Antoniotto Botta Adorno

Antoniotto Botta Adorno (Castelletto di Branduzzo, 1688 - Torre d'Isola, December 29, 1774) was a high officer of the Habsburg Monarchy and a plenipotentiary of the Austrian Netherlands.

Biography
He was born in Branduzzo, Lombardy, to a noble family from Genoa whose members included seven doges of that city. His mother had an alleged love affair with King Philip V of Spain. A year after his birth his father, accused of an attempted coup, was expelled from the Republic of Genoa. In 1700 Antoniotto's father died, and, as the family fiefs went to his elder brother Alessandro, he chose a military career.

He distinguished himself during the Siege of Belgrade (1717), where he fought alongside Eugene of Savoy. Promoted subsequently as lieutenant colonel, general and marshal, he received the supreme command of Austrian troops in northern Italy during the War of Austrian Succession. In 1746 he led the Austro-Savoyard right wing in the victorious Battle of Piacenza against the French-Spanish coalition. He succeeded the sick Josef Wenzel, Prince of Liechtenstein as Austrian Supreme Commander in Italy, and fought the retreating Franco-Spanish troops in the Battle of Rottofredo.

On September 7 of the same year, after occupying Genoa, he became Austrian governor of the city. He taxed Genoa so hard (Ai Genovesi non lascerò altro che gli occhi per piangere; I will leave the Genoese only their eyes to weep), that he was chased on December 5 by a popular revolt led by Balilla. Having lost the city, he was relieved of all military commands for the rest of the war.

After the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, he became plenipotentiary of the Austrian Netherlands under Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine. He reformed the army and tried to improve the conditions of the country. In 1753 he returned to Italy, where he was prime minister of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

In 1762 he was appointed as ambassador at Catherine II of Russia's court. Three years later he became regent of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany after the death of emperor Francis I.

He died at Torre d'Isola, near Pavia, in 1774.