The Five Days of Milan ( ) was an insurrection and a major event in the Revolutionary Year of 1848 that started the

First Italian War of Independence The First Italian War of Independence ( it, Prima guerra d'indipendenza italiana), part of the Italian Unification (''Risorgimento''), was fought by the Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont) and Italian volunteers against the Austrian Empire and other ...

. On 18 March, a rebellion arose in the city of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

, and in five days of street fighting drove

Marshal Radetzky Johann Josef Wenzel Anton Franz Karl, Graf Radetzky von Radetz ( en, John Joseph Wenceslaus Anthony Francis Charles, Count Radetzky of Radetz; cz, Jan Josef Václav Antonín František Karel hrabě Radecký z Radče; sl, Janez Jožef Vencelj ...

and his

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

soldiers from the city.

Background

In 1848, the Milanese launched an anti-Austrian campaign as early as 1 January. On

New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Whi ...

the Milanese started to boycott gambling and tobacco products, which were government monopolies that brought in over 5 million lire a year. The boycott culminated in a bloody street battle on 3 January, when Austrian soldiers, in batches of three, were being insulted and pelted with stones by an angry crowd. The soldiers then gathered together in groups of a dozen and charged the crowd with swords and bayonets, killing five and wounding another 59. Radetzky confined his troops to barracks for five days. The protests were over, but two months later, when news reached Milan of the

uprising Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

in Vienna and the fall of Metternich, the Milanese took to the streets again, on 18 March.

Events

200px, Statuary at the base of the Obelisk monument to ''Five Days of Milan'' in memory of the popular uprising in 1848 against Austrian rule, by Giuseppe Grandi. Almost simultaneous with the popular uprisings of 1848 in the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, on 18 March of that year, the city of Milan also rose. This was the first evidence of how effective popular initiative, guided by those in the Risorgimento, was able to influence

Charles Albert of Sardinia Charles Albert (; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the King of Sardinia from 27 April 1831 until 23 March 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constitution, the Statuto Albertino, Albertine Statute, and with the First Italian ...

. The Austrian garrison at Milan was well equipped and commanded by an experienced general, Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, who despite being over 80 years old, was energetic and rigid. Radetzky had no intention of yielding to the uprising. However, the whole city fought throughout the streets, raising barricades, firing from windows and roofs, and urging the rural population to join them. The populace was backed by the archbishop and at least 100 priests joined in the fighting against the Austrians. A bust of

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

was hoisted onto the barricades. A provisional government of Milan was formed and presided over by the

podestà Podestà (, English: Potestate, Podesta) was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of Central and Northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a city ...

, Gabrio Casati and a council of war under

Carlo Cattaneo Carlo Cattaneo (; 15 June 1801 – 6 February 1869) was an Italian philosopher, writer, and activist, famous for his role in the Five Days of Milan in March 1848, when he led the city council during the rebellion. Early life Cattaneo was born ...

. The Martinitt (orphanage children) worked as message runners to all parts of the town. Radetzky saw the difficulty of resisting under siege in the city centre, but while afraid of being attacked by the Piedmontese army and peasants from the countryside, he preferred to withdraw after losing control of the Porta Tosa (now Porta Vittoria) to the rebels. On the evening of 22 March, the Austrians withdrew towards the "

Quadrilatero The ''Quadrilatero'' (, for greater specificity often called the "Quadrilateral fortresses") is the traditional name of a defensive system of the Austrian Empire in the Lombardy-Venetia region of Italy, which connected the fortresses of Peschi ...

" (the fortified zone made up of the four cities of

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

Legnago Legnago () is a town and '' comune'' in the Province of Verona, Veneto, northern Italy, with population (2012) of 25,439. It is located on the Adige river, about from Verona. Its fertile land produces crops of rice, other cereals, sugar, and ...

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

and

Peschiera del Garda Peschiera del Garda (; vec, Pischera; la, Ardelica, ''Arilica'') is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Verona, in Veneto, Italy. When Lombardy-Venetia was under Austrian rule, Peschiera was the northwest anchor of the four fortified ...

), taking with them several hostages arrested at the start of the uprising. Meanwhile, the rest of Lombard and Venetic territory was free. In memory of these days, the official newspaper of the temporary government was called simply ''Il 22 marzo'' (22 March), which began publication on 26 March at the Palazzo Marino under the direction of

Carlo Tenca Carlo Tenca (19 October 1816, Milan - 4 September 1883, Milan) was an Italian man of letters, journalist, deputy and supporter of the Risorgimento. He was the central figure in the salon of Countess Clara Maffei Elena Clara Antonia Carrara Sp ...

. A monument to the uprising by the sculptor Giuseppe Grandi was built at what is now Porta Vittoria. Almost a century later, in 1943, the uprising of

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

against WWII Nazi occupation was named '' The Four Days of Naples'', in conscious emulation of the earlier Milan event.

References

Bibliography

In Italian

* Piero Pieri, ''Storia militare del Risorgimento'' – volume 1 & 2, Einaudi, Torino, 1962 * Carlo Cattaneo
''Dell'insurrezione di Milano nel 1848 e della successiva guerra''
e-text Liber liber/Progetto Manuzio *

Antonio Scurati Antonio Scurati (born 25 June 1969) is an Italian writer and academic. In 2019, he was awarded the prestigious Strega Prize for his novel ''M. Son of the Century, M: Son of the Century'' (2018). Early life and education Scurati was born in Na ...

, ''Una storia romantica'', romanzo Bompiani, 2007 * Elena Fontanella, a cura di, ''Giovani ribelli del '48. Memorie del Risorgimento lombardo '', Firenze, Fratelli Alinari, 2011. . Testi di Aldo A. Mola, Giancarlo Lacchin, Roberto Lauro, Maurizio Griffo, Agostino Giovagnoli, Cecilia Dau Novelli, Romano Bracalini,

, Gianni Oliva, Emanuele Bettini, Matteo Sanfilippo, Giuseppe Poletta, Franco Della Peruta, Fulvio Peirone, Gabriella Bonacchi, Anna Maria Isastia, Elena Fontanella, Andrea Vento, Vittorio Nichilo,

Giorgio Cosmacini Giorgio may refer to: * Castel Giorgio, ''comune'' in Umbria, Italy * Giorgio (name), an Italian given name and surname * Giorgio Moroder, or Giorgio, Italian record producer ** ''Giorgio'' (album), an album by Giorgio Moroder * "Giorgio" (song), ...

, Roberto Guerri, Lucia Romaniello,

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, pa ...

, Gian Paolo Caprettini, Gian Mario Benzing, Roberto Cassanelli.

External links