Project Description
Marengo
The day that changed history. On June 14, 1800, on a plain between Marengo and Alessandria, a battle thought lost was overturned in a matter of hours — and with it, the political fate of Europe.
01A victory born from a defeat
In the spring of 1800 Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul for only a few months, crossed the Alps with the Army of the Reserve and descended into Italy to retake the Po Valley from the Austrians. General Michael von Melas concentrated his forces around Alessandria.
At dawn on June 14, 1800, it was the Austrians who attacked first. The French vanguard, outnumbered and spread over too wide a front, gave ground for hours. By around two in the afternoon Marengo was lost: Melas, wounded and convinced the day was already decided, left the field and returned to Alessandria to announce victory.
It was at that moment that the battle turned. Around 5:30 pm General Louis Desaix, recalled from Novi, arrived on the field with his divisions and reorganized the French line. The counterattack was immediate; François Étienne de Kellermann’s cavalry charge broke the Austrian formation and turned the advance into a rout. Desaix fell, struck in the chest, almost immediately: he would never see the victory he had made possible.
That same evening Melas requested an armistice. The Convention of Alessandria, signed on June 15, forced the Austrians to abandon Piedmont and Lombardy as far as the Mincio. For Napoleon, who returned to Paris a victor, Marengo became the foundation of his personal power: proof that the First Consul was also the indispensable man of the Republic.
02Three men, one day
Napoleon Bonaparte. He is thirty-one, his power still fragile, seized through the coup of 18 Brumaire. He risks losing everything in a single morning and emerges as the man who saved the Republic. Marengo will give its name to his horse, to a famous dish, and to a legend he will cultivate for the rest of his life.
Louis Desaix. Recalled from Novi, he arrives on the field when the battle seems already lost and chooses to attack rather than cover the retreat. He falls, struck in the chest, in the first minutes of the counterattack, at thirty-two. Victory bears his name but not his eyes.
Michael von Melas. He commands with method and, for half a day, truly wins. Wounded and convinced the battle is over, he leaves the field too soon, entrusting the pursuit to a subordinate. That evening he requests the armistice that will hand northern Italy to the French.
03The videos
Visual story · first episode
Visual story · second episode
Two visual stories produced for the City of Alessandria: the Museo della Battaglia and the Napoleonic city.
04The gallery
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