Giuseppe Lechi
| Giuseppe Lechi | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 5 December 1766 San Zeno Naviglio |
| Died | 9 August 1836 Montirone (aged 69) |
| Allegiance |
 Most Serene Republic of Venice (until 1797), Kingdom of Italy (1797–1801), Kingdom of Naples (1802–1815) |
| Rank |
Captain, Division General
|
| Battles/wars |
Battle of Marengo (1800), Peninsular War (1808–1809), Battle of Tolentino (1815) |
Giuseppe ("Joseph") Lechi (Aspes, 5 December 1766 - Montirone 9 August 1836) was an Italian general in the Kingdom of Italy during the Napoleonic Wars.
Being the first son of Faustino Lechi and his wife Doralice Bielli, the general Giuseppe Lechi was already considered a man of great light and shadows ("dark and gloomy"), reckless and unscrupulous similar to his uncle the Count Galliano Lechi, who was very dear, and a model, to Giuseppe. His grandfather Pietro was a famous Freemason and a follower of the Enlightenment.
Born a subject of the Most Serene Republic of Venice, he undertook the military career in the Austrian army up to the rank of captain. On the arrival of Napoleon in Italy, influenced also by his brother Giacomo, Giuseppe organized with his other brothers Teodoro and Angelo and other friends – all of them members of the "Casino dei Buoni Amici" free-masonnic secret society – the Bresciana revolution of 18 March 1797.
Giuseppe entered the temporary government of Brescia and organized the Brescian Legion that General Bonaparte sent to fighting in Emilia, Marche and then in Central Italy.
It was in Città di Castello, in 1798, that happened the famous episode of the discussed donation of Raphael's painting "The Marriage of the Virgin" to Giuseppe Lechi by the City Council.
In the spring of 1799 Giuseppe Lechi with his unit was engaged in a military campaign in Valtellina attempting to curb an anti-French revolt. Forced to retreat by the Austro-Russians, he joined the Italian Legion of General Pietro Teulié in Dijon.
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Wikipedia