Today I am going to tell you about The Five Days of Milan. Cinque giornate di Milano was
an insurrection in the troubled European year of 1848.
Revolutionary fever gripped 19th century Europe (after shocks of the earlier French
Revolution.) Citizens demanded republican democracies rather than the existing authoritarian monarchies.
This reform was firmly resisted and actually reinstated after the Congress of Vienna 1815
(after the fall of Napoleon and revolutionary France.)
Italy was actually a group of independent city states, ruled in the North by the Austrian Empire
Carlo Gaetano Gaisruck, the Austrian Archbishop of Milan was unpopular despite implementing reforms
This was because he considered the Church should be closely tied to the Austrian Empire
In 1847 the new archbishop of Milan Carlo
Bartolomeo Romilli replaced the late Carlo Gaetano Gaisruck something that caused wild
public celebrations. It was considered symbolic that an Italian would become archbishop in
an area struggling to gain its independence from Austria. The Austrian police violently
disagreed and responded by charging the crowd in Piazza Fontana, killing one and wounding others
The Palermo, Sicily revolt in January 1848
forced King Ferdinand II to grant a more liberal Constitution. This was soon followed by similar
changes in Tuscany, the Papal States and Piedmont Sardinia, as nervous rulers were hoping to placate
the popular revolutionary fervour. News of other uprisings and reforms across Europe
reached Milan. Discontent simmered
as constitutional reforms were adopted all around them
A garrison of Austrian troops were based in
Milan, the capital of the Kingdom of Lombardo Veneto, led by the ageing but respected general Josef Radetzky (he of the Radetsky March piece
of music by Johann Strauss.) The Papal States were ruled by the Vatican
and the Pope. The recent appointment of a new Pope Pius IX in 1846, seemed to indicate
a more liberal future as he claimed to be a reformer.
King Charles Albert, of Kingdom of Sardinia
had ambitions to unite Italy (as part of an enlarged Kingdom of Sardinia) with the backing
of the new (apparently) reformist Pope Pius IX.
when the population wanted Italian unification and independence from Austria.
All tobacco tax and lottery revenue was subject to a state run monopoly, and the revenue went
to the Austrian Empire. In January 1848, the population of Milan , inspired
by the Boston Tea Party, stopped buying tobacco and playing the lottery. This caused the Austrian
authorities to immediately lose a lot of Duty revenue. The Austrian soldiers were sent into
the streets to smoke cigars (hoping to encourage the population to smoke and to irritate those who
were trying not to.) They sometimes violently accosted passers-by.
Anyone seen smoking in public risked being attacked.
Eventually the Austrian troops received orders and attacked the crowds with swords and bayonets, five
Milanese died and numerous people were injured. Austrian Major General Karl Schönhals, claimed
the violence was started by Milanese citizens who began insulting and then throwing stones
at the Austrian soldiers, who were smoking cigars nearby.
Gabrio Casati, stated that the
Milanese were attacked and provoked by the soldiers smoking in the street.
This incident was used for propaganda purposes by both sides
The Austrians, becoming nervous, granted limited self-government, hoping to diffuse the revolutionary tension.
News of a unrest in Vienna, capital of Austria reached Milan. Affluent Milan,
remained heavily fortified by the Austrian Empire
While the revolutionary leaders agreed
to end Austrian occupation they fundamentally disagreed with each other on what to do next:
Republican Mazzinians sought Italian unity in a federal republic with no monarchy and no church powers,
Reformist Democrats, who were hostile both to the Austrains and the Kingdom of Sardinia
and these were led by Carlo Cattaneo
They wanted an independent kingdom based around Milan
A third group of nobles including Gabrio Casati, wanted
to merge Lombardy with Piedmont as a monarchy (the Kingdom of Sardinia);
Day 1: March 18, 1848 A large (initially) peaceful demonstration
of students and intellectuals was held before the Austrian governor's palace in "Piazza
del Broletto“, the town hall ( now called Piazza Mercanti), demanding autonomy for
Milan and Lombardy, freedom of the press, the disbanding of the Austrian police, Milan to be
responsible for public order and the establishment of a Milanese (rather than Austrian) Civic Guard
As the demonstration descended into violence,
the stunned administration was forced to grant concessions as street fighting broke out across
Milan. Seeing people massing on the streets, the Austrian troops began to fire
Day 2: March 19, 1848 The people of Milan rose up against the Austrian
troops stationed in the city, seized control, and established an (initially hidden) provisional
government. The lawyer, Carlo Cattaneo led the government dedicated to a democratic and independent Milan.
The Milanese citizens set up about 1,700 barricades, attacking troops from windows and rooftops. The
citizens of Milan vastly outnumbered the Austrian troops but had no weapons nor any military
training. They stole ancient firearms from museums. The roads were strewn with iron and
glass to impede the passing of any Austrian cavalry. A stunned Radetzky and his troops were
outnumbered and stranded and they quickly retreated to the Castello Sforzesco.
Radetzky requested support from nearby Verona.
Radetsky demanded surrender and threatened to bombard the city. The rebels
refused and instead, Radetsky ordered his troops to retake the governor's palace in Piazza del
Broletto, thinking the rebel government was based there. 300 Italian volunteers with limited arms,
defended the governor’s palace as the Austrians forcibly retook the palace, room by room.
As Radetzky’s troops tried to retake the city, their progress was hampered by the numerous
defended barricades. Austrian Jaegers began to shoot at the citizens from the roof of
the Milan Cathedral Further bad news reported unrest in Como,
Padua and Venice. There were also reports of troops of the Kingdom of Sardinia on the move
The rebels continued to argue
Day 3: March 20, 1848 A council of war was set up to liberate Milan
A provisional government was led by Gabrio Casati.
The Austrian troops were embedded in defensive
positions while the Milanese population roamed freely across the city streets
Luigi Torelli used this
opportunity to climb the Milan cathedral and place the Italian tricolor on the spire
Radetzky feared being trapped in Milan, surrounded by the hostile countryside filled with Piedmontese army and peasants
He offered a truce, a matter which divided the revolutionary
War Council. The offer was rejected and the fighting continued.
The rioters were now heavily armed, looting the abandoned Austrian barracks and disarming captured Austrian troops
The Austrian troops controlled the city walls, they could determine who could enter and who could leave. The Austrians also controlled Castello Sforzesco
The Milanese made a concerted effort to retake the city gates in order to end the Austrian blockade
Manara led night-time attacks which took Porta Tosa (later called Porta Vittoria), and raised the tricolor flag.
Day 5: March 22, 1848 News of further unrest in Parma, Piacenza
and Modena. The provisional government of Milan was formally and publicly declared
On the evening of 22 March, the Austrians
withdrew towards the "Quadrilatero" (the fortified zone made up of the four cities of Verona, Legnago, Mantua and Peschiera
del Garda.) Having won the battle, Cattaneo was defeated
politically in the war council. A message requested King Carlo Alberto to enter Lombardy
with his troops. As the fighting petered out in Milan on 23
March, the Kingdom of Sardinia declared war on Austria, but King Carlo Alberto delayed
moving his Piedmontese troops to attack the Austrian fortresses until 29
March. This enabled the Austrians to make an orderly retreat (without taking heavy casualties) and prepare for the attack
King Carlo Alberto received Casati, of Milan
who was keen to complete the union of Lombardy and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The king, committed
he would not abandon Milan,
Heavily outnumbered by the now reinforced Austrians, Charles Albert was routed by the
Austrian army at the Battle of Custoza in July 1848. This was part of the First Italian War of
Independence and withdrew his forces from Lombardy (and Milan!)
Austria re-entered Milan and tightened its grip on a divided Italy until the Second
Italian War of Independence broke out.
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