CONVERSANO - Trulli of Alberobello.
of the related notification dispatch and the abrupt termination of all discussion on the matter. In a protest to the nuncios, on 19 November Antonelli then pointed out the inconsistency of the French assurances and the dangers to which the Holy See remained exposed because of the foreseeable new complications.
In France and elsewhere, many rightly suspected that the C. was nothing more than an elegant pretext for once again leaving the Pontiff, as in 1859–60, at the mercy of the Italian unifying and secularizing designs. In Vienna, they limited themselves to observing, with some irony, that the C. would probably have the same value as the famous Treaty of Zürich. The violent reaction of French public opinion drew new fuel from the confirmations offered by too many of the more violent, less disciplined, or simply inept Italian innovators. The newspapers of the peninsula clearly stated that Florence would be no more than a stage on the way to Rome. The French Cabinet was deeply affected by this and protested.
To avoid a scandal, both sides resorted to insinuations, but these soon faded when the Minghetti cabinet fell as a result of the street disturbances in Turin, caused by the grief and resentment over the transfer of the capital, and the king replaced it with Lamarmora; and still more when the document had to be submitted to the Chambers for ratification. Florence appeared increasingly as a provisional capital, while in Rome people resolved to go by any means, except open violence. Visconti Venosta, Minister of Foreign Affairs, took care to say that the problem had not been solved, but had been set on the road to a solution. Lanza, Minister of the Interior, maintained that, deprived of foreign bayonets, the temporal power could not long resist. Lamarmora pointed out that one could advance slowly, but never turn back. Garibaldi rose against the execution of the C., and Mazzini gave him a worthy echo with violent, fantastic exaggerations before the impassioned public opinion. The only person to make his voice heard with genuinely sound and prudent counsel was Massimo D'Azeglio, who sought to demonstrate the impossibility of any forced coexistence of the two powers in Rome; but he was listened to only out of deference. Thus, despite the spirit and letter of the C., the country was moving toward the occupation of the disputed city (1870).