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Bio: Luca d'Ornano
Sampiero was a 16th century Corsican condottiere who enjoyed a successful career in the service of the Valois kings of France. At the time, France was locked in a deadly rivalry with the Spanish Habsburgs and the Republic of Genoa was a Spanish ally. In 1553, Sampiero led an invasion of Genoese Corsica on the orders of the French king Henri II. His invasion met with considerable success, but broader political considerations compelled Henri to strike a truce with Genoa in 1556. The island remained divided between the French and Genoese until the conclusion of the war in 1559, at which point the entire island was returned to Genoa. The enmity between Sampiero and the Republic, however, had not ended.
Sampiero had married the noble lady Vannina d'Ornano in 1545—he was 49 years old, she 15—and gained much status from the match, as Sampeiro's father was merely a commoner. While Sampiero was abroad in Constantinople, however, serving as a French envoy, Vannina was induced to betray him by a Genoese spy who had entered her confidence as a tutor for their children. Her exact reasons are unclear, but the d'Ornano family were partisans of Genoa, and it has also been proposed that she acted to protect her family in Corsica from retribution on account of their association by marriage to Sampiero. Whatever the reason, she liquidated all his property in his absence, selling his mansion in Marseilles and all his worldly possessions, and fled to Genoa. When Sampiero heard of this, he returned from abroad and strangled her to death with his own hands. The story is generally believed to have been an inspiration for Shakespeare's famous play Othello. Enraged, the d'Ornano family put an enormous price on his head, and in 1567 he was betrayed by his follower Vittolo (whose name subsequently became synonymous with treachery) to a group of assassins, including several of Vannina's cousins, who murdered Sampiero and cut off his head.
The family which had bayed for Sampiero's blood, however, would come to revere him. Sampiero's son Alfonso adopted his mother's noble surname of d'Ornano, an obvious choice given the family's status relative to that of the common-born Sampiero, and pursued a military career of his own. He achieved high recognition and was made a Marshal of France; his son, Giovanni Battista, would also have that honor. Luca d'Ornano proudly counted himself among Alfonso's direct descendants, and thus of the bloodline of Sampiero himself.
The d'Ornano family were usually supporters of Genoa during the Early Modern period, and it is not altogether clear why Luca d'Ornano became an early participant in the rebellion. The native nobility of Corsica had certainly been oppressed by the Genoese, who did all within their power to impoverish and marginalize them so that they would not be able to raise the island against Genoese rule, yet relatively few among the aristocracy joined the uprising in its early years. What is striking about Luca was not merely his enthusiasm for the cause, but his age—while the leadership of the rebellion was dominated by seasoned men well into middle age, Luca d'Ornano was only 28 years old when he gained his first major victory at the Battle of Ulmetu in 1732, leading 1,500 Corsicans against an Austro-Genoese force and liberating the town. He is said to have previously possessed a colonel's commission in the Genoese army, but his prior military experience seems to have been limited. When elected as a general of the nation alongside Luigi Giafferi, Giacinto Paoli, and Andrea Ceccaldi in 1735, he was only 31, less than half Giafferi's age.
While a stalwart adherent of the national cause, Luca d'Ornano also kept the northern-dominated government at arm's length and rigorously preserved his autonomy in the south. The assassination of Giovanni Lusinchi in 1734 left d'Ornano as the most prominent rebel leader in the Dila, a role which he embraced wholeheartedly. With one notable exception in the person of Sebastiano Costa, most of the rebel leaders (and all his fellow "generals") were northerners with little influence on the other side of the mountains. They could only suggest that d'Ornano follow their general instructions, and he readily refused when his opinions on strategy differed with their own. To further underscore his autonomy, d'Ornano on occasion even summoned his own consulta in the south, to which he subjected the decisions of the "main" consulta in the north to be ratified or rejected. In principle, he was merely defending the rights of his fellow southerners who were underrepresented in the northern assemblies, but in practice these southern councils seem to have been little more than a rubber stamp on d'Ornano's own authority.
Just as d'Ornano sought to preserve his independence in domestic and military affairs, he also charted an independent foreign policy. In 1735 he is known to have been an adherent of the "French faction" of Jacques Campredon, France's minister in Genoa, and he exchanged correspondence with the Genoese commissioner of the Dila Ottavio Grimaldi. Some have accused him of treachery, but prior to 1736 the idea that Corsica would or ought to be independent was uncommon and very controversial among the rebels themselves. Most assumed that the end goal of the rebellion was either to prompt an annexation by a foreign king or to force the Genoese to cave to the rebels' demands. Particularly in 1735, when the rebellion seemed to be nearing a terminal collapse, it was not altogether unreasonable that d'Ornano would explore his options and try to avoid staking his future and that of his southern fiefdom on the fate of the northern government.
By late 1735, a serious breach seemed to be opening between d'Ornano and Costa's commonwealth, which had just been proclaimed in the north. As a means to placate d'Ornano and bind him to the new government, he was elected general in absentia by a consulta in Zicavo, but he refused to follow the commands of the new government and may never have actually recognized the authority of Costa's commonwealth. Perhaps he believed the commonwealth was destined to fail.
Theodore's arrival changed everything. The king's election and coronation had taken place without d'Ornano, and it seemed possible that the breach might continue. Costa, who was the new king's Grand Chancellor and chief advisor, was still on poor terms with d'Ornano. A few days after the coronation, however, d'Ornano arrived in the north and met the king face to face. Theodore made an excellent impression upon him, and Luca swore his allegiance to the new king. D'Ornano was made a marquis, which surely gratified the prideful young general, and Theodore confirmed him in his position of general in the south (alongside Michele Durazzo, who was also granted the rank of lieutenant-general but was a less influential man who "only" received the noble title of count). Had the meeting between Theodore and Luca not gone as well, Theodore's kingdom would very likely have been still-born.
As a military leader, d'Ornano's record was mixed. He gained initial victories over the Genoese following Theodore's arrival, but his management of the siege of Ajaccio was inept and failed to achieve much even after extraordinary effort was devoted to bringing artillery from over the mountains. Although a dedicated patriot, he was a prideful man who was irked by the greater attention and resources which Theodore devoted to the cause in the north. He was criticized and suspected of treachery for his flirtations with the French in 1739, but the general strongly objected to accusations that he sought to betray the national cause. From his perspective, 1739 seemed like another 1735—the northern government looked as if it were on the verge of falling, and he was not about to be undone by their failures. D'Ornano spoke contemptuously of the Genoese but admired the French; undoubtedly he hoped that, if the rebellion were to collapse, some accommodation with France (or even a French annexation) might be accomplished, and he had every intention of being a key figure in those negotiations if they were to take place.
OTL Postscript
Historically, Luca d'Ornano was one of the last field commanders to submit to the French during the First Intervention, but once he surrendered he quickly reconciled with Maillebois and was able to maintain his position without exile. He retained his royalist sympathies, and proclaimed his loyalty to Theodore as late as 1744, but in 1745 he seems to have buried the hatchet with the Genoese and was granted a lieutenant-colonel's commission by the Republic. Some sources allege a falling out with Gaffori and Matra, who dominated the rebel government at that time, because he resented their attempts to assert their authority on his turf. Although I have not found much information on his life during Paoli's rule, he does not seem to have renewed his previous revolutionary fervor; perhaps Paoli's republican ethos and his ostensibly more "democratic" regime were not to Luca's taste. Dying in 1779, he lived long enough to see the annexation of Corsica by France, and his family was among those recognized as noble by the new regime.
The noble family of d'Ornano, now part of the French aristocracy, would remain prominent. Luca's eldest son, François Marie d'Ornano, fell afoul of the Revolution and was guillotined in 1794, but the clan's fortunes recovered through their association with Napoleon. The families of d'Ornano and Buonaparte were close neighbors and linked by marriage. Philippe Antoine d'Ornano, of a cadet line of the family, was a second cousin of Napoleon, became a commander of the imperial guard cavalry, married Napoleon's former mistress, was created "Comte d'Ornano" in 1808, and was made a Marshal of France by Napoleon III, the third member of the family to attain that dignity. Later members of the family included a number of center-right and right-wing French politicians. Presently, Mireille d'Ornano is a member of the European Parliament, formerly of the National Front (but quit the FN two months ago to join the "Patriots" party of Florian Philippot).
Bio: Luca d'Ornano
Arms of the d'Ornano family, attested from the 17th century
The illustrious house of d'Ornano was among the most venerable and influential of the noble families of Corsica. They are believed to have descended from the Counts of Cinarca, who played a key role in the island's early medieval history. Their name is linked by marriage with many other great families of Corsican history, but no ancestor is as famous as Sampiero Corso, the revered Corsican national hero.
Arms of the d'Ornano family, attested from the 17th century
Sampiero was a 16th century Corsican condottiere who enjoyed a successful career in the service of the Valois kings of France. At the time, France was locked in a deadly rivalry with the Spanish Habsburgs and the Republic of Genoa was a Spanish ally. In 1553, Sampiero led an invasion of Genoese Corsica on the orders of the French king Henri II. His invasion met with considerable success, but broader political considerations compelled Henri to strike a truce with Genoa in 1556. The island remained divided between the French and Genoese until the conclusion of the war in 1559, at which point the entire island was returned to Genoa. The enmity between Sampiero and the Republic, however, had not ended.
Sampiero had married the noble lady Vannina d'Ornano in 1545—he was 49 years old, she 15—and gained much status from the match, as Sampeiro's father was merely a commoner. While Sampiero was abroad in Constantinople, however, serving as a French envoy, Vannina was induced to betray him by a Genoese spy who had entered her confidence as a tutor for their children. Her exact reasons are unclear, but the d'Ornano family were partisans of Genoa, and it has also been proposed that she acted to protect her family in Corsica from retribution on account of their association by marriage to Sampiero. Whatever the reason, she liquidated all his property in his absence, selling his mansion in Marseilles and all his worldly possessions, and fled to Genoa. When Sampiero heard of this, he returned from abroad and strangled her to death with his own hands. The story is generally believed to have been an inspiration for Shakespeare's famous play Othello. Enraged, the d'Ornano family put an enormous price on his head, and in 1567 he was betrayed by his follower Vittolo (whose name subsequently became synonymous with treachery) to a group of assassins, including several of Vannina's cousins, who murdered Sampiero and cut off his head.
The family which had bayed for Sampiero's blood, however, would come to revere him. Sampiero's son Alfonso adopted his mother's noble surname of d'Ornano, an obvious choice given the family's status relative to that of the common-born Sampiero, and pursued a military career of his own. He achieved high recognition and was made a Marshal of France; his son, Giovanni Battista, would also have that honor. Luca d'Ornano proudly counted himself among Alfonso's direct descendants, and thus of the bloodline of Sampiero himself.
The d'Ornano family were usually supporters of Genoa during the Early Modern period, and it is not altogether clear why Luca d'Ornano became an early participant in the rebellion. The native nobility of Corsica had certainly been oppressed by the Genoese, who did all within their power to impoverish and marginalize them so that they would not be able to raise the island against Genoese rule, yet relatively few among the aristocracy joined the uprising in its early years. What is striking about Luca was not merely his enthusiasm for the cause, but his age—while the leadership of the rebellion was dominated by seasoned men well into middle age, Luca d'Ornano was only 28 years old when he gained his first major victory at the Battle of Ulmetu in 1732, leading 1,500 Corsicans against an Austro-Genoese force and liberating the town. He is said to have previously possessed a colonel's commission in the Genoese army, but his prior military experience seems to have been limited. When elected as a general of the nation alongside Luigi Giafferi, Giacinto Paoli, and Andrea Ceccaldi in 1735, he was only 31, less than half Giafferi's age.
While a stalwart adherent of the national cause, Luca d'Ornano also kept the northern-dominated government at arm's length and rigorously preserved his autonomy in the south. The assassination of Giovanni Lusinchi in 1734 left d'Ornano as the most prominent rebel leader in the Dila, a role which he embraced wholeheartedly. With one notable exception in the person of Sebastiano Costa, most of the rebel leaders (and all his fellow "generals") were northerners with little influence on the other side of the mountains. They could only suggest that d'Ornano follow their general instructions, and he readily refused when his opinions on strategy differed with their own. To further underscore his autonomy, d'Ornano on occasion even summoned his own consulta in the south, to which he subjected the decisions of the "main" consulta in the north to be ratified or rejected. In principle, he was merely defending the rights of his fellow southerners who were underrepresented in the northern assemblies, but in practice these southern councils seem to have been little more than a rubber stamp on d'Ornano's own authority.
Just as d'Ornano sought to preserve his independence in domestic and military affairs, he also charted an independent foreign policy. In 1735 he is known to have been an adherent of the "French faction" of Jacques Campredon, France's minister in Genoa, and he exchanged correspondence with the Genoese commissioner of the Dila Ottavio Grimaldi. Some have accused him of treachery, but prior to 1736 the idea that Corsica would or ought to be independent was uncommon and very controversial among the rebels themselves. Most assumed that the end goal of the rebellion was either to prompt an annexation by a foreign king or to force the Genoese to cave to the rebels' demands. Particularly in 1735, when the rebellion seemed to be nearing a terminal collapse, it was not altogether unreasonable that d'Ornano would explore his options and try to avoid staking his future and that of his southern fiefdom on the fate of the northern government.
By late 1735, a serious breach seemed to be opening between d'Ornano and Costa's commonwealth, which had just been proclaimed in the north. As a means to placate d'Ornano and bind him to the new government, he was elected general in absentia by a consulta in Zicavo, but he refused to follow the commands of the new government and may never have actually recognized the authority of Costa's commonwealth. Perhaps he believed the commonwealth was destined to fail.
Theodore's arrival changed everything. The king's election and coronation had taken place without d'Ornano, and it seemed possible that the breach might continue. Costa, who was the new king's Grand Chancellor and chief advisor, was still on poor terms with d'Ornano. A few days after the coronation, however, d'Ornano arrived in the north and met the king face to face. Theodore made an excellent impression upon him, and Luca swore his allegiance to the new king. D'Ornano was made a marquis, which surely gratified the prideful young general, and Theodore confirmed him in his position of general in the south (alongside Michele Durazzo, who was also granted the rank of lieutenant-general but was a less influential man who "only" received the noble title of count). Had the meeting between Theodore and Luca not gone as well, Theodore's kingdom would very likely have been still-born.
As a military leader, d'Ornano's record was mixed. He gained initial victories over the Genoese following Theodore's arrival, but his management of the siege of Ajaccio was inept and failed to achieve much even after extraordinary effort was devoted to bringing artillery from over the mountains. Although a dedicated patriot, he was a prideful man who was irked by the greater attention and resources which Theodore devoted to the cause in the north. He was criticized and suspected of treachery for his flirtations with the French in 1739, but the general strongly objected to accusations that he sought to betray the national cause. From his perspective, 1739 seemed like another 1735—the northern government looked as if it were on the verge of falling, and he was not about to be undone by their failures. D'Ornano spoke contemptuously of the Genoese but admired the French; undoubtedly he hoped that, if the rebellion were to collapse, some accommodation with France (or even a French annexation) might be accomplished, and he had every intention of being a key figure in those negotiations if they were to take place.
OTL Postscript
Historically, Luca d'Ornano was one of the last field commanders to submit to the French during the First Intervention, but once he surrendered he quickly reconciled with Maillebois and was able to maintain his position without exile. He retained his royalist sympathies, and proclaimed his loyalty to Theodore as late as 1744, but in 1745 he seems to have buried the hatchet with the Genoese and was granted a lieutenant-colonel's commission by the Republic. Some sources allege a falling out with Gaffori and Matra, who dominated the rebel government at that time, because he resented their attempts to assert their authority on his turf. Although I have not found much information on his life during Paoli's rule, he does not seem to have renewed his previous revolutionary fervor; perhaps Paoli's republican ethos and his ostensibly more "democratic" regime were not to Luca's taste. Dying in 1779, he lived long enough to see the annexation of Corsica by France, and his family was among those recognized as noble by the new regime.
The noble family of d'Ornano, now part of the French aristocracy, would remain prominent. Luca's eldest son, François Marie d'Ornano, fell afoul of the Revolution and was guillotined in 1794, but the clan's fortunes recovered through their association with Napoleon. The families of d'Ornano and Buonaparte were close neighbors and linked by marriage. Philippe Antoine d'Ornano, of a cadet line of the family, was a second cousin of Napoleon, became a commander of the imperial guard cavalry, married Napoleon's former mistress, was created "Comte d'Ornano" in 1808, and was made a Marshal of France by Napoleon III, the third member of the family to attain that dignity. Later members of the family included a number of center-right and right-wing French politicians. Presently, Mireille d'Ornano is a member of the European Parliament, formerly of the National Front (but quit the FN two months ago to join the "Patriots" party of Florian Philippot).
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