RIVOLI VERONESE  , a

village of Venetia, Italy, in the province of Verona, on a hill on the right bank of the Adige, 13 M . N.W. of Verona, 617 ft. above sea-level . Pop . (1901) 1340 . It is celebrated as the scene of the battle in which, on the 15th of January 1797, Napoleon inflicted a decisive defeat upon the Austrians commanded by Josef Alvintzi, Baron von Barberek (1735—1810) (see FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY WARS) . A famous street in Paris (Rue de Rivoli) commemorates the victory, and under the empire Marshal Massena received the title of duke of Rivoli . The strong positions around Rivoli, which command the approaches from Tirol and the upper Adige into the Italian plain, have always been celebrated in military history as a formidable obstacle, and Charles V. and Prince Eugene of Savoy preferred to turn them by difficult mountain paths instead of attacking them directly . Minor engagements, such as rearguard actions and holding attacks, have consequently often taken place about them, notably in the campaign of 1796–97 . An engagement of this character was fought here in 1848 between the Austrian and the Piedmontese troops .