[1863-1866 A.D.]
After several fruitless attempts on the part of French diplomats to bring about some kind of an understanding between the pope and Victor Emmanuel, an agreement was entered into by France and Italy, according to which the royal residence was to be transferred from Turin to Florence, and the French troops of occupation were gradually to be withdrawn from Rome. With the pope it was agreed that no hindrance should be placed in the way of the organisation, by the papal authorities, of an army which should be sufficiently large to support the authority of the holy father and to preserve peace in the interior and on the borders, but not large enough to offer resistance to the army of the king.
The provisions of this “September convention” aroused great dissatisfaction in Turin. Let Rome be chosen as the national capital and no outcry would be raised, but why should the Piedmontese be expected to make a sacrifice in favour of Florence? Sullen displeasure soon gave place to open protestations and street excesses. Instead of trying to put down the disturbance by mild measures the ministry made the mistake of using harsh ones. A great number of rioters were killed or wounded. The distress of the city, which had so long been loyal to himself and his house, pained the king deeply; and dissolving the present ministry he gave the formation of a new one into the hands of General Lamarmora, a Piedmontese by birth.
Peace succeeded quickly upon this change, but the city was none the less obliged to undergo its fate. During the following month parliament decreed the transfer of the royal residence, and preparations were at once begun for moving the court and all the paraphernalia of government to the ancient city on the Arno. On the morning of the 3rd of February, without notice or farewell, Victor Emmanuel left behind him his former capital and proceeded to Florence, where he was henceforth to have his abode.
Anger was felt in Rome that France and Italy should have held a convention without seeking the co-operation of the pope. The latter, to show how few concessions he was willing to make to modern ideas, shortly after astonished the world by publishing an Encyclica and Syllabus in which, in an array of maxims and admonitions, he condemned and cast aside as worthless all the attainments of modern times in the different fields of philosophy, science, and religion. These remarkable expressions of belief, revealing as they did a degree of enlightenment not far exceeding that of the Middle Ages, made plain to the world how hopeless would be any attempt to come to an understanding with the man who could frame them, and how unwilling and morally incapable he was of recognising the rights and necessities of present-day humanity.
The Italian chamber of deputies proceeded in its very next session to institute further changes and reforms. Civil marriage was introduced, the suppression of convents, as well as the secularisation of churchly possessions, was decided upon, and the abolition of capital punishment was proposed. In spite of the difficult financial position in which the kingdom was placed as a result of the war of freedom in which it had been engaged, and the expenses consequent upon its reorganisation, Victor Emmanuel declared his readiness to assume a great part of the Roman debt provided the papacy would give its recognition to the new state. This attempt met with the same success that had attended all others: to every overture the pope opposed his usual reply, “Non possumus.”[g]
THE WAR OF 1866 AND ANNEXATION OF VENICE
Italy still looked with hungry eyes at the rich Venetian territory which still remained to Austria. In 1866 Prussia and Austria fell into disputes which culminated in war, as described in the histories of Austria and Prussia. In March, Prussia was glad to secure the alliance of Italy, promising to continue war until Austria gave up to Italy the whole mainland of Venice except the city itself and the quadrilateral of fortresses. June 20th Italy declared war on Austria, which sent an army of 180,000 into the peninsula, and 27 ships. Against these Italy raised 300,000 men as well as a fleet of 36 vessels. The quadrilateral, however, gave the Austrians an excellent base, as Bertolini[c] says, as well as a formidable bulwark. The Italians lacked strategists, and though the king and Prince Humbert [Umberto] led them, they met with no success. March 24th they were surprised with loss, and at Custozza where, according to Bertolini,[c] they had only 52,000 men to the Austrians’ 75,000, they fought a drawn battle, but retreated after a loss of 3,000 men and 4,000 prisoners. Garibaldi’s volunteers, after some slight success at Monte Suello July 3rd, were surprised and completely routed at Vezza, July 5th. He retrieved his fortunes, however, at Ampola (July 16th-19th), Bezzea and Lardaro (July 21st), when word came of an armistice. The navy was also badly defeated at Lissa, July 17th. Admiral Persano on July 18th bombarded the Austrian shore batteries, but although he succeeded in temporarily silencing most of the guns he was unable to effect a landing. Two days later the Austrian fleet appeared in the harbour and at once gave battle to the Italian fleet. In this fight the Italian admiral seems to have lost his head completely, and to have given either conflicting orders, or no orders at all. The result was a complete victory for the Austrians.
The Prussians had, however, gone from victory to victory, finally reaching the triumph of Sadowa, or Königgrätz, July 5th. Austria in despair and in need of troops made Napoleon III a present of Venetia. The Italians felt it an “ignominy” to accept Venetia as a gift from the French, but finally terms were agreed upon with Austria direct, by which Italy received all the Venetian provinces, and the Iron Crown of the Lombards, the freedom of service of all Lombards in the Austrian army. Italy assumed the Lombardo-Venetian debt of 64,000,000 francs and agreed to pay 35,000,000 francs to Austria. October 19th, 1866, the Italian flag was hoisted on St. Mark’s. A plebiscite was taken and 647,384 citizens voted for the union under the constitutional monarchy of Victor Emmanuel, while only 69 voted against it. November 7th Victor Emmanuel made his formal entry into Venice amidst great enthusiasm.[a]