POERIO, CARLO, a noble Italian patriot, was h. Dec. 10, 1803. This father. Giuseppe P., baron Belcastro, was also highly distinguished for his love of liberty and for his suf ferings in her cause. Born at Belcastro, in Calabria, in 1775, he took part in the Nea politan revolution of 1799, and suffered imprisonment on its suppression, but was released in 1802. He also took part in the revolution of 1820, for which Ferdinand handed hint over to the Austrians, who assigned him as a place of abode, that Griitz. in Styria, and afterward Florence. On the recall of the exiles by Ferdinand, in 1833, Poerio returned to Naples, where he spent the rest of his life, and died Aug. 15, 1843. He left two sons, the elder, Alessandro [born in 1802, celebrated as a poet and patriot, and died (of ampu tation of a limb) after the battle of Mestre, Oct. 27, 1848], and Carlo, the subject of our notice. Carlo was educated with great care under the parental roof, and trained even from infancy, by the example of his father-and brother, to place the love of his country above every other affection. In 1828 he joined the liberals of Naples, and took part in the conspiracy of Avellino, for which he was imprisoned until Mar., 1838. He was concerned in the attempt made in 1847 to extort liberty, but was discovered, and after time movement at Reggio was sent back to prison with D'Ayala, Bozzelli, De Augustinis, Assanti, and others. The revolution in Sicily, which broke out at Palermo on Jan. 12, 1848, set him at liberty, and he immediately gave himself to the organization of the famous demonstration of Jan. 27, 1848, which was destined to produce the constitution of Feb. 10. Carlo was successively nominated director of police, and minister of pub lic instruction; •but he soon resigned. and also refused the rank of privy councilor, offered to him by Ferdinand. He was appointed deputy to the parliament.
On July 18, 1849, an unknown hand left in Poerio's house a note to the following effect: "Flee without a moment's delay. You are betrayed. Your correspondence with the marquis Dragonetti is in the hands of the government." As there had been no such correspondence, and as it was Poerio's wish to maintain the combat to the last on the ground of legality, he did not flee. On the following day be was arrested, and his house was ransacked. Six days after a letter of Dragonetti's was given him to read, in which lie spoke of an invasion by Garibaldi, instigated by Mazzini and Palmerston. The letter was a forgery of the police! Poerio compared it with other authentic letters of Dragonetti, and proved it to have been forged. As the government could not bring him to trial on that pretext, it had recourse to a spy, Jervolino, who accused Poerio of being at the head of a sect—which never existed—called the Italian unity, which aimed at p•oelaimiug a republic, and murdering the king and the ministers. Poerio to be confronter) with Jervolino, but this was refused. When this accusation also fell to. the ground. Peccheneda, who was at the head of the police, tried to induce the others who were indicted for political reasons to denounce Poerio as a revolutionist, promising them liberty as the reward. His design partly succeeded. He extorted from Romeo
the printer, and from Margherita some false accusations, which the fear of death caused those unfortunate persons to make. But they were of no avail, and recourse was again had to the accusation made against Poerio by Jervolino; and although Poerio brought forward many clear proofs that the informer was paid by the police to do him harm, the court paid no attention to that, nor to any other of his objections, and concluded by inflicting on him the penalty of passing 24 years in irons, and of a heavy fine.
Thus Carlo Poerio, a minister, and a member of parliament, a man of rare genius and of exemplary life, was cast into the hulks at Nisida, dressed as a felon, and dragging 15 pounds of chains; and thence, through the suspicions of the government, who dreaded his escape, he was conveyed from hulks to hulks, from Nisida to Procida, from Ischia to Montefusco, and finally to Montesarchio. Assassins and thieves v ere given him as com panions in order to humble him, as if the virtue of the truly great man could be sullied by the presence of miscreants and cut-throats. He indignantly spurned the proposal to petition for his liberty.
The protests of the English and French diplomatists againstthe iniquitous state trials, which had been instituted in Naples with the Sole object of condeinning pcisons obnox ious to the king; the letters of Mr. Gladstone; the constant dread of a popular rising on Behalf of the condemned political offenders, and especially of Poerio, disturbed time mind of Ferdinand II. to such it degree that lie sought some means of ridding himself of the prisoners of Montesarchio. Having failed in every attempt to force them to ask pardon, he resolved to send them to America.. On Jan. 19, 1859, Poerio and 66 other prisoners, among whom were Settembrini, Spaventa, Pica, the duke of Castromediano, Braico,. Schiavoni, Argentino, Pace, Danis (all of whom became members of the Italian parlia ment), were conveyed to Pozzuoli, and put on board of the Stromboli, which immediately set sail fur New York. When they reached Cadiz, Poerio and his companions were put on hoard an American vessel, the captain of which, however, was induced to land them at Cork, whence they returned, by London, to Turin. In the following year Poerio was elected deputy by two colleges in Tuscany, and took his seat in parliament.
When Garibaldi (q.v.) had driven out the Bourbon dynasty, Poerio returned to Naples. He declined the ministerial office offered to him by Cavour, and also the gov ernorship of the southern provinces proposed to him by Constantino Nigro, but accepted the office of privy councilor. The privy council elected him its vice-president; then, being re-elected deputy, he was proclaimed vice-president of the parliament. He died in April, 1807.