Aspromonte, Battle of

ASPROMONTE, BATTLE OF. - The tortuous attitude of the Rattazzi cabinet, which seemed to promise, if not support, at least benevolent neutrality; the illusion that France would confine itself to formal protests; the hope of being able to resolve the Roman question as well, as in 1860, in an atmosphere of overwhelming passion, induced Garibaldi, though dissuaded by many of his most authoritative friends, to gather around him, to the cry of “Roma o morte,” several thousand volunteers (July 1862). The local authorities being uncertain and inactive (even the king’s proclamation of 3 Aug. was understood only as a political expedient), and the volunteers fired by Garibaldi’s appeals and his invectives against Napoleone III, they set out from Catania towards the strait, while belatedly, in the face of French protests and threats, the Italian government proclaimed a state of siege and entrusted military action to Cialdini. Having landed in Calabria, Garibaldi was surrounded on the massif of A., where on 29 Aug. a brief bloody clash took place. Garibaldi, seriously wounded in one foot, was arrested and taken to Varignano, from which he emerged through the amnesty of Oct. Rattazzi, regarded as chiefly responsible for the situation, was obliged to resign on 1 Dec.