Carlo Mayr

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 08:14:33 +0000
Num. 33

An important figure for the independence of Italy

Carlo Mayr was born in Ferrara on October 5th 1810. He came from an old Bavarian family who had taken part in the French Revolution; a branch of the family moved to Ferrara because of business interests in the second half of the1700's. Carlo Mayr was involved in the uprisings of 1831. He graduated in Law and opened a lawyer's practice and, in 1848, was nominated leader of the 'Club Popolare', merging the diverse revolutionary currents within the Carbonari and Sanfedisti movements. He was an active member of the brotherhood and was granted an audience with Pope Pius IX in Rome, to plead against the intervention of the Austrian army south of th e river Po. When the Supreme Council of the Papal States proclaimed the 'Costituente' (Establishing Assembly), Mayr was elected with 24,000 votes and the government of Ferrara was entrusted to a delegation composed of Count Ronchi, Dr. Imperiali and Mayr himself, who was named President of the Province of Ferrara. He worked together with Count Tancredi Mosti in the founding of the 'Bersaglieri del Po', a crack regiment of young soldiers from Ferrara. As President of the Province he advocated the emancipation of the Israelites and had the gates of the Jewish ghetto in Ferrara removed. When Colonel Masino and his volunteer corps occupied Comacchio on behalf of Gen. Garibaldi, Carlo Mayr managed to suspend the advance of the government forces. He then went to the site of battle to prevent the conflict and ensure the immediate withdrawal of Garibaldi's troops from the lagoon. Hunted by the Austrian army he went to Rome where he was declared Benemerito, and the Triumvirate awarded him with a gold medal for service to the citizens. He was nominated as Home Secretary of the Roman Republic until the French army, under Napoleon Bonaparte, invaded the Republic. Forced to flee from Rome he travelled extensively until he reached the Piedmont. With the establishment of the Government of Emilia, Dictator Farini appointed him Home Secretary. Mayr returned to Ferrara on August 28th 1859 on the occasion of the annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia. On March 17th 1870 the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed and Carlo Mayr was elected as Member for Ferrara in the first Italian Parliament. In 1872 he was nominated Prefect of Venice, where he organized a meeting between the Austrian Emperor and the King of Italy, which effectively sanctioned the final accept ance of the new kingdom with its capital in Rome. On that occasion he was awarded the 'Gran Cordone della Corona d'Italia'. He remained in Venice until 1876, and then was reassigned as Prefect of Naples until November 1877. For health reasons Carlo Mayr returned to Ferrara in 1881, where he died on July 24th 1882. As the only descendants of Carlo Mayr, my brother Alessandro, my sister Cristina and myself, would like to thank the Fondazione della Cassa di Risparmio for giving us this opportunity to illustrate a part of the life of our ancestor.