Republican Revolution
August 17th, 1862
Beaches South of Trapani, Sicily
A nearly full moon brilliantly illuminated the early morning coastline as the rowboat progressed towards the shore. Waiting far on shore, carefully hidden behind some bushes, Lorenzo watched to make sure that none of the authorities were nearby for his rendezvous. For a few months, no two years- actually his entire life- Lorenzo had been waiting for this moment, a chance to release the shackles of his captivity and breathe as a free man in a truly free Italy. By this time the boat beached and four men proceeded blindly towards him. “Libertà per Italia,” shouted one of the men, looking around slowly. Lorenzo then said, “É venuto finalmente!” and came out of the bushes. The man who spoke turned towards him. “What is your name?”
“My name is Lorenzo Schifano. Are you Mazzini?” One of the other men from the boat walked towards him and said, “Yes, I am Mazzini. I have read many things about you and your organization, Lorenzo Schifano, and we must move quickly if we are to establish the Republic. Are your men ready to take up arms and are your plans still secret?” “Since the Government betrayed our mislaid trust and began repressing our people, our organization has spread throughout Sicily and we have contacts throughout Calabria and the south. The brutal measures that the royalists instituted have forced us underground but it has revealed their foul nature and we have gained many followers throughout the countryside. When you make your proclamation, we will have thousands of volunteers ready to free our lands from the Sardinians. We are ready and you have many friends in Trapani.” “Excellent, my friend Lorenzo. We will proceed to your meeting place as we discussed and I will make an announcement in the city by noonday.”
Schifano brought Mazzini to an old windmill past the outskirts of town. Garibaldi’s provisional government was based in Catania, and the civil authorities in Trapani were disorganized. In a barn to the side of the windmill, about 150 men were gathered among the grain sacks and another 160 outside. Lorenzo brought the crowd to attention. “My brothers, today we will set forth a chain of events which will lead to a free Italy. I have news that Garibaldi’s lackeys are encamped on the north beach and number about 200. We must capture this garrison in order for Mr. Mazzini to speak with authority. In the last months, most of you have been trained in Garibaldi’s own rifle clubs and together we have enough weapons to arm 400 for the cause. Brothers, we must tread carefully into their encampment and surround them such that they have no choice but to surrender. After they give themselves up, their weapons and supplies will be distributed to volunteers that will arrive later, and a contingent of you –you know who you are- will guard them in the Ligny Tower. Couriers will proceed towards Alcamo and Marsala, spreading news among our people that we are gathering at the Segesta ruins. It is almost an hour until dawn, so most of Garibaldi’s men should be sleeping. Let’s proceed.”
The armed mob of Republicans moved quickly around Trapani and its peninsula. They did not want to hurt anyone they did not have to, as many in the camp were friends and relatives. The Republicans stopped just out of earshot of the camp. When everyone was in place, one of the men screamed, “Libertà per Italia!” and the Republicans stormed into the camp. Most of Garibaldi’s untrained men reacted slowly and surrendered to Schifano’s untrained soldiers after they were caught staring into the end of a bayonet or barrel. However, there was sporadic fighting throughout the camp and a small group was able to form on the opposite side from the Republicans.
The group, between sixteen and twenty-five in number, was confronted by a mob nearly twice their size. Faced with discouraging odds, the men laid down their arms. When the final news came in regarding the aftermath of the attack, 12 of Garibaldi’s men were wounded and 3 had died already. Schifano and his men suffered similar casualties. The prisoners were offered the chance to fight with the Republicans and between 40 and 50 decided to do so. The remainder was sent to the Tower to wait.
Detachments of men were sent through the countryside to spread news of the revolution to their compatriots and establish control in Valderice, Erice, Paceco and other nearby towns. Captain Schifano, as he was now called, set up a headquarters in the captured encampment. Mazzini took a nap in a house of a wealthy merchant who sympathized with the Republican cause while the new “army” took form and prepared to enact further plans. Riders rode through Trapani announcing that Mr. Mazzini would make a speech at the San Lorenzo Cathedral in the center of town.
By noon, many of the townspeople of Trapani’s sizable population crammed into the narrow plaza in front of the massive Baroque cathedral. The cathedral, home of an altar painting attributed to van Dyke, was a edifice that embodied the unique history of Trapani and Sicily and lent an impression of order, heritage and righteousness to Mazzini as he spoke. The church bells rang loudly marking the middle of the day. The crowd quieted and the balding fifty-seven year old climbed the platform.
“Fellow Italians, I arrived here in this city on the Tyrrhenian unannounced, but I hope that I am not unwelcome. Our country has been promised much by the new king and his Piedmontese aristocracy. When Victor Emmanuel visited Naples a year ago, our brothers welcomed him as a liberating hero. He wove a dream of great prosperity and wonder that shone in the eye and was warm to the touch. Unfortunately, this King knit his blanket of broken promises with two very different and opposing cultural threads. The people of the north, my own kinsmen, seem to care only about money and exploitation. For this, I am ashamed. You entrusted the Sardinian government with the responsibility of creating a national representative government for all Italians. The reality we face today is not a republican Italy, but a aristocratic Sardinian empire. The northern rich are gaining the lion’s share of government funds, while you, my southern brethren, are taxed into destitution.”
“I am ashamed to see Piedmontese soldiers brutally repressing the God-given right to speak out against oppression throughout southern Italy, and until recently, Sicily. This injustice must end, and its finale has begun in Trapani today. Until today, our great country has not experienced the greatness of what it can and should be, but merely what the northern elites tell you it should be. From this day forth, I dedicate the remainder of my career to the creation of a united front for Southern Italy. I have read and heard about the repression undertaken by Cavour and the details of his atrocities have driven me to action against my own people. If he thinks that he can frighten and force Sicilians and Neapolitans into submission, he is wrong – and it shows that we can only accomplish equality with the north with the one thing they do understand – force.”
“Garibaldi’s aimless movement is only a puppet for the King and the aristocracy, but he has become a nuisance to his guile masters and they have deserted him. Sicilians face a unique and passing moment in history. A useless and impotent force has wrested control of Sicily away from our former masters, and this island waits like a ripe grape ready to be plucked. Today is the day for the people of Trapani, Marsala, Palermo, Syracusa, Catania, Messina, and all of Sicily to revolt against Garibaldi and his royalist stooges and create a new government, a true government, a people’s government. It is imperative that we do this not only for Sicily, not only for the South, but for all of Italy, so that all of our brethren can experience the joys of true representative, republican government.”
“Today, I am declaring in Trapani the creation of the Republic of Italy. Our new national government will be free of kings, free of aristocracy, and free of tyranny. The Republic of Italy will be a federal construction of numerous regional authorities to ensure that the various cultures of Italy will not be dominated by any particular culture. The new government will have an elected Senate and elected President and will denounce titles and aristocracy. To ensure the freedom of all Italians, I decree as provisional governor, that there will be universal manhood suffrage for all males over twenty-one and any male over twenty-five is eligible for office. A provisional government will convene in the Palazzo Cavarretta tomorrow. We will soon call for a constitutional convention to establish rule by the people’s law and orderly government. However, in order for us to secure our newfound freedom, I call on all Sicilians to rise up and join the Republican movement and create a national army of liberation. Sicilians, Southerners, Italians, join us in arms to establish a true and just Republic of Italy! The elite cannot quash a revolution of the people and we will prevail. Good day, and long live the Republic of Italy.”
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