Quick Facts
Born:
January 18, 1752, Naples, Kingdom of Naples [Italy]
Died:
June 28, 1799, Naples (aged 47)

Francesco Caracciolo, duke di Brienza (born January 18, 1752, Naples, Kingdom of Naples [Italy]—died June 28, 1799, Naples) , duke di Brienza was a Neapolitan admiral who was executed on the orders of the British admiral Horatio Nelson for supporting the republican revolution at Naples in 1799. Considered a traitor by some Italians, he at first supported King Ferdinand IV of Naples but later accepted command of the navy of the Parthenopean Republic, which was declared January 23, 1799, when the French took over Naples.

Caracciolo gained most of his experience as a naval officer fighting for the British against the Americans in the American Revolution (1775–83). He returned to Naples in 1781 and, under Nelson, fought the French at Toulon in 1793. Caracciolo continued to fight them even after Ferdinand IV signed an armistice with Napoleon. Later, in 1798, the French captured Naples, and Ferdinand fled to Palermo aboard Nelson’s ship, with Caracciolo following behind. During the voyage, a storm arose that nearly caused Nelson’s ship to founder, while Caracciolo sailed through it easily; afterward, Ferdinand praised Caracciolo’s seamanship, thus allegedly arousing Nelson’s jealousy.

Caracciolo returned to Naples (then the French-imposed Parthenopean Republic), perhaps with Ferdinand’s permission, because the estates of those who were absent were being seized. Caracciolo was offered command of the Parthenopean navy, which was in a state of disrepair, and he soon turned it into an efficient force. Ferdinand recaptured Naples from the French in 1799. Though the terms of the armistice forbade reprisals, Nelson summarily tried and then hanged Caracciolo for treason aboard his flagship, the Minerva.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Parthenopean Republic

historical republic, Italy
Also known as: République Parthénopéenne
Quick Facts
Italian:
Repubblica Partenopea
French:
République Parthénopéenne
Date:
1799 - 1802
Key People:
Francesco Caracciolo, duca di Brienza
Related Places:
Italy

Parthenopean Republic, short-lived republic in Naples proclaimed on Jan. 23, 1799, after a popular uprising of pro-French republicans resulted in the ouster of King Ferdinand IV. A counterrevolution the same year, aided by a papal army and an English fleet under Horatio Nelson and marked by wholesale butcheries of the republicans, resulted in the eventual return of Ferdinand to Naples in 1802, sanctioned by the Peace of Amiens. In 1806 Napoleon revenged himself by sending an invasion force under his brother Joseph, who was proclaimed king of Naples on March 30, 1806. Ferdinand fled to Sicily.