Deported to Corsica for having refused to take the oath to Napoleon, the archbishop was threatened with imprisonment. Disguised as a peasant, he succeeded in crossing the gates of the citadel, then in passing to Sardinia thanks to accomplices
On November 20, 1812, Archbishop Thomas Arezzo, dressed as a peasant, took advantage of the night to escape from the citadel of Corte where he was held prisoner by General Berthier. Because, like hundreds of Roman priests who refused to take the oath to Napoleon as required by the imperial decree of May 4, 1812, Mgr Arezzo was deported to Bastia. Some of his co-religionists who were able to flee have already reached Sardinia. Fearing that the prelate does not do the same, Berthier summons him to Ajaccio, officially to explain himself. Bishop Arezzo argues that not only is it not possible for him, given his state of health, to undertake such a trip, but also that, not being a Roman but a Sicilian, he does not feel concerned by this oath.
He is seriously mistaken. ” General Chorie, under the orders of the Governor-General of Corsica Berthier, informed Archbishop Arezzo and the principal deportees that they were bound by oath and that they had thirty days to comply with the decree of the 4th mai; if they refused, after this time, they would be taken to Ajaccio to be imprisoned. » (1)
Conciliatory, General Berthier then asked Bishop Arezzo to go to Corte and sent him a wheelbarrow, making a French officer available to him. The departure of the archbishop takes place on the morning of July 13, to avoid a disturbance of public order, as Bishop Arezzo is appreciated by the people of Bastia who, hostile to the imperial government, promote the escape of deported priests. To avoid this, Berthier takes him away from Bastia.
« The trip from Bastia to Corte, says the arcivescovo, is very boring. The path which leads there is at best practicable for going on horseback, but it is not worth anything for the cars which toss at every moment the bumps of the deep ruts. We cross various bridges: Bevinco, Ponte Nuovo, della Leccia, Francardo. One does not meet any village to be able to rest there, on a course of 48 miles. There are, however, a few hostels, but they are too dirty and, if you sleep there in summer, you risk catching malarial fevers from malaria. We stopped for a few hours with a peasant, at the Francardo bridge, where we arrived the next day, July 14. Then we resumed the road to Corte. » (2)
The people of Cortena welcome Bishop Arezzo, both the mayor, Joseph Guelfucci, and the commander of the square, his jailer. « Against all expectations, the Arcivescovo was lodged in the Citadel. Commander A. may have overstepped the instructions he had been given by having him watched too closely, especially on his walks, which he even ended up partially suppressing. » (3)
A letter from General Berthier informed Mgr Arezzo that, having been born in Orbetello in Tuscany, he was a subject of the Empire and that, in fact, he had to comply with the decree. For the Archbishop, it is consternation. His friend Jean-Augustin Santini d’Omessa urged him to escape. ” He had hired him to flee, promising to provide him with the means to go to Aleria where he would have him secretly embarked for Sardinia. » (4)
At first perplexed, the archbishop decides to try the adventure, especially as the mayor Guelfucci and Sialelli, sure friends, have a plan. Luckily, the sentries never close the doors of the citadel where a third of the population resides. And on the evening of November 20, 1812, deceiving the surveillance of the men on guard, Bishop Arezzo left the Citadel, hidden under a peasant’s garment. The account of his escape was published in Palermo in 1903 under the title My escape from Corsica.
Gendarmes and soldiers
launched after him
« I put on a large woolen coat, lifted the hood, and left my room without even realizing that I was leaving my gloves, my pole and my traveling beret. I was shaking in all my limbs, thinking I had a fever. ” Helped by his servant Vincenzo, the archbishop passes through a small door where there was a motionless sentry. I hurried a little too much and joined Vincenzo who said to me: ” Go slow, don’t run. Now you can rest easy, we have come through the most difficult passage. »
However, the most painful is yet to come. At the Pont de Corte, the two fugitives find mounts that lead them to the convent of Omessa, owned by Doctor Santini, where they live in hiding for three days. In Corte, the population applauds the feat, but the commander is furious. ” The arcivescovo escaped, he cried, he must be found dead or alive! “. The sentry on duty is punished with fifty blows with a stick. Staying in Omessa becomes dangerous. Mgr Arezzo is therefore transferred to a landing a few kilometers away. A whistle signals his arrival. ” It was there that the Archbishop spent five days in continual trances, for he knew that soldiers and gendarmes had been launched in pursuit and in all directions with orders to arrest him, and bring him back under good order. escort to Corte. »
In this cabin ” not high enough », There were provisions in abundance.
« Plump satchels swayed along the wall, overflowing with bottles of wine, hams, sausages, cheeses and bread “. Bishop Arezzo has a mattress, but the rats prevent him from sleeping. Impossible to make a fire, the smoke would risk betraying him.
With all the roads crisscrossed by the gendarmes and the army, the journey to Aleria becomes impossible. Jean-Philippe Mattei, president of the Golo Criminal Court, then offered the prelate the lodging and cutlery in his house in Gavignano. « We arrived there at nightfall, having met several villagers on our way who wanted to know at all costs who were and where these foreigners came from. »
An extended stay in Gavignano is risky. Jean-Philippe Mattei reassures the prelate, saying that there is no betrayal to fear. Then Bishop Arezzo is taken to Campile through the mountains and then to Bastia where “ boarding became easier than from any point on the coast ». The trip takes place at night via the Ampugnani. A stop is then planned at the Gavini country house in the Marana, ” a large house falling into ruins on a fertile plain ».
An emissary runs to Bastia to warn Doctor Santini to be on December 5 at 9 p.m. at the Lupino bridge. That evening, the fugitive finally arrives at the entrance to Bastia. Doctor Santini is waiting for him. No one until the entrance to the Faubourg Saint-Joseph.
Bypassing the citadel, they dismount rue du Colle, pass by Fontana Nuova and come out on the Church of the Conception.
« From there we followed the path to the Old Market and we finally arrived at Mme Saliceti’s house, the end of our journey. It was about time because ten o’clock had just struck the dungeon and the military round immediately passed … »
Bishop Arezzo is staying with a carpenter, Giovanni Contarini, where he remains hidden until the day of his departure, scheduled for December 27 at 9 p.m. The archbishop leaves it at the said moment with the peasant cloak he had on the very evening of his escape from Corte, and on the arm of the carpenter’s wife … A few minutes later, the fugitive archbishop embarked at bottom of the Place Saint-Nicolas.
On December 30 at 6 a.m., he landed at La Maddalena.
Finally free.
(1, 2, 3 4) JP Lucciardi. Bulletin de la Société des Sciences 1881.
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