MenuGeneral Pascal Antoine Fiorella
Born: February 7, 1752
Place of Birth: Ajaccio, Corsica, France
Died: March 3, 1818
Place of Death: Ajaccio, France
Arc de Triomphe: FIORELLA on the south pillar
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A cousin of Napoleon Bonaparte, Pascal Antoine Fiorella began his military career in 1770 in the Royal Coscican Infantry Regiment. By 1788 he had risen to the rank of capitaine. After the French Revolution was underway, Fiorella became a lieutenant colonel of the 4th Battalion of Volunteers of Isère in November of 1791. Over the next few years he served in the Army of the Alps and he served at the affair of the pass of Madeleine.
In 1794 Fiorella was promoted to chef de brigade and he joined the Army of Italy, where he would serve for the next five years. That April he took part in the expedition to Saorgio and he was wounded in the fighting at the Ardente pass. In September Fiorella was promoted to général de brigade and then he took command of the reserve under Masséna. Next he fought at Cairo and then in 1795 he took command of a brigade in Sérurier's division.
In early April of 1796 Fiorella joined Berthier's staff and then he served at Mondovi before returning to command a brigade in Sérurier's division. Two months later he was serving under Vaubois and he took part in the expedition to Livorno before once again returning to Sérurier's division. Sérurier fell ill before the Battle of Castiglione and so Fiorella took command of the division and led them throughout the battle.1 Less than a week later Fiorella also fell ill, and Sahuguet replaced him while he recovered. In September General Fiorella was back in action serving in Vaubois' division. As the French army attempted to win the Battle of Arcola , Vaubois' division was engaged elsewhere and Fiorella was captured during the fierce fighting. Within a few months he was released on a prisoner exchange and in March of 1797 he joined Bernadotte's division. Over most of the summer of that year Fiorella commanded Sérurier's division while Sérurier was in Paris.
November of 1797 saw Fiorella promoted to général de division in the service of the Cisalpine Republic, where he commanded all the French and Italian troops in Lombardy. In 1799 he took command of Turin and the city was besieged by Austrian forces. Within six weeks Fiorella was forced to surrender the city and he was taken prisoner and taken to Germany.
In March of 1801 Fiorella rejoined the French army as a général de brigade, fulfilling administrative posts until September of 1802 when he traveled to the Italian Republic to become commander of the interior and the infantry. In April of 1804 he was promoted to lieutenant general in the Italian Republic and at the end of year he was made a Commander of the Legion of Honor. During the War of the Third Coalition in 1805, Fiorella took command of the 2nd Division of the corps under Eugene de Beauharnais at the blockade of Venice.
Fiorella continued to serve in Italy and later during his career he was rewarded by being made a Commander of the Iron Crown. In 1809 during the War of the Fifth Coalition he led a division to Verona and then after the conclusion of the war he served in the Tyrol. In 1810 Fiorella became a senator of the Kingdom of Italy, and during the Hundred Days of 1815 he commanded the arrondissements of Ajaccio and Sartène in Corsica. In 1817 he was promoted to lieutenant general in the service of France.
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Updated June 2024
© Nathan D. Jensen