Felice Orsini

Orsini, Felice (1819–58) Italian revolutionary. After being implicated in revolutionary plots, he was condemned in 1844 to life imprisonment. He was later pardoned by Pius IX but took part in Italy in the REVOLUTIONS OF 1848. In 1849 he joined MAZZINI in Rome and then went to Hungary, where he was arrested. After his escape in 1854 he formed a plot to assassinate NAPOLEON III, seen as the principal obstacle to Italian independence. His attempt to blow up the imperial carriage failed (14 January 1858) and he was executed.

Felice Orsini , 1819-58, Italian patriot who attempted to assassinate the French emperor Napoleon III. He was a follower of Mazzini in the movement for Italian unification. As a young man he became an active revolutionary in the Papal States and in Tuscany. He was jailed (1855-56) by the Austrians for his activities but escaped. In 1857 he broke with Mazzini, and in 1858 he made an attempt on the life of Napoleon III, whom he held responsible for the failure of the Italian revolutions of 1848-49. Although ably defended by Jules Favre, he was executed. His act, designed to arouse world interest in the Italian cause, paradoxically influenced Napoleon's own decision to intervene in favor of Italian unification.