The Lunigiana revolt took place in January
1894
Events January–March
* January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire.
* January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United S ...
, in the stone and
marble quarries of
Massa and
Carrara
Carrara ( , ; , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, in central Italy, of the province of Massa and Carrara, and notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some west-northwest of Florence. Its mot ...
in the
Lunigiana
The Lunigiana () is a historical territory of Italy, which today falls within the provinces of Massa Carrara, Tuscany, and La Spezia, Liguria. Its borders derive from the ancient Roman settlement, later the medieval diocese of Luni, which no long ...
, the northernmost tip of
Tuscany
it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Citizenship
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 = Italian
, demogra ...
(Italy), in support of the
Fasci Siciliani (Sicilian Leagues) uprising on Sicily. After a state of siege had been proclaimed by the
Crispi government, armed bands dispersed into the mountains pursued by troops. Hundreds of insurgents were arrested and tried by military tribunals.
Background
According to a ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' article of 1894, workers in the marble quarries were among the most neglected labourers in Italy. Many of them were ex-convicts or fugitives from justice. The work at the quarries was so tough that almost any aspirant worker with sufficient muscle and endurance was employed, regardless of their background.
[A Stronghold of Anarchists]
The New York Times, January 19, 1894
The quarry workers, including the stone carvers, had radical beliefs that set them apart from others.
Anarchism and general radicalism became part of the heritage of the stone carvers. Many violent revolutionists who had been expelled from Belgium and Switzerland went to Carrara in 1885 and founded the first anarchist group in Italy.
[ The district in which the quarries are situated was consequently the original hotbed of anarchism in Italy. In Carrara, the anarchist Galileo Palla remarked, "even the stones are anarchists."
]
Revolt
The revolt started when on January 13, 1894, with a demonstration against the government crackdown of the Fasci Siciliani a popular movement of democratic and socialist inspiration in 1891–1894 on Sicily, who had risen up against the ever-increasing taxes on the prices of basic commodities, such as bread, and for land reform
Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...
. On January 3, 1894, Prime minister Francesco Crispi had declared a state of siege
A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...
throughout Sicily. Army reservists were recalled and General Roberto Morra di Lavriano was dispatched with 40,000 troops. The old order was restored through the use of extreme force, including summary executions
may refer to:
* Abstract (summary), shortening a passage or a write-up without changing its meaning but by using different words and sentences
* Epitome, a summary or miniature form
* Abridgement, the act of reducing a written work into a sho ...
.[Seton-Watson, ''Italy from liberalism to fascism'', pp. 165–67]
As two Carabinieri
The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign polic ...
tried to disperse the crowd, shooting from both sides ensued and one guard was killed while another badly injured. Several demonstrators were also injured and one killed. Police barracks and headquarters were attacked and protestors made off with weapons. A tax office in Carrara was set on fire and the main road to the neighbouring town of Massa was barricaded with huge marble blocks. Large bands of workers tried to march into the town of Carrara on January 14 and into Massa on January 16, but were stopped by the military.[Tilly, ''The rebellious century, 1830–1930'', p. 150][Sympathy For Sicilians; Socialists at Leghorn Call for a General Strike. Anarchists Cause a Riot at Massa di Carrara]
The New York Times, January 15, 1894[Italy's Fight With Anarchy]
The New York Times, January 16, 1894
By the following morning the city of Carrara was surrounded by soldiers under the command of General Nicola Heusch. A state of siege had been proclaimed by the Crispi government on January 16, 1894.[State of Siege Proclaimed]
''The New York Times'', January 18, 1894 Among those threatened with arrest were many quarry workers, who responded by declaring a general strike. Instead of going to work, they came down from the mountains and gathered around the military barracks where hundreds of prisoners had already been detained. Troops were then ordered to amass and, as soon as the crowd came near enough, they fired. Eleven deaths resulted, as well as numerous other casualties. (Other sources mention 8 people killed and 13 wounded).[Turcato, ''Making Sense of Anarchism'', pp. 114-16] Armed bands dispersed into the mountains pursued by troops.[Carrara Citizens Terrified]
''The New York Times'', January 17, 1894
Aftermath
Hundreds of insurgents were arrested and tried by military tribunals.[ On January 31, 1894, a military tribunal condemned the anarchist Luigi Molinari to 23 years imprisonment as the instigator of the insurrection. A protest movement was mounted and Molinari was amnestied on September 20, 1895.][Molinari, Luigi]
Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani – Volume 75 (2011)
Later that year in June 1894 an Italian anarchist killed French President Carnot and an anarchist attack on Prime Minister Crispi on June 16, 1894, increased the fear of anarchism. In this climate, Crispi was able to introduce a series of anti-anarchist laws in July 1894, which were also used against socialists. Heavy penalties were announced for "incitement to class hatred" and police received extended powers of preventive arrest and deportation.[
Some observers assert that the revolt was organized by the anarchist movement with a well defined plan, while others claim that the insurrectionary outcome exceeded the original intentions of the leaders who only wanted to stage a protest demonstration.][ Prime Minister Crispi explained the uprising as a conspiracy with "a broader subsersive plan that linked Apuan insurgents to those of Sicily, to the libertarian centres in Italy and abroad, and through the latter to the dark maneuvers of foreign powers."][
]
References
Sources
* Clark, Martin (2008).
Modern Italy, 1871 to the present
', Harlow: Pearson Education,
* Colajanni, Napoleone (1895).
', Palermo: Remo Sandron Editore
* Seton-Watson, Christopher (1967).
Italy from liberalism to fascism, 1870–1925
', New York: Taylor & Francis, 1967
* Tilly, Charles; Louise Tilly & Richard H. Tilly (1975).
', Harvard University Press,
* Turcato, Davide (2012),
Making Sense of Anarchism: Errico Malatesta’s Experiments with Revolution, 1889-1900
', Palgrave Macmillan,
{{Fasci Siciliani
1894 riots
1894 in Italy
Politics of Italy
Modern history of Italy
Riots and civil disorder in Italy
Fasci Siciliani
Anarchism in Italy
19th-century crimes in Italy