Nicolò Pasqualigo

An illustration of the Battle of Lissa by Nicholas Pocock

Nicolò Pasqualigo was born on 16 July 1770 in the Republic of Venice into the Venetian nobility.[1][2] In 1786, he joined the Venetian navy at the age of sixteen, serving in a galley as a Nobile di Nave; his decision to voluntarily join the navy was unusual as the majority of the Venetian youth attempted to avoid military service during this period. Shortly after joining, Pasqualigo requested to be transferred from the galley-based Armada Sottile to the Armada Grossa, the branch of the navy consisting of sailing ships, which was quickly granted.[3]

In this capacity, he participated in the final Venetian bombardments of the Beylik of Tunis under Angelo Emo in 1786, distinguishing himself during the campaign. Pasqualigo was subsequently promoted to the rank of sopracomito and made the captain of a galley stationed in Venetian Dalmatia. While serving in Zadar, he received news of the fall of the Republic of Venice, bringing his service with the Venetian navy to an end.[3]

In 1805, Pasqualigo was commissioned into the navy of the Kingdom of Italy, which had been founded that year as a client state of the First French Empire. He was appointed as director the Venetian Arsenal in the same year. Five years later, he participated in the capture of the British-held island of Lissa under Bernard Dubourdieu during the Adriatic campaign of 1807–1814.[3] On 23 October 1810, Dubourdieu led a squadron, which included the 40-gun frigate Corona commanded by Pasqualigo, to occupy the island's main town of Port St. George. 700 Italian soldiers were landed, capturing and burning several prize ships captured by the British before retreating.[4]

By the following year, Royal Navy attacks against French and Italian-flagged coastal shipping had led Dubourdieu to mount an attempt to permanently eradicate the British threat in the Adriatic. In March 1811, he assembled a fleet which consisted of six frigates, one brig, two schooners, one xebec and two gunboats, taking advantage of the temporary absence of British ship of the line Montagu from the region.[5] Pasqualigo, remaining in command of Corona at the rank of capitano di corvetta, was once again part of Dubourdieu's force.[6]

Corona (centre left) at the Battle of Lissa

On 13 March, the combined Franco-Italian fleet encountered a British squadron let by William Hoste near Lissa. During the ensuing battle, Corona engaged the Cerberus in a short-range naval duel, with both ships being heavily damaged. The destruction of Dubourdieu's ship Favorite and his death, along with the arrival of the British frigate Active, forced Pasqualigo to retreat eastwards alongside Danaé and Carolina.[7] The Active, which was the only British ship still in fighting condition, quickly caught up with Corona at 12:30, with the two ships manoeuvring into the most optimal position before engaging at 13:45. After 45 minutes of fierce fighting, Pasqualigo was forced to strike his colours when a fire broke out onboard Corona.[8][9]

The crew of Corona suffered roughly 200 men killed and wounded during the battle, including Pasqualigo, who was made a British prisoner of war.[6] However, the British allowed him to keep his sword in recognition of his bravery during the battle. He was subsequently taken to Malta and imprisoned for a period of time before being released and returning to Venice.[2] For his role in the battle, Pasqualigo was awarded the Order of the Iron Crown, promoted to the rank of capitano di vascello and placed in command of a Franco-Italian flotilla in the Adriatic.[3]

Pasqualigo continued to serve in the Kingdom of Italy's navy until it ceased to exist in 1814 following the War of the Sixth Coalition. In the next year, he was commissioned into the Austrian Navy, serving at the rank of linienschiffskapitän. In Austrian service, Pasqualigo was given the nobiliary particle von, being referred to as Nicolò von Pasqualigo. He was given command over a squadron and assigned the mission of carrying out naval patrols in the Mediterranean Sea to counter the activities of Barbary pirates. In 1817, Pasqualigo escorted Maria Leopoldina to Brazil to be married to Prince Pedro. Upon arriving in Brazil, he was made a member of the Military Order of Christ; when Pasqualigo returned to Austria, he was made Knight Third Class of the Order of the Iron Crown. In 1818, he was appointed as Chamberlain of the Empire and in the following year accompanied Emperor Francis II on a voyage between Rome and Naples, at the end of which he was promoted to the rank of konteradmiral. Pasqualigo died of a myocardial infarction in Venice on 13 January 1821, and was buried in the San Michele in Isola.[1][3]