The Ten Days of
Brescia
Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...
( it, Dieci giornate di Brescia) was a revolt which broke out in the northern Italian city of that name, which lasted from 23 March to 1 April 1849.
In the early 19th century Brescia was subject of the
Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
empire, as the rest of
Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia
The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia ( la, links=no, Regnum Langobardiae et Venetiae), commonly called the "Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom" ( it, links=no, Regno Lombardo-Veneto, german: links=no, Königreich Lombardo-Venetien), was a constituent land ...
. The revolt, headed by the patriot
Tito Speri
Tito Speri (2 August 1825 - 3 March 1853) was an Italian patriot and hero of the Risorgimento.
Life
Speri was born in Brescia.
He began his military career as a volunteer in the First Italian Independence War in 1848, has been engaged in the Ba ...
, began on the same day as the
Battle of Novara (though news of Austria's victory there had not yet reached Brescia).
The Austrian troops, under General Nugent, were initially surprised and retired to the castle, from which they heavily cannonaded the city, damaging many of Brescia's historical monuments. A total encirclement of Brescia was established by the Austrians beginning on the 8th day of the revolt, when reinforcements arrived. The following day
General Haynau, later nicknamed "The Hyena of Brescia", came and demanded the unconditioned surrender of the Bresciani. As the latter refused, the fighting continued until late night, when the heads of the revolt decided to surrender. The following day (April 1), however, the Austrian troops sacked the city and massacred numerous inhabitants before the surrender could be signed.
Some 1,000 citizens were killed during the battle. For its fierce resistance, the city of Brescia earned the surname ''Leonessa d'Italia'' (Lioness of Italy).
See also
*
Risorgimento
The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...
*
Battle of Novara (1849)
The Battle of Novara (or ''Battle of Bicocca''; Bicocca being a borough of Novara) was one of the battles fought between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia during the First Italian War of Independence, within the era of Italian ...
Sources
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ten Days Of Brescia
Revolts of the Italian unification
Battles involving Austria
Conflicts in 1849
1849 in Italy
Brescia
History of Lombardy
1849 in the Austrian Empire
March 1849 events
April 1849 events
Rebellions against the Austrian Empire
Battles of the First Italian War of Independence