Felice Orsini
Felice Orsini (1819 – 1858) was an Italian revolutionary and leader of the Carbonari who tried to assassinate the French Emperor Napoleon III in 1858. His attempt triggered a series of diplomatic, political, and legal consequences that came to be known as the Orsini affair.
Biography
Orsini was born in Medola, Romagna, in 1819. Involved in revolutionary factions starting at a young age,[1] Felice Orsini was soon in prison at Mantua in 1854. However, he soon escaped with the help of the citizens and a mysterious figure named the "Magus." He soon found his way at a villa at Lake Como on the run from Italian soldiers on a stormy night. As the villa owner, Laura, and Simeon Price let him stay, Orsini and former English soldier Oliver Fraser spent the night talking and drinking.[2]
While drinking with Fraser, he revealed he was heading to Paris or London to meet with other revolutionaries while talking about the Magus. The next morning, soldiers arrived as Orsini tried to escape the villa unnoticed. Although Orsini was caught escaping, Price, Fraser, and Laura stopped and eliminated all the soldiers as he was saved. As the other three reorganized and cleaned up, Felice left on Laura's advice.[2] Within the years, he met and conspired with English rebels for a plot against the French Emperor Napoleon III[3]
The Orsini affair
On January 14th, 1858, aided by bomb casings from the Magus, Felice and his conspirators met at the theater opera of Rue le Peletier and waited for the emperor and his wife to arrive. Once the royal carriage arrived, the first bomb went off and injured multiple bystanders and horses. Luckily, the second bomb was caught and taken by both Pierrette Arnaud and the Assassin Simeon Price. After Price saved an unconscious Arnaud, Orsini and his accomplices used two more bombs, but the emperor and his wife were barely injured.[4]
Orsini and his accomplices were later caught and as a result, France and England's cooperation lessened as England's government enacted harsher laws on its people.[3]
Behind the scenes
Felice shares the same surname with the Renaissance-era Italian condottiero Fabio Orsini, though no link has been established between him or any other member of the House of Orsini.
Appearances
References
- ↑
Felice Orsini on Wikipedia
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Magus Conspiracy – Chapter 12
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Magus Conspiracy – Chapter 17
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Magus Conspiracy – Chapter 15