GARIBALDI On his death in May 1859 Ferdinand of Naples was succeeded by his son Francis II. The son indicated no intention of changing his father's policy, and, in spite of Napoleon's advice, refused to grant a constitution or to enter into an alliance with Sardinia. The result was a revolutionary agitation in Sicily, stirred up by Rosa lino Pilo and Francesco Crispi. An invitation had been sent Gari baldi to put himself at the head of the movement; at first he had refused, but reports of the progress of the insurrection soon deter mined him to risk all on a bold stroke, and on May 5, he embarked at Quarto, near Genoa, with Bixio, the Hungarian Tiirr and some i,000 picked followers, on two steamers. The preparations for the expedition, openly made, were viewed by Cavour with mixed feel ings. With its object he sympathized; yet he could not give official sanction to an armed attack on a friendly power, nor on the other hand could he forbid an action enthusiastically approved by public opinion. On the 11th Garibaldi landed at Marsala, without oppo sition, defeated the Neapolitan forces at Calatafimi on the 15th, and on the 27th entered Palermo in triumph, where he proclaimed himself, in King Victor Emmanuel's name, dictator of Sicily. By the end of July, after the hard-won victory of Milazzo, the whole island, with the exception of the citadel of Messina, was in his hands.
It was all-important that whatever victories Garibaldi might win should be won for the Italian kingdom, and, above all, that no ill-timed attack on the Papal States should provoke an interven tion of the Powers. But Garibaldi, who wished to keep a free hand, refused to agree to the annexation of Sicily to Piedmont.
On Aug. 8, in spite of the protests and threats of most of the Powers, the Garibaldians began to cross the straits, and in a short time 20,000 of them were on the mainland. The Bourbonists offered no serious resistance, and on Sept. 6 King Francis and his family sailed for Gaeta ; and the next day Garibaldi entered Naples alone in advance of the army and was enthusiastically welcomed. He proclaimed himself dictator of the kingdom.
His rapid success, meanwhile, inspired both the French emperor and the government of Turin with misgivings, and Cavour saw that the situation could only be saved by the armed participation of Piedmont in the liberation of south Italy. In the circumstances Cavour decided that Piedmont must anticipate Garibaldi, occupy Umbria and the Marches and place Italy between the red-shirts and Rome. His excuse was the pope's refusal to dismiss his foreign levies (Sept. 7). On Sept I 1 a Piedmontese army crossed the frontier; and, after defeating the papal troops under the French general Lamoriciere at Castelfidardo, entered Neapolitan terri tory on Oct. 15. In the meanwhile the red-shirts had encountered a formidable obstacle to their advance in the Neapolitan army en trenched on the Volturno under the guns of Capua. On Sept. 19 the Garibaldians began their attack on this position with their usual impetuous valour; but it was not till Oct. 2 that they suc ceeded in carrying the position. On the 29th Victor Emmanuel and Garibaldi met, and on Nov. 7 they entered Naples together : Gari baldi resigned his authority into the king's hands and, refusing the titles and other honours offered to him (he had asked for the Neapolitan viceroyalty for life, which the king very wisely re fused), retired to his island home of Caprera.
The Piedmontese under Cialdini had begun the siege of Gaeta on Nov. 5, and on Feb. 13 the fortress surrendered, Francis and his family having departed by sea for papal territory. The citadel of Messina capitulated on the 22nd, and Civitella del Tronto, the last stronghold of the Bourbon, on March 21. On Feb. 18 the first Italian parliament met at Turin, and Victor Emmanuel was pro claimed king of Italy.
The New were, however, other serious problems calling for immediate attention. The country had to be built up and converted from an agglomeration of scattered mediae val principalities into a unified modern nation. The first question which arose was that of brigandage in the south, which had indeed always existed in the Neapolitan kingdom, owing to the poverty of the population, but was now organized and encouraged for politi cal purposes by King Francis's uncle, the count of Trapani, and Mons. de Merode, a Belgian ecclesiastic who enjoyed immense influence at the Vatican. The task of suppressing the movement took four or five years. Politically, its sole outcome was to prove the impossibility of allowing the continuance of an independent Roman state in the heart of Italy. Another of the Government's difficulties was the question of what to do with Garibaldi's volun teers, which was discussed on April 18 in one of the most dramatic sittings of the Italian parliament, when Garibaldi denounced Ca your for his treatment of the volunteers and for the cession of Nice. On April 23 they were formally reconciled in the presence of the king, but the scene of April 18 hastened Cavour's end. In May the Roman question was discussed in parliament. Cavour had often declared that in the end the capital of Italy must be Rome, for it alone of all Italian cities had an unquestioned claim to moral supremacy, and his views of a free Church in a free State were well known. But it was not given him to see this prob lem solved, for his health was broken by the strain of the last few years, during which practically the whole administration of the country was concentrated in his hands. He died after a short ill ness on June 6, 1861.
Ricasoli became prime minister, Cavour having advised the king to that effect. The financial situation was far from brilliant ; the budget of 1861 showed a deficit of 344,000,000 lire, while the service of the debt was o,000,000 ; deficits were met by new loans issued on unfavourable terms. Considering the state of the country and the coming war for Venice, heavy expenditure was inevitable, but good management might have rendered the situa tion less dangerous. Ricasoli, honest and capable as he was, failed to win popularity, and was succeeded by Rattazzi.
In June, 1862, Garibaldi went to Sicily, where, after taking counsel with his former followers, he decided on an immediate raid on Rome, and in August he crossed over to Calabria with I,000 men. His intentions in the main were still loyal, for he de sired to capture Rome for the kingdom; and he did his best to avoid the regulars tardily sent against him. On Aug. 29, 1862, however, in an engagement with a force under Pallavicini at Aspromonte, he was seriously wounded and taken prisoner. He was shut up in the fortress of Varignano, and after endless dis cussions as to whether he should be tried or not, the question was settled by an amnesty. The affair made the ministry so unpopular that it was forced to resign. Farini, who succeeded, retired almost at once on account of ill-health, and Minghetti became premier, with Visconti-Venosta as minister for foreign affairs.
Negotiations were resumed with Napoleon for the evacuation of Rome by the French troops, and the two governments con cluded a convention on Sept. 15, 1864, whereby France agreed to withdraw her troops from Rome, Italy undertaking not to attack it nor permit others to do so, and to transfer the capital from Turin to some other city within six months. The convention was kept secret, but the last clause leaked out and caused the bitterest feel ing among the people of Turin. Demonstrations were held which were repressed with unnecessary violence, and such a storm of disapproval arose that the king for the first time used his privilege of dismissing the ministry. Under La Marmora's administration the September convention was ratified, and the capital was trans ferred to Florence the following year.
The outbreak of war was postponed by further diplomatic complications. On June i 2 Napoleon, whose policy throughout had been obscure and contradictory, signed a secret treaty with Aus tria, under which Venice was to be handed over to him, to be given to Italy in the event of her making a separate peace. La Mar mora, however, who believed himself bound in honour to Prussia, refused to enter into a separate arrangement. On the i6th the Prussians began hostilities, and on the 2oth Italy declared war. Victor Emmanuel took the supreme command of the Italian army, and La Marmora resigned the premiership (which was assumed by Ricasoli), to become chief of the staff. An indecisive battle was fought at Custoza on June 24; bad generalship, bad organization and the jealousy between La Marmora and Della Rocca were responsible for this failure which might have been afterwards re trieved, for the Italians had plenty of fresh troops besides Cial dini's army ; but nothing was done, as both the king and La Mar mora believed the situation to be much worse than it actually was. On July 3 the Prussians completely defeated the Austrians at Koniggratz, and on the 5th Austria ceded Venetia to Napoleon, accepting his mediation in favour of peace. The Italian fleet, com manded by the incompetent Persano, was defeated at Lissa by the Austrian fleet under the capable Tegethoff.
On the 22nd Prussia, without consulting Italy, made an armis tice with Austria, while Italy obtained an eight days' truce on condition of evacuating the Trentino, which had almost entirely fallen into the hands of Garibaldi and his volunteers. An armistice was accordingly signed at Cormons on Aug. 12 ; Austria handed Venetia over to Gen. Leboeuf, representing Napoleon; and on Oct. 3 peace between Austria and Italy was concluded at Vienna. On the r9th Leboeuf handed Venetia over to the Venetian representa tives, and at the plebiscite held on the 21st and 22nd, 647,246 votes were returned in favour of union with Italy, only 69 against it. When this result was announced to the king by a deputation from Venice he said: "This is the finest day of my life; Italy is made, but it is not complete." Rome was still wanting.
Sept. 23, 1867, Rattazzi had him arrested and confined to Caprera. In spite of the vigilance of the warships he escaped on Oct. 14 and landed in Tuscany, whence he attempted to march on Rome at the head of his ill-armed and ill-disciplined bands. Napoleon, under pressure of the Clerical Party, had sent another expedition to Rome (Oct. 26) ; Rattazzi resigned and was suc ceeded by Menabrea. On Nov. 3 a battle took place at Mentana between 4,000 or 5,000 red-shirts and a somewhat superior force of French and pontificals. The Garibaldians, mowed down by the new French chassepot rifles, fought until their last cartridges were exhausted, and retreated the next day towards the Italian frontier, leaving Boo prisoners.
The affair of Mentana caused considerable excitement through out Europe, and Rouher, the French premier, declared in the Chamber (Dec. 5, 1867) that France could never permit the Italians to occupy Rome. This attitude of France strengthened anti-French feeling in Italy, and Bismarck was not slow to make use of it with a view to preventing Italy from taking sides with France against Prussia in the coming inevitable struggle between the two Powers.
A scandal concerning the tobacco monopoly led to the fall of Menabrea, who was succeeded in Dec. 1869 by Giovanni Lanza, with Visconti-Venosta at the Foreign Office and Q. Sella as finance minister. The latter introduced a sounder financial policy, which was maintained until the fall of the Right in 1876. Mazzini, now openly hostile to the monarchy, was seized with a perfect mono mania for insurrections, and promoted various small risings, the only effect of which was to show how completely his influence was gone.
In Dec. 1869, the XXI. oecumenical council began its sittings in Rome, and on July 18, 1870, proclaimed the infallibility of the pope (see VATICAN COUNCIL). Two days previously Napoleon had declared war on Prussia, and immediately afterwards he withdrew his troops from Civitavecchia. On Aug. 9 Italy made a declaration of neutrality, and three weeks later Visconti-Venosta informed the powers that Italy was about to occupy Rome. On Sept. 3 the news of Sedan reached Florence, and with the fall of Napoleon's em pire, the September convention ceased to have any value. The Powers having engaged to abstain from intervention in Italian affairs, Victor Emmanuel addressed a letter to Pius IX. asking him in the name of religion and peace to accept Italian protection in stead of the temporal power, to which the pope replied that he would only yield to force. Cardinal Antonelli would have come to terms, but the pope decided on making a sufficient show of resistance to prove that he was yielding to force. On the loth the Italians, under Gen. Raffaele Cadorna, began the attack, and Gen. Maze de la Roche's division having effected a breach in the Porta Pia, the pope ordered the garrison to cease fire, the Italians poured into the Eternal City, and the garrison laid down their arms; the next day, at the pope's request, the Leonine City on the right bank was also occupied. It had been intended to leave that quarter of Rome to the pope, but by the earnest wish of the inhabi tants it too was included in the Italian kingdom. At the plebiscite there were 133,681 votes for union and 1,507 against it. Thus, after a struggle of more than half a century, in spite of apparently insuperable obstacles, the liberation and the unity of Italy were accomplished. (L. V.) 1870-1902 The downfall of the temporal power was hailed throughout Italy with great satisfaction. But in France, although the Government of National Defence had congratulated Italy, that of Thiers, which succeeded it, was less friendly. Bismarck, too, was a moyed with Italy on account of the Garibaldian expedition to assist the French and at Visconti-Venosta's plea for the integrity of French terri tory.
Church Settlement.—For a few weeks after the occupation of Rome relations between the Italian authorities and the Curia were marked by a conciliatory spirit. The Government laid before parliament a bill known as the Law of Papal Guarantees to regu late the position juridically. It embodied Cavour's idea of "a free Church in a free State" and various schemes previously pre sented, and was voted on March 21, 1871, by 185 votes to io6. The law recognized the person of the pope as sacred and intangible, and while providing for free discussions on religious matters, pun ished insults and outrages against the pope, according him the right to maintain the Swiss and Noble Guards, and granted him an annuity of 3,225,000 lire and the enjoyment of the Vatican and Lateran palaces and of the villa at Castel Gandolfo. The pope was given full freedom for the exercise of his spiritual ministry, while diplomats accredited to the Holy See and papal diplomats in Italy were placed on the same footing as those accredited to the Qui rinal. All restrictions on the right of meeting of members of the clergy were abolished, and bishops were dispensed from swearing fealty to the king. The changed attitude of France stiffened the resistance of the papacy, and an encyclical of Pius IX. of May 15 repudiated the law of guarantees and summoned the Catholic princes to restore the temporal power. Consequently the law remained a unilateral measure, which Italy considered herself bound to respect and always respected while the papacy availed itself of those clauses which were of advantage to it.
Parliament and the Government offices were transferred to Rome in 1871. The growth of Clericalism in France engendered the belief that Italy might have to defend her newly-wor unity against foreign aggression, and Gen. Ricotti, the minister of war, framed a bill for the improvement of the army. But with taxation screwed up to the extreme limit and a deficit of 212,500,000 lire, the financial situation was far from satisfactory. Sella had to bear the brunt of the unprecedented fight against bankruptcy which Italy had been waging since 1861. In the face of grave difficulties and violent popular opposition, he had succeeded in getting the grist tax on cereals (tassel sal macinato) voted and applied, and brought its net revenue from 25,000,000 lire to over 8o,000,000. He undoubtedly saved the situation by that measure for the time being, but while in 1871 he had succeeded by rigid economies in reducing the deficit to less than 50,000,000 lire, in 1872 it had again risen to 200,000,000. He therefore proposed to make over the Treasury service to the state banks, to increase the forced cur rency, to increase certain taxes, and to provide for the conversion of sundry internal loans into consolidated stock at a lower rate of interest. After a long and bitter struggle he was able to carry out his programme by March 1872, thereby meeting the of the moment and laying the foundations of a definitely balanced budget.
On April 29, 1873, the Lanza-Sella cabinet was beaten in the Chamber, but was induced to remain in office until after the debate on the extension to Rome of the law of 1866 on the religious orders, a measure carried in May. While leaving the general houses of the confraternities intact, the law abolished the legal person ality of the religious orders, placed the schools and hospitals under civil administration and the churches under the secular clergy, and provided pensions for monks and nuns. The pope enjoined on the suppressed orders to reconstitute themselves under the ordinary Italian law of association. A few days after the passage of the bill Rattazzi died (June 5, 1873), and on June 23 the Lanza cabinet was defeated by a coalition of the Left under Depretis and a part of the Right under Minghetti and by Tuscan deputies led by Cor renti.
Minghetti.—Minghetti now became prime minister, with Vis conti-Venosta as minister of foreign affairs. In essential points the work of the preceding administration was continued. Minghetti gradually overcame the chronic deficit, and, owing to the normal increase of revenue, ended his term of office with the announce ment of a surplus of some 18,000,000 lire.
Outside the all-important domain of finance, the attention of Minghetti and his colleagues was principally absorbed by strife between Church and State, army reform and railWay redemption.
Particularly noteworthy were the efforts of the cabinet to strengthen and consolidate national defence. Appalled by the weakness, or rather the non-existence, of the navy, Admiral Saint Bon addressed himself earnestly to the task of recreating the fleet, which had never recovered from the effects of the disaster of Lissa. During his three years of office he laid the foundation upon which Brin was afterwards to build up a new Italian navy. Simultane ously Gen. Ricotti-Magnani's army reform scheme was adopted by parliament on June 7, 1875.
It was fortunate for Italy that during the whole period 1869-76 the direction of her foreign policy remained in the experienced hands of Visconti-Venosta. As foreign minister of a young State which had attained unity in defiance of the most formidable relig ious organization in the world and in opposition to the traditional policy of France, it could but be his aim to uphold the dignity of his country while convincing European diplomacy that United Italy was an element of order and progress, and that the spiritual independence of the Roman pontiff had suffered no diminution. Thiers had consistently opposed the emperor Napoleon's pro-Ital ian policy. He frankly regretted the constitution of powerful homogeneous states upon the borders of France. Personal pique accentuated this feeling towards Italy and had decreased whatever inclination he might otherwise have felt to oppose the French Clerical agitation for the restoration of the temporal power, and for French interference with the Italian Religious Orders bill. Consequently relations between France and Italy became severely strained. At this juncture the emperor of Austria invited Victor Emmanuel to visit the Vienna exhibition, and the Italian Govern ment received confidential intimation that acceptance of the invi tation to Vienna would be followed by a further invitation from Berlin. Perceiving the advantage of these visits, Visconti-Venosta and Minghetti advised their sovereign to accept both the Austrian and the subsequent German invitations. The Italian monarch was accorded in both capitals (Sept. 1873) a most cordial reception, although the contemporaneous publication of La Marmora's famous pamphlet, More Light on the Events of 1866, prevented intercourse between the Italian ministers and Bismarck from being entirely confidential. Visconti-Venosta and Minghetti, moreover, wisely resisted the chancellor's pressure to override the Law of Guarantees and to engage in an Italian Kulturkampf. Neverthe less the royal journey contributed notably to the establishment of cordial relations between Italy and the Central Powers. Mean while Thiers had given place to Marshal Macmahon, who effected a decided improvement in Franco-Italian relations. The foreign policy of Visconti-Venosta may be said to have reinforced the international position of Italy without sacrifice of dignity.