CHARETTE DE LA CONTRIE, ATANASE DE. - Pontifical and French officer, b. at Nantes on 18 May 1832, of a baronial family related to the Count of Chambord, d. at the château of Basse Motte on 8 Nov. 1911. After completing his studies at the Military Academy of Turin, he entered the Este militias, then passing in 1860 into the pontifical ones.

A lieutenant colonel of the Zouaves, in 1867 he commanded the third territorial zone (Tivoli and Comarca), where for about a month he sustained with good success the bitter guerrilla warfare against the columns of Menotti Garibaldi, of Blenio and of others, and reconquered, after a hard engagement, the important and steep position of Nerola (8 Oct.). At Mentana (5 Nov.) the daring and skill of Charette were leading factors in the outcome of the day. In Aug. 1870 he held the command of the zone of Viterbo, where he held out until the last useful hour, withdrawing with his men to Rome. He was thus able to take part in the final defense of the City on 20 Sept. Having gone to France, he fought valiantly against the Prussians and, later, against the Communards.

Having retired to private life, he remained always attached to the Holy See, enjoyed the favors of Pius IX and of Leo XIII also for the work of assistance that he continued to provide at the flourishing associations of former Zouaves and pontifical soldiers that arose in Italy, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland and Canada. To him are owed the interesting Souvenirs du régiment des zouaves pontificaux (Rome 1860-70, France 1870-71), Paris n.d.

Bibliography12 works

BIBL.: P. Balan, Continuazione alla storia univ. della Chiesa cattolica dell'ab. Rohrbacher, II, Turin 1879, pp. 263, 787, 789, 825, 1014, 1017, 1052; A. M. Bonetti, Venticinque anni di Roma capitale d'Italia, I, Rome 1897, pp. 350, 362, 365, 371, 431, 445; II, ibid. 1897, p. 57 ff.; H. De Sonis, Le 17e Corps à Laigny, Paris-Nancy 1909, passim; G. M. M., C. Nell'anniversario del primo zuavo di Roma, in Religione e civiltà, Siena 1912; A. Vigevano, La fine dell'esercito pontificio, Rome 1920, passim; id., La campagna delle Marche e dell'Umbria, ibid. 1922, passim; G. M. M., A. de Ch., in L'Osservatore romano, 18 Sept. 1932; P. Dalla Torre, L'anno di Mentana, Turin 1938, passim; M. Paléologue, Une visite à Frohadorf en 1913, in Revue des deux mondes, 1940, II, pp. 245-63; P. Schiarini, s. v. in Diz. del Risorg. naz., II, pp. 859-60; as well as numerous articles scattered in the collection of the Roman weekly La fedeltà, organ of the disbanded pontifical army.

Paolo Dalla Torre

@incollection{ec3_charette_de_la_contrie_attiana, author = {Dalla, Torre Paolo}, title = {Charette de La Contrie, attianase de}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {III}, pages = {1390}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1949}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/charette-de-la-contrie-attianase-de} }

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Charette de la Contrie, Atanase de

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