After fleeing Piedmont, he landed with his comrades at a fishermen's town on the French coast near Nice. He stayed there at the cottage of an English fisherman named Captain Davis, a friend of Lord Byron's, for a few weeks. Then, disguised as a French fisherman, he travelled to San Lorenzo al Mare to meet one of his brothers-in-law, Lieutenant Roych. Roych had arranged for Mario to have a secret meeting with his mother, the Marquess of Candia. The Marquess provided Mario with gold coins and clothing sufficient for him to escape to the French capital. He expected to return after a few months to reengage his studies at the military academy in Turin as expected by his father.