Ciceruacchio

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Angelo Brunetti, known as Ciceruacchio, was a popular Roman leader who helped shape Rome during the 1849 Roman Republic. He was born on September 27, 1800, in the Campo Marzio district of Rome and ran a small carting business. In 1820 he married Annetta Cimarra and they had two sons, Luigi and Lorenzo. Brunetti joined the Carbonari in 1827 and later became part of Young Italy in 1835, rising to a respected position in Roman politics. When Pope Pius IX began liberal reforms in 1846, he led large public rallies and earned the nickname “Rome’s first citizen.” During the revolutions of 1848 and 1849, he supported the move to a Roman Republic and helped defend the city against French forces, later retreating with Garibaldi toward Venice. On August 9, 1849, he and his sons were captured by Austrian troops and executed the next day in Ca’ Tiepolo. He reportedly asked the Austrians to spare his youngest son, who was 13, but they shot him first. Ciceruacchio’s story has been told in Italian films, including the 1990 movie In the Name of the Sovereign People.