Having found that the persons called
Giacomo Papis and
Conte Cesare Gallo held, for the purpose of the
revolt, an explicit correspondence which is in the possession
of the General Direction of the Police
4. Having found that the persons named
Luigi Carletti, and
Francesco Riva, were the most active agents to
effect the revolt by the previous circulation of an incendiary

APPENDIX IT.

191

proclamation in the Marches, and other parts of

Papal States
, ' ,
5. Having found that
Pietro Castellano was fully acquainted with
correspondence between Papis and Gallo to effect the
volt, and that he himself provoked it by distributing
above
6. Having
seditious
found
proclamation
that

the
. ,
the
re
the

Antonio Cottoloni, secretary of the society of Car

bonari, in Macerata, who kept the above-mentioned cor
respondence between Papis and Gallo, as well as other
papers relating to the same subject, together with die
arms of the latter
;
That Pio Sampaolesi, Secretary of the other society
of Carbonari, in Ancona, was also fully acquainted with
the intended revolt, and had also knowledge of the cor
respondence between the said society of Ancona and the
Central Council of the Guelphs at Bologna
That Vincenzo Fattiboni, also acquainted with the in
tended revolt, was the intermediate organ of this corre
spondence between the said society of Ancona and the
Central Council of the Guelphs at Bologna, and that by
his means a plan of revolution, to be extended even
beyond the Papal Dominions, was presented to the said
Central Council
Has declared, and declaresGiacomo Papis,
Conte Cesare Gallo,
Luigi Carletti,
Francesco Riva, and
Pietro Castellano, Guilty ; partly by their own con
fession, and partly convicted of felony, by the whole tenor
o4

192

APPENDIX IK

of the evidence on the trial, and therefore has condemned

them to suffer death
Has declared again, and declares convicted of partici
pation in the same crime,
Antonio
Pio
Sampaolesi,
Cottoloni,
and
Vincenzo Fattiboni ; but as they co-operated leu
directly and efficaciously in the seditious plot, has con
demned them to the punishment of the Gullies for life :
Has also condemned all the above-named eight indivi
duals to the payment of the expenses of the trial and
sentence : has also appointed a day for another court to
try the remaining prisoners under arrest and absent :
Has also ordered that the present sentence be commu
nicated, in due form, to the prisoners condemned :
Has ordered, finally, that the present sentence be printed,
and affixed not only in Rome, but in all parts of the Papal
States, to the number of 500 copies.
Done, closed and judged, in Rome, this day and year
above-mentioned, all the members of the court having
subscribed the original, together with me the undersigned,
Chief Notary of the Government Tribunal.
T. Pacca,
Vice-Chamberlain.
Governor of Rome and
Maec' Anotnio Olgiati, Clerk of
the Chamber.
Carlo Alessi, Assessor.
Camillo Benzi, Lieutenant.
Vincenzo Trambusti, Lieutenant.
Niccola Bruni, Pro-Lieutenant.
Francesco Leggieri, Assessor-Re
corder.
Quirino Francini, Chief Notary.

APPENDIX II,

193

The above sentence having been reported by ine, the

undersigned, to his Holiness our Lord Pope Pius VII.
happily reigning, his Holiness, by an act of his natural
clemency, has determined that the punishment should be
lessened and reduced for
Giacomo Papis,
Conte Cesare Gallo,
Luigi Carletti,
Francesco Riva, and
'
Pietro Castellano, to Perpetual Confinement, under
itrict custody,
Antonio
Pio Sampaolesi,
inCottoloni,
a fortress
and of State ; and for

Vincenzo Fattiboni, to Confinement for 10 years,

ander the same custody.
1
T. Pacca, Governor and Vice-Chamberlain.
f

Quirino
A true Francim,
copy,
Chief Notary.

The 8th day of October, 1818.

194

APPENDIX III.

Reception of a Carbonaro.
The Preparatore (preparer) leads the Pagan (uninitiated)
who is to become a member, blindfold, from the closet
of reflexion to the door of the Baracca. He knocks irregu
larly ; the Copritore (coverer) says to the second assistant,
" A Pagan knocks at the door." The second assistant re
peats this to the first, who repeats it to the Grand Mas
ter ; at every communication the Grand Master strikes a
blow with an axe.
Grand Master. See who is the rash being, who dares to
trouble our sacred labours.
This question having passed through the assistants, and
Copritore to the Preparatore, he answers through an open
ing in the door.
Preparatore. It is a man whom I have found wandering
in the forest.
Gr. M. Ask his name, country and profession.
The secretary writes the answer.
Gr. M. Ask him his habitationhis religion.
The secretary notes them.
Gr. M. What is it he seeks among us ?
Prep. Light ; and to become a member of our society.
Gr. M. Let him enter.

APPENDIX Iir.

195

(The Pagan is led into the middle of the assembly ; and

his answers are compared with what the Secretary had
noted.)
Gr. M. Mortal, the first qualities which we require,
are frankness, and contempt of danger. Do you feel that
you are capable of practising them ?
After the answer, the Grand Master questions the candi
date on morality and benevolence ; and he is asked, if he
has any effects, and wishes to dispose of them, being at
the moment in danger of death ; after being satisfied of
his conduct, the Grand Master continues, " Well, we will
expose you to trials that have some meaninglet him make
the first journey." He is led out of the Baraccahe is
made to journey through the foresthe hears the rustling
of leaveshe is then led back to the door, as at his first
entrance.
Gr. M. What have you remarked during this first jour
ney ?
(The Pagan relates accordingly.)
Gr. M. The first journey is the symbol of human virtue :
the rustling of leaves, and the obstacles you have met in
the road, indicate to you, that weak as we are, and strug
gling in this vale of tears, we can only attain virtue by good
works, and under the guidance of reason, &c. &c. Let
him make the second journey.
(The Pagan is led away, and is made to pass through fire ;
he is made acquainted with the chastisement of perjury ;
and, if there is an opportunity, he is show n a head severed
from the body, &c. &c. He is again conducted into the
Baracca.)
Gr. M. The fire through which you have passed is the

APPENDIX Iir.
symbol of that flame of charity, which should be always
kindled in our hearts, to efface the stains of the seven
capital sins, &c. &c.
Make him approach the sacred throne, &c.
Gr. M. You must take an irrevocable oath ; it offends
neither religion nor the state, nor the rights of individuals ;
but forget not, that its violation is punished with death.
The Pagan declares that he will submit to it ; the Mas
ter of the Ceremonies leads him to the throne, and makes
him kneel on the white cloth.
Gr.M. Order!
The Oath.
I, N. N. promise and swear, upon the general statutes
of the order, and upon this steel, the avenging instrument
of the perjured, scrupulously to keep the secret of Carbonarism ; and neither to write, engrave, or paint any thing
concerning it, without having obtained a written permis
sion. I swear to help my Good Cousins in case ofneed, as
much as in me lies, and not to attempt any thing against
the honour of their families. I consent, and wish, if I per
jure myself, that my body may be cut in pieces, then burnt,
and my ashes scattered to the wind, in order that my name
may be held up to the execration of the Good Cousins
throughout the earth. So help me God.
Gr. M. Lead him into the middle of the ranks (this is
done). What do you wish ? The Master of the Ceremo
nies suggests to the Pagan, to say Light.
Gr. M. It will be granted to you by the blows of my
axe.
The Grand Master strikes with the axethis action is

APPENDIX 111.

197

repeated by all the apprenticesthe bandage is removed

from the eyes of the Paganthe Grand Master and the
Good Cousins hold their axes raised.
Gr. M. These axes will surely put you to death, if you
become perjured. On the other hand, they will all strike
in your defence, when you need them, and if you remain
faithful. (To the Master of the Ceremonies,) Bring him near
the throne, and make him kneel.
Gr. M. Repeat your oath to me, and swear to observe
exactly
Gr.
The M.
Caiulidfite.
the Holding
private institutions
I the
ratify
specimen
it and
of this
swear.
of wood
respectable
in his Vendita.
left hand,

and suspending the axe over the head of the candidate with
his right, says, To the great and divine Grand Master
of the universe, and to St. Theobald, our protectorIn
the name and under the auspices of the Supreme Vendita
of Naples, and in virtue of the power which has been con
ferred upon me in this respectable Vendita, I make, name
and create you an apprentice Carbonaro.
The Grand Master strikes the specimen which is held
over the Apprentice's head, thrice; he then causes him to
rise, and instructs him in the sacred words and touch.
Gr.M. Master of the Ceremonies, let him be acknow
ledged
The by
Assistants
the apprentices.
anticipate the execution of this order, by
saying to the Grand Master, All is according to rule, just
andGr.
perfect.
M. Assistants, tell the respective orders to acknow
ledge, henceforth, the Good Cousin N. N. as an active
member of this Vendita, &c. &c.
The Symbolical Picture is explained to the new appren
tice.

APPENDIX III.
Gr. M. At what hour do the Carbonari terminate their
sacred labours ?
First Assista?it. As soon as the Sun no longer enlightens
our forest.
Gr. M. What hour is it ?
Second Assistant. The Sun no longer enlightens our forest.
Gr. M. Good Cousins, as the Sun no longer enlightens
our forest, it is my intention to terminate our sacred la
bours. First, let us make a triple salutation (Vantaggio),
to our Grand Master, divine and human, (Jesus Christ).
, To St. Theobald, our protector, who has assisted us
and preserved us from the eyes of the pagansOrder!
To me,
-&c. The signs and salutations (Vantaggi)
are performed.
Gr. M. I declare the labours ended ; retire to your Baraccheretire in peace.

Reception to the Second Rank.

The signs of the Masters are made, and they arrange
themselves in order.
The Grand Master on this occasion is called the Presi
dent-The assistants, Counsellors of the College of R.
(Respectable) Carbonarism.
The President. At what hour do the Counsellors meet f
First Counsellor. When the cock crows.
President. Second Counsellor, what hour is it ?
Second Counsellor. Noon by the Sun.

APPENDIX 111.

199

, The Counsellors make the triple salutation to the Grand

Master, divine and human, and to St. Theobald, and in
voke their blessing on their labours.
The President puts on a robe, and takes the name of
Pilate; the First Counsellor that of Caiaphas ; the second
,that of Herod; the Adept (Esperto) calls himself the chief
of the guards ; the Master of the Ceremonies, the God
father ; the Good Cousins generally are called the People.
The Godfather blinds the eyes of the novice, and makes
him journey through the forest ; he afterwards leads him
towards the President, who causes his crown of thorns, and
specimen, to be brought, and questions him on the cate
chism of the apprentices.
The President. Good Cousin, yourtrialsas anovice are not
sufficient to raise you to an equality with us ; you must
undergo more important trials ; reflect upon it, and tell us
your intention.
The Apprentice declares that he is ready to undergo the
trials.
President. Conduct him to the Olives.
He is led to the place so calledhe is placed in a suppli
cating attitude, his hands lifted towards heaventhe God
father causes him to repeat aloud :
If the pains I am about to suffer can be useful to man
kind, I do not ask to be delivered from them. Thy will be
done, and not mine.
Pilot. Let him drain the cup of bitterness.
He is made to drink, and he is then led bound to Pilate.
Pilot. Who is this you bring me ?
Chief of the Guards. One accused of sedition ; we found

200

APPENDIX 111.

him in the midst of wretches who listened to him, and who

are witnesses of his wicked precepts.
The People. He is a seducer of the people, who, to go
vern despotically, and to overthrow our religion, calls him
self the living God.
Pilat. The crime is heavy ; I cannot judge him alone.
Take him to Caiaphas.
The Chief of the Guards accompanies him.
Chief of the Guards. Pilate sends you this man, tojudge
him according to his crimes.
Caiap. From what I have heard, he is guilty; his punish
ment belongs to the Sovereign. Lead him to Herod.
Herod. Who art thou ?
The Godfather instructs the novice to say,
I am the Son of God.
The People. You hear him, he blasphemes, and de
serves the severest punishment.
The
Herod.
Godfather
Is it trueinstructs
that thou
theartnovice
the Son
to say,
of the living God .'
Thou sayest it.
Herod. People ! This is a man who is beside himself;
judge
put a the
white
manrobe
as heupon
thinks
him,
fit. and lead him to Pilate, to
The tunic is put upon the novice, he is led to Pilate who
shows him to the people.
Pilat. The Prince sends me this man; what will you that
I shall do to him ?
The People. Condemn him.
Pilat. I will not condemn him without having heard
him. Who are you ?
The Godfather for the noviceJesus of Nazareth, King
of the Jews.

APPENDIX III.
Pilat. If he is a king, let a crown of thorns be put upon
his head, and a sceptre in his hand : (turning towards the
people) Are you satisfied ?
The People. No ; he deserves a greater punishment.
Pilat. Strip him, bind him to this column, and scourge
him.
Pilate causes him to be again clothed, in a red robe ;
shows him to the people, and says,
Pilat. Are you satisfied ? Behold the man.
The People. No, let him be crucified.
Pilat. I have done my duty ; you wish his death ; I give
him up to you ; I wash my hands of the deed ; the inno
cent blood be upon you and on your children. [After Pilate
has washed his hands, the novice is delivered over to the
people, who make him carry his cross to Calvary ; his par
don is asked ; he is made to kneel upon the white cloth ;
the President takes off the red robe, and says,
President. Do you consent to take your second oath ? [If
he consents, the bandage is taken from his eyes ; he is
made to kneel on his left knee, with his right hand on the
axe. AH the Good Cousins arrange themselves in order.
Form of the Oath.
I, N. N. promise and swear before the Grand Master
of the universe, upon my word of honour, and upon this
steel, the avenging instrument of the perjured, to keep
scrupulously and inviolably the secrets of Carbonarism ;
never to talk of those of the Apprentices before the Pa
gans, nor of those of the Masters before the Apprentices.
As also, not to initiate any person, nor to establish a
Vendita, without permission, and in a just and perfect

appendix nr.
numbernot to write or engrave the secretsto help
even with my blood, if necessary, the Good Cousins Car
bonari, and to attempt nothing against the honour of their
families. I consent, if I perjure myself, to have my body
cut in pieces, then burnt, and the ashes scattered to the
wind, that my name may remain in execration with all the
Good Cousins Carbonari spread over the face of the earth.
So help me God.*
Some other ceremonies followthe new Master is in
structed in all the signs of his rank, 8tc. &c. The close of
the proceedings is the same as that of the apprentices :
CAaprboexnatrioc.e
Sacred Words.
Touch.
1st Rank. Pass-Word.

pPerlonoiungc.e)d
CFede,
Sapreirtan.za,s(in

AThe
have
p rentices

e
none.

These Signs and Touches

are made with the middle
finger on the right thumb
of the Fellow-Apprentice.

.
Decorations of the Apprentice.
Three ribbonsblack, blue and red, with the specimen
of wood.
ther Protectors
We lcam swear,
from the
overminutes
a phial ofof poison,
the Roman
or a red
trialhot
thatiron,
ttw"Republican
never to diralge
Brothe secrets of the Society ; to labour day and night for the extirpation of
tyrants. They submit, in case of perjury, to the punishment of dying by
poison, and having their 8esh burnt by the red hot iron."

APPENDIX III.

203

2d Rank. Pass-Word. Sacred Words.

di
,<
\
u
Hi

Nettle.)
(Fern,

.
Touch.

lpoeulnciendg.)
Pro)re,
Virtil,
bita. sin

Felce,
Ortica.

Q .

These Signs and Touches

are made with the middle
finger on the right thumb
of the Fellow-Master.

Decorations of the Master.

The specimen of silver, with a tricoloured scarfblack,
blue and red.
Regulations and Privileges of the Supreme Lodge or Alta
Vendita at Naples.
SECTION U.
Of the Statutes of the Order of Carbonarism.
Art. 1. The Supreme Vendita is composed of honorary
members and deputies of each particular Vendita.
Art. 2. This body is legislative and executive at the
same time : it combines in itself all powers, and is appointed
unalterably at Naples.
Art. 3. It is the province of the Supreme Vendita alone
to establish dependent Vendite, and to grant them consti
tutions emanating from the Supreme Vendita itself, or
furnished with its Seen and Approved.
p 2

204

appendix nr.

Art. 4. The Supreme Venditaonly recognizes as Grand

Masters or representatives of Vendite those who have
been elected by the free vote of such Vendite.
SECTION III.
Art. 1. The direction of the proceedings in the Supreme
Vendita is confined to officers named by its members.
Art. 2. The officers consist of seven grand dignitaries
and others lower in rank.
Art. 3. The grand dignitaries are : one Grand Master,
two Adjutants, one Grand Administrator General, two
Grand Conservators General, and one Grand Representa
tive of the Grand Master.
Art. 4. The offices of these dignitaries are triennial.
Art. 5. The Honorary Officers are as follow: one Ordi
nary Representative of the Grand Master, one Grand Con
servator, one First and one Second Assistant, one Grand
Orator, one Grand Treasurer,* one Grand Keeper of the
Seals, one Grand Keeper of the Archives, two Grand Mas
ters of the Ceremonies, one Grand Almoner, two Grand
Master Adepts (Esperti) and two Grand Adepts (Esperti.)
Art. 6. The offices of the Honorary Officers are triennial.
Art. 7. The Ordinary Officers are : three Presidents,
three First and three Second Assistants, three Orators, three
Secretaries, one Treasurer, three Keepers of the Seals,
three Keepers of the Archives, one Assistant Treasurer,
four Masters of the Ceremonies, one Almoner, one
Accountant, eight Adepts (Esperti.)
Art. 8. The exercise of their functions is triennial ; but
they can be re-elected.
The Good Cousins pay a regular contribution ; they are taxed according
to the wants of the Society : the funds for charity are collected by questors.

APPENDIX III.

205

Art. 9. The number of active officers is thirty-one ; it

will be increased in proportion to the increase of the Good
Cousins Carbonari.
SECTION IV.
Art. 1. The Supreme Vendita has, besides its general
assemblies, three private divisions ; that is to say, one
Grand Vendita of Administration, one of Legislation, and
a third of Counsel and Appeal.
On the day of St. Theobald all those in office or who
are in any way responsible must give an account of the
discharge of their duties.

206

APPENDIX IV.

Hercules, Deacon of Edict.

S. Agata alia Suburra, Cardinal

Consalvi, Secretary of State to His Holiness Our Lord

Pope Pius VII.
If from the period of the ancient Roman Legislation
severe penal prohibitions have been issued against secret
and hidden Associations, whose clandestine proceedings
were sufficient to give room for supposing either that some
seditious conspiracy against the state and the public tran
quillity was plotted, or that a school for depravity existed
in them ; with much more reason have the Sovereign Pon
tiff's been justified in looking in the same light upon the
Associations known under the names of Free-Masons, IIluminati, Egiziani, and such like. And as they accom
pany their works of darkness with forms, ceremonies, rites,
oaths of secrecy, suspected at least, and especially with the
indiscriminate admission of persons of all classes and
nations and of whatever conduct or religion : it is im
possible not to entertain a just suspicion that they aim not
only at the subversion of thrones but also of Religion, and
especially of the true and only one of Jesus Christ, of which
the Roman Pontiff was, by its divine Founder and Legis
lator, constituted the Head, the Master and the Guardian.

APPENDIX IV.

207

Influenced by these reasons and animated by their zeal,

although they did not witness the ruinous development
(too plainly apparent in our own time) of these secret and
infernal societies : the Popes Clement XII. and Bene
dict XIV. of glorious memory, resisted, with all the vigour
of their Apostolic Office, the already threatening dis
order. The first, with his decree beginning " In eminenti
Apostolatm specula," published 27th April, 1738, not only
prohibited and condemned altogether the assemblies and
meetings of the said Free-Masons, or such like, whatever
denomination they might assume, but also passed on the
individuals enlisted and initiated in the same, in whatever
rank, and on their advisers and abettors, the sentence of
excommunication, to be incurred ipsofacto, without need of
any information, and for which absolution could only be
given by the Roman Pontiff pro tempore, except in case of
death. His immediate successor Benedict XIV., perceiving
the high importance and necessity of this measure, espe
cially for the good of the Catholic Religion and for the
public safety, in another decree beginning " Providas Romanorum Pontificum," published 18th May, 1751, not only
fully confirmed that of his predecessor, inserting it in his
own, word for word, but moreover with his usual wisdom
stated in detail the weighty reasons which ought to induce
every government in the world to join in the same prohi
bition, which public experience had rendered almost su
perfluous to repeat even to the simplest of people. Nor
did their care and foresight stop here. The mere horror of
crime and the thunders of the Ecclesiastical censures,
which are sufficient to warn and shake the conscience of
the good, have generally little effect on the depraved unless
p 4

208

APPENDIX IV.

accompanied by the apprehension of external suffering.

On this account the Pope Clement XII., by means of an
Edict published by Cardinal Giuseppe Firrao, his secretary
of state, dated 14th January, 1739, pronounced the severest
temporal punishments against the offenders, and at the same
time took measures to ensure the execution of the order;
and the sacred memory of Benedict XIV., in the act above
quoted, to give authority to these measures, recommended
to the magistrates all possible vigilance and energy in their
execution.
But in the general confusion which has taken place dur
ing past events, as well in the state as in the Church, these
just, salutary and indispensable provisions have been con
temned with impunity, and the Societies and Assemblies
above mentioned, found every facility not only of establish
ing themselves in Rome, but of spreading themselves over
various parts of the State. His Holiness our Lord Pope
Pius VII., anxious therefore to remedy without delay an
evil which requires a speedy and determined check, lest it
insinuate itself like a canker to infect the whole body of the
state, commands and directs us to make known to all, his
sovereign determinations, which shall, in virtue of the pre
sent Edict, have the full force of laws, and shall serve to
regulate the tribunals and the judges in both courts, as
well as in all cities, towns, lands, and provinces belonging
to the temporal dominion of the Apostolic throne.
Tha,t is to say, that, with respect to the court of con
science and the ecclesiastical penalties which may be in
curred by unfortunate persons, who, in time past or to
come (which God forbid, especially for his Holiness'
beloved subjects) may have the misfortune to take a part in

APPENDIX IV.

209

any way whatever in the said criminal Masonic societies

and assemblies, His Holiness subjects them in all respects
to the provisions and penalties expressed in the above acts
of his glorious predecessors, which he hereby renews and
confirms (if necessary) in all their force. Influenced there
fore by the most lively feelings of his pastoral zeal, and of
his paternal heart, the Holy Father reminds and earnestly
recommends all and each of the faithful who find them
selves so misled, as they value their eternal welfare, seri
ously to think and reflect into what an abyss of perdition
they have plunged their souls, oppressed by such an enor
mous transgression, and by the excommunication which
excludes them from every benefit of the ecclesiastical com
munion, and must accompany them to that tremendous
tribunal, where nothing is concealed, and where all the
aids and interests of the world disappear. Let them
therefore return by means of a sincere penitence to the
arms of the Church, their compassionate mother, who in
vites them, and is ready to receive them affectionately, and
to effect their reconciliation with the Great Father of
Mercy, whom they have ungratefully forsaken.
With respect to the civil court, His Holiness is willing to
extend his sovereign clemency here also, as far as is com
patible with the police regulations of a well conducted
state, as to what might have occurred during the un
fortunate times of disorder and impiety which have pre
ceded his happy return, and the publication of the
present Edict. Before those times this deadly pestilence
had scarcely, if at all, infected the territory and subjects
ot the Pope. Many however have suffered themselves
to be seduced by circumstances; and as the Holy Father
deplores the fatal error of these men, so he would wish to

210

APPENDIX IV.

be able for ever to forget itbut it is for them to merit

such clemency by a speedy and lasting repentance, at least
in their external conduct, for which every citizen is re
sponsible to society. For the present, therefore, it is
sufficient for them to know and to bear in mind that the
government is acquainted with them, that it knows the
precise places where they were accustomed to meet, that a
strict watch will be kept upon them, and that the names
of their principal agents will be communicated to the Pre
sidents of the courts, in order to prevent any recurrence of
the offence. And in any case of such recurrence, past
transgressions will be brought forward in aggravation. No
person can henceforth protect himself with the old pretest
that he did not see any harm in that preparatory course of
actions sometimes indifferent and ridiculous, by which the
initiated were artfully amused, in order to be afterwards em
ployed in the mysteries of this wicked system. In order,
therefore, to establish just and necessary precautions for
the future:
It is forbidden, in conformity with the dispositions of the
above mentioned Edict of the 14th January, 1739, in the
first place, to any person whatever, as well in Rome as
in the whole Papal dominions, to continue, renew, re
establish, or institute assemblies of those persons called
Free-Masons, or other similar assemblies of whatsoever
denomination, ancient or modern, or recently invented
under the name of Carbonari, which last have circulated a
pretended Pontifical Brief of approbation, which bears on
its face the evidence of falsehood and fabrication. It is for
bidden to be enrolled, or to be present in any of these
societies, even for once, under whatever colour or pretext,
or to seek for, instigate, or tempt any one to join them, or

APPENDIX IV.

211

to afford knowingly the accommodation of a house or any

other place for their meetings, either for rent, as a loan, or
according to any contract whatever, or to afford them aid,
counsel, or protection, in any way whatever.
This prohibition shall also extend to those subjects who
shall infringe the order by any relation direct or indirect,
mediate or immediate, with such societies erected, or to be
erected, without the Papal States.
It shall not be lawful for any person to keep in his pos
session or elsewhere, instruments, arms, emblems, statutes,
memorials, patents, or any thing whatever, relating to the
proceedings of the said societies.
Whoever shall receive intimation that such secret and
clandestine meetings are still held, or shall be invited to
attend, enter, or be enlisted therein, shall instantly inform
the governor of Rome (as far as regards the capital) or
the heads of provinces, and Apostolic delegates. And
those who, in obedience to the present article, shall be
obliged to give information, are assured that that informa
tion shall be inviolably kept secret, that they shall even be
sometimes pardoned the penalty they may have incurred by
belonging to, or having been an accomplice of, such so
cieties, and that they shall receive a proportionate pecuniary
reward, at the charge of the offenders, on presenting the
usual proofs, sufficient to verify their accusation; and on
this subject His Holiness expressly orders that all be made
aware, that in this natural and Christian obligation to re
veal a wicked conspiracy to those that can prevent con
sequences threatening the order of the commonwealth and
of religion, there can be no dishonour nor impropriety ; and
that whatever oath to the contrary may have been taken,
it would become a bond of iniquity, which all know imposes

212

APPENDIX IV.

no obligation to maintain it, and which leaves the contrary

duty free.
The penalties for those who transgress the above regula
tions shall be severe corporal punishment, proportioned
to the nature, fraud (dolo), and circumstances of the
offence, and to which will also be added partial or total
confiscation of possessions and pecuniary fines, which the
ministers and officers of justice shall also share, in pro
portion as they shall have usefully and effectually exerted
themselves for the discovery, trial, and punishment of the
delinquents, according to justice. His Holiness especially
wills and orders that the buildings, whatever they may be,
as Palaces, Houses, Villas, or other places, however walled
or enclosed, in which the said societies meet or hold their
Lodges, as they are called, shall, as soon as the special
proofs shall appear on trial, be immediately confiscated,
reserving for the proprietor of the ground, if ignorant and
innocent of the proceeding, the right of indemnification at
the cost of the offenders. Finally, all presidents of courts
and officers of justice are directed carefully and diligently
to see to the execution of the present dispositions, it being
understood, that whatever doubt may arise, they are to
address themselves, without delay, to the office of the Se
cretary of State, to have the supreme decisiou of His
Holiness.
Dated at the Secretary of State's Office, the 15th Au
gust, 1814.
B. Card. Pacca, Chamberlain of the Holy
Church, and Pro-Secretary of State.

213

APPENDIX V.

Remonstrance of the Society of the Carbonari to

the Sovereign Pontiff Pius VII.
O Blessed Father,
If it behoves every man to preserve his own honour
uninjured, and to keep his own reputation unspotted, how
much more jealous of these ought any Society to be,
living in the state ; especially where the religion of the
country is the same as that which the Society professes.
It is this sentiment so worthy of citizens professing the
Catholic and Apostolic religion of our Lord Jesus Christ
that animates the Society of the Carbonari to appeal to
your Holiness with that humble respect which is due to
the Vicar of Him who was God and man, in order to pre
pare your Holiness to receive the petitions and to under
stand the feelings of the Societythat, when it is found
to be irreproachable in religion and morals, and that it
conforms to the laws of the Gospel, your Holiness may be
disposed to alter the opinion you once conceived of it, as
well as the decrees which your Holiness thought proper to
issue against it in your Bull of the year 1815. This will
not be the first time that the visible Head of the Church,
undeceived by evidence, has revoked Bulls and Decrees.
The example of your predecessors will be imitated by
your Holiness in circumstances of much greater impor
tance than the quarrels of monasteries and the scholastic

214

APPENDIX V.

disputes of friars, on which subjects justice often thought

fit to recall decrees which had been the result of an igno
rance of facts. Let your Holiness deign then, with your
superior intelligence, to examine the petitions of this So
ciety, and weigh their arguments with that spirit which
does not belong to human policy, but which is worthy of
the Vicar of Christ, whose kingdom is not that of the worldIt appears that the fears and suspicions of the Popes have
been excited by the formation of Societies, which, separa
ting themselves from the rest of the people, have adopted
a secret discipline. The vigilance of the head of the
Church, suspecting that the secret might contain sentiments
contrary to the true religion, and the sound morality of
the Gospel, has threatened to employ its thunders to
separate from the communion of the Faithful those who
endanger its unity. Hence the Bulls of the former Pon
tiffs, and above all, that ofyour Holiness.which is particularly
aimed at this Society of the Carbonari, who are now at your
feet to remove from the mind of your Holiness the suspi
cions which induced you to take that step. Polished nations,
from the remotest antiquity, have had their Secret Societies,
either Philosophical or Sacerdotal. Philosophy, knowing
the vulgar to be incapable of understanding theoretical
truths, which, if made public, instead of instructing, Wonld
have involved men of no education in scepticism, endea
voured to spread over certain physical and moral truths a
veil through which it was given to the learned alone to
penetrate. The priesthood adopted its fables, in order
that, while the people were satisfied with these and with
the outward apparatus of Mythology, the Sacerdotal So
cieties might keep to themselves the sacred science for
which the vulgar have been ever unfit. The History of

APPENDIX V.

215

Egypt, <hat of the Assyrians, of the Schools of Philoso

phy, in Greece, the Traditions of Cosmogony, the Systems
of Mystic Regenerations, the Sacred Colleges of the Syrites, are all so many proofs of these truthswhile the
fate of Socrates, the greatest philosopher of antiquity,
who did not sufficiently conceal from the vulgar the
ecret of his school, was the means of rendering the dis
cipline of the Sacerdotal as well as Philosophical Societies
even still more impenetrable from that period.
But in the mean time, why did not the Sovereigns take
any umbrage at these societies ? It can only be accounted
for by supposing that they were fully instructed in this
secret discipline ; and hence, knowing it to be in confor
mity with good order, and analogous to social happiness,
notwithstanding the vain attempts of ignorant and impa
tient curiosity, they deigned to afford them protection
Was not the Church itself, of Jesus Christ, from its origin
to the period of the Victory of Constantine over the tyrant
Maxentius, a secret Society ? Was not its discipline con
cealed ? What monstrous ideas against the Society did
not the concealment of its mysteries and sacred rites excite,
not less in the minds of the Sovereigns than of the Pagans
generally ? A glance at the works of our Apologists shows
tts that the secret so jealously kept by our fathers was
the means of their being looked upon as infanticides, as
adorers of beasts, as magicians, and as sworn enemies to
the State, notwithstanding the sanctity of those who be
longed to the society, and in spite of their good conduct
and of that spirit of charity which taught them not only to
obey, but even to offer up their most fervent prayers to God
for the happiness of a state in which their life was daily
sought. Constantine himself entertained such an idea of

216

APPENDIX V.

the Christian society till he was acquainted with its tjue and
genuine objectso that, although from being a fresh con
vert he could not penetrate to the knowledge of the mys
teries, as soon as he found that the secret kept by the so
ciety was not only not opposed to the happiness of the
state, but formed its most solid support, he immediately
declared the Christian church a legitimate body, protecting
it against the efforts and most earnest petitions not of
the vulgar alone, but of the powerful class of Pagan
Priests. The Society of the Carbonari does not doubt,
therefore, that as soon as the secret discipline it pre
serves (and which ought not to be suspected because it is
secret, but only because it may be contrary to the pro
fession of the Catholic religion) is made manifestthe
knowledge of its purity and adherence to the Gospel, and
to the most holy laws of the Church, will secure it from the
prejudices which the vulgar entertain against it, as well as
from the threat which your Holiness thought fit to pub
lish in your last Bull.
The Roman Catholic and Apostolic Religion, that which
our fathers have ever maintained unimpaired (intemerata),
that which acknowledges in your Holiness the Vicar of
Him who was God and man, who, with his Divine blood,
founded the sublime, true, and only religion, this is the
only one which in the spirit of truth is preserved and pro
fessed by the Society of the Carbonari.
Every Society has its- liturgy. That of the Carbonari
breathes only the religion of Jesus Christ. The cross, the
sign of our religion, forms a principal part of its rites
Faith, Hope, Charity, devices of the Catholic church, ac
cording to the Apostle St. Paul, form the language which
distinguishes the Society, and by means of which it com

APPENDIX V.

217

municates. The conduct which is inculcated in the edu

cation of the Carbonari is precisely the practice of the mo'ality of the Gospel. The most eminent among the pre
cepts of this divine morality, that of universal charity, not
only binds them together, but obliges them to practise it,
even towards those who do not belong to the Society. . It
is true that such a society has a political object ; but this is
not in the slightest degree contrary to the maxims of reli
gion. It preserves that respect to sovereignty which the
Apostle requires from Christiansit loves the Sovereign,
it preserves the State, and even the succession of families;
but it supports a democracy, which, instead of offending
monarchy, forms that happy addition to it which endears it
more to the nation, and which alone can render the rights
of empire and those of the citizen less fluctuating, and
which, therefore, prevents political disorders by constitu
tional means, and consolidates the true basis of national
felicity, a felicity to which the Christian religion directly
leads those nations that have the glory to profess it.
Such, most blessed Father, is the state, the object, and
the secret of the Society of the Carbonari. Far from that
secret, now no longer such, be every suspicion as to its
dogmas or morals. If it separate itself from the public,
if it hold its meetings apart, if it have its peculiar rites, it
is answered that all this is necessary to preserve the spirit
that distinguishes it. Man is, in a manner, subject to the
senses.Truth veiled in rites, which are its symbols, insi
nuates itself more firmly into the mind ; and a ceremony
which inspires the newly initiated with a sacred horror, is
warranted even by that once imposed upon the proselytes of
the church.
The rite which is still preserved in the administration of
Q

21$

APPENDIX V.

baptism, is respected because it is figurative, although it

does not correspond with the actual state of the infant
christian. But the ceremonies of the Society of the Car
bonari are in no wise opposed to the profession of the
Catholic and Apostolic Religion, which its members jea
lously maintain.
It is also true that, as in the most religious Society, so
also in that of the Carbonari, there may be persons whose
manners and conduct do not correspond with the funda
mental principles of the Society, nor with its regular dis
cipline. But it is a truth generally admitted, that we
should never argue on the object of a body from the acts
of its members, as it would then be difficult to oppose any
one who might be disposed to judge of the sanctity of
our own religion from the actions of any particular mi
nister of the altar. If your Holiness wishes to judge of
this Society, if you wish to be assured of the uniformity of
its principles and its conduct, deign to look upon what has
taken place in this kingdom in the two last months. This
Society, preserving, in -word and deed, a profound respect
for religion, and exhibiting with splendour, but without
ostentation, a morality worthy of the first ages of the
church, has conducted to perfection the greatest and most
important of civil and political operations, with a degree
of order, tranquillity, and success, unexampled in the his
tory of past agesletting Europe know by what new mode
a Society, well fixed in the sound principles of the religion
of Christ, and in the practice of the morality of the
Gospel, has been enabled to raise upon the wings of
peace (sulle ali della pace), a work, which has elsewhere
cost
The
so much
Societyblood
of the
to Carbonari,
the stranger therefore
and to theprofessing,
citizen. the

APPENDIX V.

219

dictates of the church of Jesus Christ, the Roman Ca

tholic aud Apostolic Religion, whose visible head it ac
knowledges in your Holinesspractising a moral disci
pline entirely modelled on that of the Gospel no longer
having a secret which leaves room for suspicion, now that it
has revealed its great object, and that the Sovereign, like the
real Father of the nation, has adopted it with sincerity (con
pienezza di cuore), employing a ceremonial whose symbols
are only figurative of that which has been executed with so
much applause ; your Holiness neither has, nor can have
reason to suspect this Society, either as to religion or mo
rals ; on which account it is time, now that your mind is
undeceived, and freed from those suspicions which provoked
against the Society the thunders of the Vatican, that you
cease to class it among equivocal secret societies, ren
dered public and general as it is in this kingdom under
the auspices of our most religious Sovereign, and of his
most pious Vicar-General the Hereditary Prince Francis,
and consequently that you declare it free from the spiritual
penalties which you pronounced against it with your Bull of
the year 1815, when neither its dispositions, professions
nor object were known.Such a declaration, which the
simple truth, unaided by the illusions of elaborate eloquence,
demands, at the same time that it will give additional
lustre to the spirit of Evangelical docility which charac
terizes the Sovereign Pontiff, who, walking in the steps of
the Apostles, rather than support with worldly policy a de
cree which was the offspring of ignorance as to facts,
knows how to recall it in time, will also restore peace to
those consciences that, divided by doubts, are prevented
from partaking in the acts of religion to which they are
attached. Considerations, which must immediately interest
q2

2S0

APPENDIX V.

the feelings of the Pontiff (Santa Sede) and which will

secure the public tranquillity of the State, so that every
avenue may be shut against the ill-intentioned, and the
perfidious enemies of national happiness, and in this So
ciety may the Holy See (Santa Sede) at all times meet with
respect, obedience, docility, and the most lasting and hum
ble gratitude.
Naples, QOtk September, 1820.

221

APPENDIX VI.
The following document is translated as literally as pos
sible, some lines of introduction only are suppressed, and
some inflated phrases, as well as the eternal epithets of
valiant, excellent, &c. &c. with which every name is loaded
in the original.

Historical
and
lion produced
of Nola.
Statement
the Movement
of the Facts
of thewhich
Secondpreceded
Batta~ t

Et quorum pars magna fui.ViRO.

Let the friends of their country deign to read a rapid

statement of operations which are perhaps worthy of a
tribute
The of
Good
love.Cousin Francesco Maria Gagliardi, of the
Province of Salerno, so far back as the mouth of May,
1817, had conceived the plan of a revolution. He con
ferred to this effect with the Good Cousins Domenico and
Gabriele Abatemarco, brothers and his countrymen, and
with the Good Cousin Michele de Blasiis, of Basilicata.
The Good Cousin Ferdinando Arcovito, who now presides
>t one of the Government Courts of Justice, joined them
and promised them the co-operation of the brave General
Arcovito," his relation, It was resolved to despatch Ga
gliardi to Calabria, to the G. C. Rinaldi, a Carmelite, who
Q3

APPENDIX VI.
possesses great influence in that province. A plan was
formed, and the establishment of a Central Committee of
correspondence was attempted at Naples. To accomplish
this, the GG. CC. Gagliardi and Abatemarco contrived
an interview with the G. C. Rosario Macchiaroli, then Pre
sident of the Supreme Magistracy of the Carbonari of
Salerno. This interview took place at Pompeii, in the
presence of some other GG. CC. from Naples and Sa
lerno. It was not till after this time Gagliardi proceeded
to Calabria, to confer with Rinaldi, while the brothers
Abatemarco sent circulars from Naples in order to be in
correspondence with several points. Gagliardi returned,
and it was thought proper to defer the enterprize, it being
found that the province of Principato Citra* alone was well
organized, and that it was necessary to wait till the others
were equally so. Let it be permitted to us here to pay a
just tribute of gratitude to this noble province, which,
under the direction of the brave Macchiaroli, invited
that of Basilicata and Avellino to follow its glorious
example.
In the mean time all the GG. CC. hereafter named,
never ceased their exertions, and despised the dangers with
which they were menaced by an active and vigilant police.
But after three years of constant care, the force of the Car
bonari had become formidable, a great portion of the
troops had joined this liberal order ; several provinces were
organized and united by correspondence with the Supreme
Magistracy of Salerno, &c.
In the month of March of the present year, the example
of Spain raised enthusiasm to its height. Gagliardi was at
* Under the uaine of the Lucuniau Republic.

APPENDIX VI.
Naples, and lived with Gherardo Curci, of Basilicata.
Both perceived that the epoch of the regeneration of their
country was arrived. The first project they formed, was thatof
revolutionizing the troops, when they should be encamped
in the plains of Sessa. This plan was communicated to
the G. C. Vincenzo Bologna, lieutenant of dragoons, an
officer distinguished by his patriotic zeal.
He consented and promised to range his whole regiment,
which had already received orders to prepare to march to
the camp, under the sacred standard of liberty. A meet
ing took place between Gagliardi, Curci, Bologna, the bro
thers Raffacllo, and Tommaso Marrello, Scarpa of Principato Citra, the brothers Michele, and Gennaro de Blasiis, and the brothers Abatemarco ; and the operations were
arranged, which were to be carried into effect at the camp,
on the arrival of the dragoons ; but this plan did not take
effect because of a counter-order, which kept the regiment
where it was.
It was then resolved to have recourse to new measures.
Towards the end of April the above-mentioned GG. CC.
met for the second time. It was proposed to concentrate
a sufficient force at Naples, to be able to take the King and
royal family as hostages, and conduct them to a place of
safety, in order to force them to grant a liberal constitution.
They swore, on the altar of the country, to preserve the
highest and most inviolable respect to the sacred persons of
the royal family. Their only object was to protect the
throne, which had begun to totter, from ministerial perfidy.
The plan was approved by all ; and they turned their atten
tion to the means of carrying it into effect.
It was then that every one sought to invite such Carbo
nari as were thought the most courageous, and of tried

APPENDIX VI.
firmness, more especially those who, gifted with these qua
lities, could also command any force whatever, in order to
further the salutary enterprize. These were, Agostino
Ferrante, serjeant of the marine artillery, who invited
Raffaello Villascosa, serjeant-major of the second regi
ment of grenadiers of the guard; Antonio Lazzaro, serjeant
of the same regiment, together with Filippi Pareti ; Fran
cesco Addiechi, serjeant-major of the horse-artillery;
Giuseppe Formica, serjeant of the royal marine regiment;
and L. Chianese, halberdier. They also invited Francesco
Ranieri, of Satriano (in Calabria ultra) ; Ferdinando Giannone, and Raffaello Majorano, both Neapolitans. The
force was then examined, and it was found to amount, be
tween soldiers and citizens, to nearly 2000 men, all sworn
sons of St. Theobald ; besides the brave regiment of dra
goons under the above-named Lieutenant Bologna and
Captain Permasilico ; and ten pieces of artillery under
Addiechi,
The grenadiers
Ferrante,ofScotto
the guard
and Esposito.
were also placed in the,
Castel-nuovo (in which was a garrison), together with that
part of King's and Queen's regiment of artillery, which,
gained by the agent Pellegrini, had embraced the general
cause.
It was thought fit to correspond with the provinces of
the kingdom, that they might be prepared to rise on the
first movements at Naples. Gagliardi, Raffaello and
Marco, Scarpa and Ranieri, proceeded to Aversa, to com
municate the plan, and to come to an understanding with
the captain of militia Andrea Forfante, and with the cap
tain of the Queen's regiment of cavalry Giuseppe Acerbo,
both firmly attached to their country. They received the
proposition with enthusiasm, Sic.

APPENDIX VI.

225

The line of correspondence extended itself as far as Benevento, Sessa and S. Germano. Lieutenant Bologna,
Gherardo Curci, and Tommaso Scarpa, proceeded on the
same errand to Nocera, whence they passed on to Salerno,
to invite the Supreme Magistracy there to act in concert.
That body promised to convoke a regular meeting to answer
the invitation ; and two days afterwards sent the lieutenant
of militia Raimondo Grimaldi, and F. B. the younger, of
Rocca Piemonte (Casale of Nocera), to Naples, through
whom it conveyed an assurance, that the forces of the Car
bonari in its dependence would march on the first intelli
gence, and that it was about to communicate the plan to
the neighbouring provinces of Avellino and Basilicata.
Meanwhile frequent meetings were held to mature the
project ; they took place for the most part in the house
of Curci, where Gagliardi lived, and to which the deputa
tions, which were constantly arriving from the provinces,
repaired.
We must mention with honour, among the individuals of
these deputations, the GG. CC. Domenico Cicalese, of
Nocera, and Vincenzo Franco, lieutenant of the Prince's
regiment of cavalry. They certified that the provinces of
Avellino and of Basilicata, whither they had been sent
from Salerno, as well as some corps of the army, had joined
the cause. The last meeting took place on the 23d May,
m the house of the G. C. Francesco Clementi de Padula, of
the Principato Citra, who had resided for several years at
Naples ; at this meeting were present, for the first time,
C. Guadalupi, and Oronce Piccioli of Lecce, and, un
fortunately, Francesco Acconciagiuoco, known as a popu
lar man ; the particulars of the plot were developed to all ;
the oath of fidelity and firmness was renewed, and a com

226

APPENDIX VI.

mission of seven individuals was appointed to regulate the

operations of the forces, to fix the day and hour of risuig, to
give the word of command, and to do all which it might
deem useful to the desired end.
This commission assembled the following day, in the
house of Curci and Gagliardi, and determined that the
moment of the enterprize should be the night between the
29th and 30th of May.
In consequence of this decision, Curci set out to give
information of it to the Magistracy of Salerno ; Gagliardi
proceeded to Aversa, and Gennaro de Blasiis to Marsiconuovo. The necessary orders were issued from these diffe
rent points ; proclamations were addressed to the army and
to the people of the united kingdoms, and complete suc
cess was expected, when Acconciagiuoco revealed all to the
police. On the night of the 26th May, Ferrante, Addiechi,
Villascosa, Chianese, Formica, Clementi and Majorano,
were surprized and imprisoned ; Gagliardi, Curci and
Giannonc, were attacked but had time to fly ; the rest for
tunately escaped the vigilance of the police, because
Acconciagiuoco had forgotten their names, and was igno
rant where they lived.
The news of this misfortune flew to the points of corre
spondence, and prudence determined that the proceedings
should be stopped. The Princess's regiment of infantry,
ready to make a retrograde movement in its march from Sicily,
already begun, was obliged to proceed, in consequence of
this event. It had received orders to fall back, from the
Supreme Magistracy of Salerno, through the G. C. Gaetano
di Pasquale of Naples, employed in the office of the At
torney General. He had the courage to abandon his situ
ation, and to rejoin these brave men, led by the excellent

APPENDIX VI.
G. C. Colonel Costa, in order to unite their arms with those
who were to raise the glorious standard of the Hermit Pro
tector (St. Theobald).
Notwithstanding the most obstinate persecution, those
who had escaped the danger did not relax in their ardour.
Gagliardi and Curci repaired to Nocera and its environs ;
theyagreed with the general guards (guardie generali), PasqualeLombardi and P. Amabile.to fix the centre ofthe ope
rations in that town, and to raise the first shout, announcing
the political resurrection at that place, in the night of the
10th of June. They returned from thence to Naples, to
give [the necessary directions. The captain of dragoons,
G. C. Rignano, the lieutenants GG. CC. Zimeo and
Gennarelli, and the GG. CC. Gr. Principe P. Strina, Fr.
Antonio Ceravolo (a priest), Antonio Albini and Benedetto
Polvani, took part in the new enterprize ; the last invited
the General Vairo also to join the engagement. Gagliardi
went to Aversa to re-organize that quarter. He communi
cated to Lombardi, at Nocera, the adherence of Vairo, and
the steps taken by the G. C. Michele de Blasiis, for gain
ing possession of the castle of St. Elmo. Some officers of
the Prince's regiment of cavalry sent the lieutenant-colonel
to Naples, to ascertain whether Vairo persisted in his in
tention. Colombo confirmed it in confidence to the G. C.
Tronna, of Nocera, who was then at Naples. This person,
full of distrust as to the success of the affair, dissuaded
Vairo by means of Polvani. A similar feeling filled the
mind of the G. C. Pagliara, President of the Supreme Ma
gistracy of Salerno, with a panic fear; and the friends of their
country saw with grief, their third project come to nothing.
In the mean time Gagliardi, Curci, Principe, Guadalupo,
de Blasiis, Ranieri, and Ceravolo, had repaired to Nocera.

5228

APPENDIX VI.

Deceived in their hopes, the three first went to the Val di

Lauro, to prepare the minds of the people, and from thence
to Nola, with which place they were in correspondence
from the beginning ; the other four returned to Naples.
The Carbonari of the districts just mentioned were burn
ing with enthusiasm ; conferences took place with the ex
cellent Abate Menechini and the brave men Morelli, Silvati,
Descisciolo, and Altomare, all of the immortal Bourbon
regiment of cavalry. Menechini, Silvati, Gagliardi and
Curci repaired for the last time to Aversa, to confer with
the captains Infante and Acerbo and several officers of the
Queen's regiment of cavalry. Morelli and Principe pro
ceeded to Naples, to consult with the officers of dragoons
above-mentioned.
To ensure success, circular letters were sent from Na
ples to different places, to invite the Carbonari to march
immediately upon the capital, according to the directions
contained in those letters. They were accompanied with
the seal which is now used by the general provisional assem
bly of the Carbonari, and which is in the custody of the G.
C. Such
Dom.isAbatemarco.
the account of the events which preceded the
movements at Nola, of the 1st of July, which already re
sounds through astonished Europe, and which, consecrated
in the pages of history, will be for ever admired by the re
motest posterity.
This day, the 12th of July, 1820, we, the undersigned,
met together in the district (Ordone), of Naples, in bonds
of truth and peace, swear before the Grand Master of the
Universe, and upon our honour (form of Carbonarism), that
the contents of this historical statement are completely true.
We attest its authenticity with our signatures, accompanied

APPKND1X VI.
with the seal of the General Provisional Assembly ; and
we send the original to the Supreme Magistracy of the Car
bonari of the Western Lucanian Republic, in order that it
maybe preserved in the archives*
The Good Cousin T. M. Gagliardi,
D. Abatemarco,
M. de Blasiis,
Gerard. Curci,
V. Bologna,
R. Scarpa,
T. Scarpa,
M. Scarpa,
Ang. Ferrante,
R. Villascosa, ,
Fr. Addiechi,
Arrested on the
night of the e6th
Jos. Formica,
of
May.
L. Chianese,
R. Majorano,
T. Clementi,
Nic. Scotto,
G. Esposito,
F. Pareti,'
T. Giannone.
Ant. Albini,
Fr. RaniERI,
Ben. Polvani,
Ti Permasilico,
G. Vairo, General,
D. Cicalese,
P. Strina,
Or. Piccioli,
F. Ant. Ceravolo,
C. GuADALUPI,
Luigi Menechini,
S.
G. RlGNANO,
de Pasquale,
m. morelli,
T. Silvati,
I. ZlMEO,
Gius. Descisciolo,
P. Gennarelli,
Sav. Altomare.
Gr. Principe,

230

APPENDIX VII.

A. G. D. G. M. D. U.
The Respectable General Assembly of t he Carbonari
to all the Good Cousins of the Two Sicilies.
Good Cousins,
With deep grief the General Assembly thinks it ne
cessary to announce to you, that the many outrages which
are every day committed in the public roads, by low people,
against peaceful travellers, as they tend to cast a stain upon
the glorious epoch of our bloodless (incruenta) regenera
tion, demand that the honour and zeal of the whole popula
tion of the Carbonari should be exerted, in desiring and
accomplishing their cessation.
It is true that such disorders belong unfortunately to all
times, and to all nations, even to the most civilized, for
where there are passions and wants, crime often takes
place. It is also true that the virtuous man, and the honest
citizen, should at all times feel regret and aversion for such
disorders ; but there are times when the same crime, from
the change in circumstances, should excite greater hatred
and indignation in all minds, attached to virtue, and to the
glory of the age they live in.
,
Yes, Carbonari, this age, in which the wish of a free na

APPENDIX Vlf.

231

tion and a virtuous order alone should triumph, this age

must be pure and immaculate. See how our enemies, en
vying our happiness, exult as they contemplate the distress
ing events which may diminish or destroy it. And who
knows whether those enemies, always ready to obscure
your glory, are not now calumniating you, and accusing you
of being the quiet spectators, and, perhaps, the promoters
of the disorders committed in the public highways ?
Good Cousins, the General Assembly feels assured that
as soon as this idea presents itself to your minds, there will
not be a man among you who will not experience a feel
ing of honor. But this is not sufficient : inactive virtue,
although it has its merits, in such cases is easily confounded
with vice. Your country, your honour demand from you
not regret alone, but exertion and energy, and the Assembly
invites you to employ them.
Let robbers and those who commit excesses in the
public ways be incessantly watched and arrested by such
ofyou as belong to the public force, and let your calumni
ators know that you do not approve of crime, but eradicate
it wherever it is foundbe careful, however, to preserve
the greatest order among yourselves, when you oppose dis
orderthe slightest inattention, the most trifling want of
discipline, the least opposition to the public authorities may
destroy the merit of the good intentions you may have, and
bring upon you blame instead of honour.
Above all let there be no distinction of persons when
it is your business to unite yourselves to put down ex
cesses. Fraternal love places all the Good Cousins on the
same level.
But we are speaking to Carbonari, and the path to

APPENDIX VII.
glory is not unknown to them ; this renders any further ex
hortation useless.
. We salute you with the honours due to you;
District (Ordone) of Naples, the 24th October, 1820.
The Good Cousin President Casigli, Domenico.
The G. C. First Assistant Rossarolli, Giuseppe.
The G. C. Second ditto Capuano, Buonaventura.
The G. C. Orator Doria, Francesco.
The G. C. Secretary Rossetti, Gabriele;
(L. S.) The Seal represents the Goddess of Liberty, with
the fasces and axe in her left hand, and with a spear bear
ing the cap of liberty in her right hand, treading upon a
serpentaround it " The General Assembly of the G.
C. of the Two Sicilies."
Form of the Table of Labours* (extractedfrom the Codice
delta Carboneria, part 1, of the First Rank of Apprentice.
A. G. D. G. M. D. U. e del nostro Protettore S. T.
(Al Gran Dio Gran Maestro del Universo e del nostro
Protettore San Teobaldo.)
To-day being the first of August in the year 300* of
* Tarola dci Travagli" is the term in Carbonarism to express the order ot
the day and the proceedings of the meeting.
+ This epocha corresponds with that ascribed to the foundation of the
Society of Carbonari in lhe " Historical Essay on the Origin of Carbonarism,"
from which an extract is given in the text, namely, the reign of Francis the
First of France, which reign extended from 1515 to 1547. Now the date
300 falling in with 1540, agrees well with this, and is the year of the condemna
tion of Luther by Leo X., and of the formation of many secret and religious so
cieties in France and Germany, particularly that headed by Muncer, which

APPENDIX VII.

233

true light, being met together in a very strong ami illumi

Vendita,
nated place,
under
far the
fromdistinctive
the eyes of
table
PagansThe
of
to the
Respectable
orders of
The Good
opens Cousin
the labours
N. N.in holds
the First
the first
Rankaxe(There
of Apprentices.
are
a Grand Master and Assistants.) N. N. the second, N. N.
the third. The Good Cousin N. N. officiates as Orator.
The office of Secretary is entrusted to the Good Cousin
N. N. Master of the Ceremonies, N. N. First adept
(Esperto) N. N. The remaining dignitaries are noted in
the margin of the present table, together with all the Good
Cousins present at these labours.
Art. 1. The Grand Master examines the first assistant on
the duties of his office in the Vendita, and desires him to
put them in execution. This is done by means of the
Master Adept (Esperto) and the Master of the Ceremo
nies.
Art. 2. The Grand Master, after regular notice, opens
the labours (travagli) with the usual signs, salutations
(avvantaggi) and invocations of ceremony.
Art. 3. The Grand Master, after regular notice, causes
the table of past labours to be read : the same is ratified by
plurality of votes.*
Art. 4. The Good Cousin Grand Master regularly in
vites the G. C. Master Adept to go into the forest, in order
afterwards broke out into the war of the peasantry, whose chief complaint
against the nobles at that time seems to have been the severity of the Game
Laws a subject on which the Carbonari have more than once remonstrated
aid even taken up Arms.T.
* If any observations are made on its articles, those observations arc to be
noted.
* Sec Jortin's Life of Erasmus.
R

234

APPENDIX VII.

to see if there are any GG. CC. visitors ; the same being
returned, reports if there are any, and they are introduced.*
Art. 5. The G. M. regularly invites the G. C. Master
Adept to go into the cabinet of reflection, in order to see
if there are any pagans to be initiated. The same being
returned, reports accordingly, and also repeats to the Vendita the answers of ceremony which they have given, such
answers being conformable to justice and propriety.
Art. 6. The G.M., after regular notice, causes the recep
tion of the Pagan to be sanctioned for the last time, and
invites the G. C. Master of the Ceremonies to take the ne
cessary steps, in order that the Pagan may be introduced to
the door of the Baracca. ,
Art. 7. A knocking is heard at the Pagan doorthe G.
M. asks who is the rash person that dares to disturb our
sacred labours ?
Art. 8. The Pagan is introduced into the Vendita, and
after some questions of ceremony, the- G. M. directs him to
make his first journey, then the second, and afterwards the
thirdupon which he causes him to take the oath of cere
mony.
Art. 9. The Pagan being led into the middle of the Ordoni, and the bandage being taken from his eyes, the G.
M. makes him repeat his oath, and then communicates to
him the signs, touch, and sacred words, and causes him to
be acknowledged by the ordone.
Art. 10. The G. M. causes a salutation of ceremony to
be made to the new member ; the G. C. Master of the Cere
monies thanks all the GG. CC. of the Vendita for the
new member, with the usual signs and salutations.
* The number of visitors is noted in the Table, with their Christian and Sur
names, eouutry, quality, rank in the order, and the Vendita lhe_v belong to.

APPENDIX VII.
Art. 11. The G. C. Orator explains the symbols of the
order to the new member, who thanks him with a salu
tation for having enlightened him.
Art. 12. The bag of propositions* (sacco di proposizioni)
is sent round, which produces
Art 13. The bag of the poor (sacco de' poveri) is sent
round and has produced the sum (medaglia) of
which
is consigned to the G. C. Almoner, to use as the regulations
direct.
Art. 14. The G. M. regularly demands of the Ordoni if
they have any observations to make on the general good of
the order, and of the Vendita in particular liberty of
speech is granted.
Art. 15. The G. M. causes a salutation of ceremony to
be made to the GG. CC. visitors, these thank the Ven
dita, and they close it (la cuoprono.f)
Art. 16. The G. C. Secretary reads over the notes of the
table of the present labours,the same is ratified by the
Vendita, and signed by the Dignitaries, according to cus
tom.
Art. 17. Our forest growing dark for want of the sun,
the G. M. causes the labours to be closed, with the usual
signs, salutations, and invocations of ceremony.
Done and read the day, month, and year as above, and
signed by us Dignitaries.J
* " The number, quality, and contents of the same to be explained. "
t " Chiudono."
; Here follow the signatures of tlieG. M., of the first and second Assistants,
of the Orator and Secretary.
riNIS.

London : Printed by C. Roworth,

Bell-yard, Templfrba.'.

F/J

i/tenpite &to<yo a riconoscer/o

'Are, (2nno puisito .