Il Comune >> La Città >> Taranto attraverso le immagini

The LACLOS FORTRESS is a sign of the presence of Napoleon in Taranto. It was built in 1801 on Saint Paul island, located at the center of the three entrances of the Big Sea (Mar Grande), and facing the town. When the French occupation temporarily ended the fortress was abandoned until 1803. The French troops came back to Taranto with 13,000 soldiers, but the long trip to Apulia had been difficult and hard. Many of the soldiers paid with their lives.

Among them was the general Pierre Choderlos de Laclos who died in the ex-convent of Saint Francis in Taranto. Laclos, made famous by his book "Dangerous Liaisons", refused the extreme unction and it was impossible to give him a catholic burial. Because of this, it was decided to place his tomb in the fortress.

Within a few months the French troops once again left Taranto, to come back in 1806 and stay until 1815.

Unfortunally the last information about the existence of the tomb of Laclos is a report by the chevalier Cataldo Galeota. In 1814 he estimated in 200 ducats (on a total of 416) the amount of money necessary to restore the burial. But the hate for the French invaders pushed natives to desecrate the tomb of Laclos. It seems that his mortal remains were scattered in the sea