Antonio Busca (lieutenant)
| Antonio Busca | |
|---|---|
| Lieutenant Grand Master of the Order of Saint John | |
| In office June 1821 – May 1834 |
|
| Preceded by | Andrea Di Giovanni y Centellés |
| Succeeded by | Carlo Candida |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 February 1767 Milan, Duchy of Milan |
| Died | May 1834 Milan, Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia |
| Nationality | Italian |
Antonio Busca (Milan, 17 February 1767 – Milan, May 1834) was an Italian nobleman and lieutenant general of the Knights Hospitaller (Order of Malta).
Life
Descended from the painter Antonio Busca, he belonged to a noble Milanese family and officially entered the Order on 11 March 1779. Like Andrea Di Giovanni y Centellés, his predecessor as lieutenant, he unsuccessfully protested against the confiscation of Malta from the Order and Britain's continued rule of the island. In 1822 he organised a volunteer contingent of knights from the Order to assist against the Ottoman Empire in the Greek War of Independence, reviving the Order's crusader ideals. The Order's administration was then based in Catania, too far from the centres of European power and exposed to foreign incursions, so in 1826 Busca moved it to Ferrara, then within the Papal States. He was succeeded as lieutenant on his death by Carlo Candida.
Sources
- (Italian) Francesco Giuseppe Terrinoni Memorie storiche della resa di Malta ai francesi nel 1798, tip. delle Belle Arti, Roma, 1867.
