Carlo Pellion di Persano
Carlo Pellion di Persano | |
|---|---|
| Born | 11 March 1806 |
| Died | 28 July 1883 (aged 77) Turin, Italy |
| Allegiance | Sardinia Italy |
| Branch | Royal Sardinian Navy Regia Marina |
| Conflicts | Third Italian War of Independence |
Carlo Pellion di Persano (11 March 1806 – 28 July 1883) was an Italian naval officer and politician best known for commanding the Regia Marina fleet which was defeated in the 1866 Battle of Lissa during the Third Italian War of Independence.
Persano was born in Vercelli, in the then Kingdom of Sardinia, on 11 March 1806. He joined the Royal Sardinian Navy as a young man and advanced rapidly through the ranks. He commanded the navy from 1860 to 1861, and saw action during the unification of Italy.
Persano was appointed to command the Italian fleet during the Third Italian War of Independence. Despite nursing serious misgivings about the poor state of his ships and his men, he set sail and suffered a defeat at Lissa at the hands of the Austrian Navy.[1] To quell the public outcry in Italy after the defeats of Lissa and Custoza, Persano was judged by the Italian Senate (which alone had the authority to judge a sitting Senator), condemned for incompetence on 15 April 1867 and dismissed from army duty.[2]
After the unification, he was elected in the Italian parliament. In 1862 he was Minister of Marine and in 1865 he became a senator.
Persano died in Turin on 28 July 1883.