The Rise and Fall of Italy’s Robin Hood in the Late 1500s
MARCO SCIARRA (Marco Sciarpa). Brigand. From Abruzzo. Originally from Castiglione, in the parish of Riano near Rocca Santa Maria in the Teramo area. Other sources place his birth in Lanciano or in Marsica, in the Valle Roveto.
Born: c. 1550
Death: 1593, November
| ……………………. | Abruzzi | According to one tradition, he was outlawed by the Spanish after committing a crime of passion: having fallen in love with Caterina Riccio and discovering her betrayal with Matteo de Lellis, he stabbed both the woman and her lover to death. | |||
| 1580 | Abruzzi | February. He increased the number of his followers, all from the southernmost provinces of the Abruzzi: shepherds and peasants from the Marche, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata, and Puglia joined his men to resist the abuses of the Spanish and papal authorities. | |||
| 1582 | Lazio Puglia Campania Abruzzi | At the head of 500 brigands, both mounted and on foot, he advanced from the Valle di Comino into Puglia. The Spanish authorities sent 4,000 soldiers, both cavalry and infantry, against him to no avail. He moved to Campania. He attacked the landowners in the Cardito area; pushed toward Caiazzo; assaulted the town of Settefrati, where he seized 10,000 gold coins. He defeated a contingent of 600 soldiers commanded by commissioner Angelo Pansa. He returned to the Abruzzi. | |||
| 1583 | Lazio | He extended his raids as far as Vicovaro. | |||
| 1584 | Abruzzi Marche Lazio | Before long, thanks to his personality and charisma, he managed to lead an army of around a thousand men capable of resisting the papal offensive for seven years. He operated from the Abruzzi into the Marche and the Roman Campagna. His lieutenants were Pacchiarotto, Battistello da Fermo, and his brother Luca. He was considered a kind of Robin Hood: he took money from the rich to give to the poor, thereby redistributing wealth to the benefit of the less affluent classes. His nickname was “King of the Countryside” (“Re della Campagna”), and he styled himself “Flagellum Dei, et commissarius missus a Deo contra usurarios et detinenses pecunias otiosas.” Pope Sixtus V, through a cruel repression targeting the entire rural society that supported the bandits, tried in vain to eliminate his band. The pontiff died in August 1590, and his successor, Urban VII, also died suddenly after only twelve days of pontificate. | |||
| 1585 | Abruzzi and Lazio | He moved between the Abruzzi, the Sabina, and the Roman Campagna, aided by the complicity of certain members of the Roman nobility such as the Orsini, Colonna, and Gaetani families, who hosted his men on their estates. | |||
| 1586 | Abruzzi | May. He attacked the castle of the Malatino family in the Teramo area. The loot was rich and was obtained without bloodshed. | |||
| 1588 | Lazio Abruzzi | He was engaged near Cassino; in March he quartered with his men in the castle of Itri. His situation soon worsened due to the Pope’s decision to repress brigandage. His band, increasingly resembling a military formation with its own insignia, was repulsed at Trasacco in the L’Aquila area. He was forced to abandon the Abruzzi by the action of the Count of Conversano, Adriano Acquaviva. | |||
| 1589 | Marche and Abruzzi | He reappeared in the Marche and the Abruzzi. He was confronted by a contingent of 7,000 soldiers, mostly Spanish, under the command of Carlo Spinelli. He withdrew, pursued by his adversaries. | |||
| 1590 | |||||
| Spring–Summer | Lazio | His presence was reported on Farnese lands at Montalto di Castro. From there he headed toward Oriolo Romano in the Sabine Mountains. At the end of July he pushed to the outskirts of Rome, opposed in vain by the militia of Ottavio Cesi. Persistent rumours circulated that several hundred bandits were preparing to enter Rome to extort the cardinals assembled in conclave. Two formations had been operating for some months at the gates of the city, carrying out numerous raids. They were led respectively by Marco Sciarra and Battistello da Fermo. | |||
| Oct.–Dec. | Lazio Tuscany | The situation worsened with the election of Gregory XIV. He separated from Piccolomini. Early in the month he decided to spend the night at the Olgiatti farmstead. He was besieged in the forest of Faiola, a short distance from Rome on the road to Naples, in a farmstead by Tuscan and papal soldiers led respectively by Camillo del Monte a Santa Maria and Virginio Orsini. Sciarra managed to escape after a fierce battle thanks to the intervention of Alfonso Piccolomini‘s band. He fled with the latter beyond the Tolfa mountains, pursued by Bisaccione‘s troops. He camped at Villa San Giovanni in Tuscia. He clashed again with the Grand Ducal troops and carved a path to safety through the impenetrable scrubland of Barbarano Romano. He managed to ford the Tiber at Borghetto. On Christmas Eve he parted from Alfonso Piccolomini at Contignano, falling back with his men toward Ascoli Piceno. A period of decline began for Sciarra, during which he gradually lost the support of the rural population. | |||
| 1591 | |||||
| Jan.–Mar. | Abruzzi | Alfonso Piccolomini was captured and executed. Marco Sciarra submitted a petition to Pope Gregory XIV requesting a pardon or indulgence. In return, he pledged to serve the Papal States in France against the Huguenots. He received no reply. He returned to the Abruzzi; he was spotted at Cerchio, at Celano, in the Valle Roveto; he forded the Liri river and gathered along the way many companions who joined his band. | |||
| Apr. | Lazio | He sacked Montopoli di Sabina; he did not spare the nearby Abbey of Farfa. Several clergymen joined the brigands. A number of landowners and other wealthy individuals were kidnapped and released only upon payment of a ransom. A Monte di Pietà was also assaulted. Incursions in the territory around the Aniene continued throughout the period. | |||
| 1592 | |||||
| Jan. | Lazio | Clement VIII ascended to the papal throne: the Holy See’s policy toward outlaws changed radically. A vigorous new campaign to suppress brigandage was launched. Command of the troops tasked with repressing banditry in the Kingdom of Naples was entrusted to the Count of Conversano, Adriano Acquaviva, following the repeated failures of Carlo Spinelli, while the papal contingent was now led by Flaminio Delfini and Giovanfrancesco Aldobrandini. A systematic policy of bounties was adopted, aimed at breaking the internal cohesion of the bands and, at the same time, shattering the climate of solidarity that accompanied the brigands’ exploits. | |||
| Mar.–May | Marche Lazio Abruzzi and Puglia | He attacked the convent of the Franciscan friars of Santa Maria di Monteprandone near Ascoli Piceno. A member of the band attempted to poison him to claim the bounty on his head. Sciarra felt hunted; he suspected his followers of wanting to betray him; at the same time he grew increasingly cruel toward the inhabitants of the territories he passed through. He moved into Lazio (April). He plundered the populations of the Aniene valleys. Rocca d’Arce was destroyed, and many inhabitants were killed. He established his headquarters in a castle near Cerreto Laziale. From there he extorted travellers on the Via Appia heading toward Rome. Among these unfortunate victims, according to legend, was Torquato Tasso. The poet, recognized by Sciarra, was allowed to continue his journey unharmed. Marco Sciarra decided to move on Subiaco. He asked the authorities of Cerreto Laziale for permission to pass peacefully through the town. Permission was denied. The bandits rebelled, set fire to some houses, and placed the area under siege. The inhabitants fought back; they summoned armed men from nearby towns, tied a bundle of flammable material to the hind legs of a cat, and threw the animal into the barns where the bandits, encamped, were asleep. The fire spread and threatened the town. The inhabitants invoked Saint Agatha, who, it was said, had already halted the lava of Etna as it advanced on Catania in Sicily. Marco Sciarra met similar resistance at Cervara di Roma, near Subiaco: 60 people were killed, including men, women, and children. The town was set ablaze. Put to flight by the papal troops of Marzio Colonna and Aldobrandini (May), he moved south into Gaetani territory. He put Norma to fire and sword (another 48 people were killed); he reached Sermoneta and Cisterna di Latina; he aimed for Giuliano di Roma, a fief of Cardinal Antonio Maria Salviati, who headed the congregation for the repression of banditry. Injured by a fall from his horse, he was carried to Tagliacozzo: on that occasion he ordered his companions to kill him and burn his body so it would not fall into enemy hands. After all these episodes, it can be said that Pope Clement VIII had achieved the objective of dispersing Marco Sciarra‘s band. The bandit then undertook a rapid expedition against Lucera, which ended with the killing of the bishop and the customary sacking of many dwellings. From this point on, Sciarra was abandoned by many of his men. With 300 to 500 of the most loyal outlaws, he left Lazio to enter the service of the Venetians. | |||
| …………………… | Venice (Venezia) | Uskoks (Uscocchi) | Croatia | He fought the Uskok pirates in Dalmatia. | |
| 1593 | |||||
| ………………….. | Greece | The Serenissima, in order to please the pontiff, who wanted Marco Sciarra in his power at any cost, transferred him with his men to guard the island of Candia (Crete). | |||
| Nov. | Greece | According to one account, he died of plague on the island of Crete. According to other testimonies, Marco Sciarra never embarked for Crete from Dalmatia; instead he managed to escape and return clandestinely with some of his companions to the Papal States. There he was allegedly killed near Ascoli Piceno, at a place called La Croce, by Battistello da Fermo, in exchange for a pardon for the latter and 13 other bandits. According to this version, his body, throat slashed, half-naked, laid at the bottom of a crate, was paraded through the streets of Ascoli Piceno and Teramo for several days. A year after his death, in his memory, some verses were published in Rome by the Paduan Ludovico Buzzato (“Stanze sopra la vita et morte di Marco Sciarra”). Sciarra is also remembered in a novel by Stendhal, “The Abbess of Castro” (“La badessa di Castro”). |
Sources
-“Marcus Sciarra, flagellum Dei, et commissarius missus a Deo contra usuraios et detinentes pecunias otiosas”.. così si definiva il bandito che ebbe fama popolare poiché, come riportavano gli “Avvisi”, una specie dei giornali del tempo, Sciarra rubava ai ricchi per ridistribuire ai poveri. Quelli che erano terrorizzati dalla banda di Sciarra erano quindi coloro che possedevano ricchezze, che non investivano per generare lavoro e benessere per i poveri, e che prosperavano invece con l’usura che rendeva i poveri sempre più miseri. Questo spiega perché inutilmente il governo del Papa aveva cercato di eliminare l’appoggio che i contadini davano ai banditi, che in genere rispettavano le loro poche proprietà e il loro modo di vivere, mentre i soldati papalini saccheggiavano e uccidevano. Non meraviglia quindi la fioritura di racconti e leggende sul bandito chiamato “il Re della campagna” per la sua generosità verso i suoi stessi nemici o per la sua gentilezza d’animo e cavalleria. Si racconta che un giorno presso Ripattoni si trovi ad assistere ad una festa nuziale. Sotto lo sguardo terrorizzato degli sposi e degli invitati, che avevano riconosciuto lui e la sua masnada, scese tranquillamente da cavallo, chiese alla sposa di concedergli un ballo e, infine, dopo aver danzato anche con le altre donne, messo mano al suo cappello fece una colletta tra i suoi uomini e del denaro, infine, ne fece dono alla sposa.” WIKIPEDIA
-“Capobandito di una personalità eccezionale, soprannominato “Re di Campagna” dalla popolazione meridionale, per l’autorevolezza raggiunta negli anni precedenti (alla sua alleanza con Alfonso Piccolomini) nel regno napoletano. BENADUSI MAZZOCCA
-“E’ di sicuro il bandito più famoso di questo secolo (il Cinquecento). E’ stata una figura talmente prestigiosa che, ancora oggi, in Abruzzo il suo nome è sinonimo di “uomo potente e valoroso”..Per quasi un decennio tiene testa alle truppe contro di lui e alternando capacità guerriere e ragguardevoli doti diplomatiche raduna attorno a sé migliaia di persone, acquista simpatia e fama tra le popolazioni contadine..Si fa chiamare “Re della Campagna,” amministra giustizia, arriva persino a celebrare matrimoni, fa rispettare le donne dai suoi e minaccia pene severissime in caso di mancata osservanza di questa prescrizione…Finisce per mano di un traditore e inizia la leggenda popolare che vede nella sua vita una protesta estrema contro la società e contro la legge che non è uguale per tutti.” CICONTE
-“Conosciuto anche con il cognome di Sciarpa, sembra che fosse chiamato Sciarra dai suoi compagni per il significato dialettale del termine – o per aver assunto tale soprannome dal nobile Sciarra Colonna. Questa ipotesi avrebbe fatto erroneamente individuare in Marco Sciarra un esponente della nobiltà romana ribelle al papa..Incerti sono sia la data sia il luogo di nascita. Secondo Niccola Palma..sarebbe originario di Castiglione (o Castigliano), piccolo paese di Rocca Santa Maria, nel Teramano; secondo il diario dell’arcivescovo di Lanciano Paolo Tasso (1588-1607) sarebbe invece nato a Lanciano..Fu certamente di umili origini, come rilevato da scrittori suoi contemporanei: “Uomo, benché di vil condizione, d’animo e di spirito elevato”, scriveva infatti Tommaso Costo (“Del Compendio dell’historia del Regno di Napoli”) e Giulio Cesare Capaccio che definiva Sciarra “homo basso, diventato un altro Spartaco”.., cogliendo già un aspetto fondamentale che avrebbe fin dall’inizio alimentato leggende intorno alla sua figura e alle sue azioni e si sarebbe poi tradotto nell’immagine di “bandito sociale” proposta da Eric Hobsbowm.” FOSI
-“Con la fine delle guerre d’Italia nel 1559 il vagabondaggio di tanti miserabili e soldati mercenari sbandati, si trasforma in poco tempo in banditismo…Diversa è la storia di Marco Sciarra e dei suoi seguaci: infatti non siamo di fronte a dei fuorilegge, ma a veri guerriglieri che seguivano una tattica precisa, quella del mordi e fuggi ed erano guidati ed organizzati da luogotenenti che conducevano una vera guerra su vari fronti per gruppi di attacco…La vena benefattrice di Marco Sciarra aveva il suo scopo principale nell’idea e volontà di trasformazione del mondo rurale, ma anche nell’ingraziarsi il popolo. Infatti, dopo aver condotto l’attacco all’opulento signorotto di turno, era consuetudine dividere una parte del bottino fra gli adepti del gruppo ed il restante dei proventi con i contadini e i braccianti dell’area dove era stato sferrato l’attacco…Marco Sciarra è una personalità e al contempo un simbolo di ribellione e di anarchia, una figura che aveva tutti gli ingredienti per resistere al logorio del tempo. Le sue gesta tramandate oralmente, ne hanno rafforzato il mito in un mondo, quello contadino, che ne apprezzava la coerenza. Una coerenza portata all’estreme conseguenze da un condottiero ideale che racchiudeva tutti quegli elementi passionali che attiravano le masse popolari verso la liberazione.” SCIARRA
SPECIFIC BIOGRAPHIES
Marco Sciarra. Marco Sciarra “Regem Campaniae”. La storia, le imprese e la vita di uno di briganti più famosi del 1500. Tra storia e e leggenda.
Featured image: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Sciarra#/media/File:Marco_Sciarra_and_Tasso.jpg ( The lives and exploits of banditti and robbers in all parts of the world by MacFarlane, Charles, 1799-1858 )
