Luis Marqueli Bontempo, the Italian Who on July 25, 1797 Saved Santa Cruz from Capitulation before Nelson’s Fleet
Luis Marqueli Bontempo (Savona, January 1, 1740 – Santa Cruz de Tenerife, December 16, 1817) was the Italian officer whose courage and clearheadedness turned the tide of the “Deed of July 25” in 1797—the heroic defense of Santa Cruz de Tenerife against Horatio Nelson’s British fleet. Then a colonel in the Corps of Engineers, Marqueli played a decisive role in persuading General Antonio Gutiérrez de Otero to refuse a British ultimatum demanding surrender, thereby ensuring the city’s and the island’s survival.