The Battle of Bezzecca

Garibaldi-led force suffers heavy casualties but wins important victory

A depiction of the Battle of Bezzecca by the
Venetian painter Felice Zennaro

The Battle of Bezzecca, a significant Italian victory in the push for unification, took place on this day in 1866 on a site approximately 10km (6.2 miles) west of the northern tip of Lake Garda in what is now the Trentino region of northern Italy.

The battle was part of the Third Italian War of Independence as the new Kingdom of Italy, which had been formally proclaimed in 1861, sought to expel the Austrians from Venetia, which along with Papal Rome had remained outside the control of the fledgling nation.

It took place within the wider context of the Austro-Prussian War, a conflict that had begun earlier in the year after a territorial dispute. Italy, sensing an opportunity to annex Venetia and the part of Lombardy still under Austrian rule, had agreed an alliance with Prussia.

The Prussian victory at the Battle of Königgrätz resulted in Austria moving troops from Venetia towards Vienna, leaving their territories in northeastern Italy vulnerable to attack. 

Giuseppe Garibaldi, who had famously led the initial push for Italian unification with his Expedition of the Thousand in 1860 and was now a general in the Royal Italian Army, took arms again as the head of another volunteer army known as the Hunters of the Alps, as the Kingdom of Italy sought to capitalise on this supposed Austrian weakness.

The Hunters of the Alps were under
the command of Giuseppe Garibaldi

The Battle of Bezzecca came about a month after hostilities began as Garibaldi’s army, which initially had consisted of about 38,000 men, came up against 15,000 Austrian regulars under the command of General Baron Franz Kuhn von Kuhnenfeld. 

Despite some setbacks, which had included Garibaldi himself being wounded in an assault on an enemy position, the Hunters of the Alps seized control of strategically important towns, opening two potential routes towards the ultimate goal of capturing the city of Trento.

As Garibaldi’s troops moved towards Riva del Garda, from which they intended to push north towards Trento, the Austrians occupied the town of Bezzecca in Val di Ledro, blocking the route.

Garibaldi, overseeing the battle from a coach because of his injuries, directed his artillery to secure a hill near the town to provide support for an infantry assault, which forced the Austrians to withdraw.

It was an Italian victory, albeit one with heavy casualties. Of the 15,500 deployed by Garibaldi, at least 120 were killed or declared missing presumed killed, a further 450 wounded and, before the Austrian withdrawal, more than 1,000 captured. This compared with only about 100 casualties in total on the Austrian side.

In the event, it was the last battle Garibaldi would need to fight before the Italian objective of bringing Venetia into the new kingdom was achieved.

General Alfonso La Marmora, who 
ordered Garibaldi to withdraw

As he prepared to continue the invasion toward Garda, he received orders from General Alfonso La Marmora, commander-in-chief of the Italian army, to abandon Trentino ahead of an impending armistice between Italy and Austria following the cessation of hostilities between Austria and Prussia. 

From the main square of Bezzecca, Giuseppe Garibaldi famously replied with a telegram consisting of just one word: “Obbedisco!" - "I obey!” 

Under the terms of the Treaty of Vienna, which was signed on October 3, 1866, the Iron Crown of Lombardy, which had been in Austria’s possession since the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1815, was returned to the Italian monarchy, while Venetia, consisting of modern Veneto, parts of Friuli and the city of Mantua, was ceded to Italy. 

The annexation of Venetia and Mantua was subject to a plebiscite, allowing the population to express its will. The result was overwhelmingly in favour, with 99.9 percent of participants saying yes to becoming part of the Kingdom of Italy.

The Chiesa di Santi Stefano e Lorenzo houses
a memorial to victims of the Battle of Bezzecca

Travel tip:

The Bezzecca of today, about 35km (22 miles) southwest of Trento, is a popular holiday destination in unspoilt surroundings, a short distance from Lago di Ledro, one of the most beautiful of the Trentino lakes. It is popular with walkers and cyclists, with many paths and trails to follow through the surrounding countryside. Since 2010, along with Pieve di Ledro, Concei, Molina di Ledro, Tiarno di Sopra and Tiarno di Sotto, it has been part of the new municipality of Ledro. The Battle of Bezzecca is recalled in many street names and buildings, while there is a small museum dedicated to Garibaldi and the Great War. Museum. In Piazza Garibaldi, the Chiesa di Santi Stefano e Lorenzo houses the Bezzecca War Memorial, which commemorates those who died fighting with Garibaldi and local men killed during the Great War. Outside the church, there is a 75 mm Italian cannon and a column donated to Bezzecca by the city of Rome in 1924.

Trento's Piazza Duomo, with the Palazzo Pretorio
on the left and the Cattedrale di San Vigilio

Travel tip:

The prosperous modern city of Trento is considered one of the most desirable places to live in Italy for quality of life and employment opportunities. With a population of 117,000, it is situated in an Alpine valley on the Adige river between the northern tip of Lake Garda and the border city of Bolzano, about 95km (59 miles) north of Verona. Settled by the Romans in the first century, it changed hands many times before becoming a major city in the Holy Roman Empire. The Austrians took charge in the 14th century and it remained under their control, with the exception of a spell of French domination in the Napoleonic era until the First World War.  It was notable in the 16th century for hosting the Council of Trent, the ecumenical council of the Catholic Church that gave rise to the resurgence of the church following Protestant Reformation. The 13th century Castello del Buonconsiglio, next to Trento’s city walls, was a military barracks under the Austrians, then a jail, before falling into disrepair.  It was restored after Trento became part of Italy in the 1920s and now houses a museum and art gallery.

Also on this day: 

1871: The birth of writer and historian Guglielmo Ferrero

1914: The birth of screenwriter Suso Cecchi D’Amico

1948: The birth of comedian-turned-activist Beppe Grillo

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Battle of Custoza

Austrians thwart Italy’s hopes of unifying the peninsula

The Polish painter Juliusz Kossak's depiction of the Austrian
13th regiment attacking Italian bersaglieri during the battle.

An army of the recently unified Kingdom of Italy was driven out of Custoza in the Veneto region by Austrian troops on this day in 1866.

Although the Italians had twice the number of soldiers, the Austrians were victorious strategically and drove the Italians back across the Mincio river and out of the area then known as Venetia.

King Victor Emmanuel II’s younger son, Amadeo, was severely wounded in the battle but he survived his injuries and went on to reign briefly as King of Spain from 1870 to 1873.

The German Kingdom of Prussia had declared war on the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy seized the opportunity to join forces with Prussia, with the intention of annexing Venetia and uniting the Italian peninsula. The Austrian Imperial army joined up with the Venetian army.

The Italians divided their troops into two armies, one led by General Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora, accompanied by the King, and the other led by Enrico Cialdini.

The Italian General Alfonso Ferrero La Mormora

La Marmora’s troops crossed the Mincio river and invaded Venetia. The Austrians led by Archduke Albrecht of Habsburg marched west from Verona to the north of the Italian position, so as to cut them off from the rear.

But on June 24, La Marmora changed the direction of his front and ended up colliding head on with the Austrians.

When the Austrians reacted by attacking them, the Italians panicked and took up a defensive position. By the middle of the day La Marmora had ordered a retreat, little realising that by then another Italian division had captured Belvedere Hill, overlooking Custoza. The troops on the hill found themselves isolated and after a bombardment by Austrian guns were driven out of Custoza.

However, for a number of reasons the Austrian did not pursue the Italians, squandering the chance to destroy their army. Only a month later the Austrians were forced to surrender to the Prussians and give up Venetia.

Scenes from the Italian side of the Battle of Custoza were recreated in the 1954 Luchino Visconti film, Senso.

The Ossario di Custoza

Travel tip:

Custoza is a village in the province of Verona in the Veneto. In memory of the two famous battles fought there during the wars for Italian independence, a memorial building, the Ossuary of Custoza - Ossario di Custoza - was built on the Belvedere Hill in 1879. Today, June 24, a ceremony will be held there to remember the soldiers who died on this day in the Battle of Custoza. For more information about the memorial, visit www.ossariodicustoza.com.

The village of Custoza in the Veneto

Travel tip:

Custoza is also famous for producing the prestigious white wine, Bianco di Custoza, which is sometimes referred to as the white equivalent of the red wine, Bardolino, produced nearby in the town of Bardolino on the shores of Lake Garda. Bianco di Custoza is dry and smooth with flowery and fruity notes, with hints of apples, lemon peel and peaches that linger on the tongue. The wine is best drunk within a year of the grape harvest.

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Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora - military leader

General who became prime minister of Italy

Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora was an important
figure in Italy's Risorgimento movement

Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora, a general and statesman who became the sixth prime minister of Italy, was born on this day in 1804 in Turin.

A graduate of the Turin Military Academy, La Marmora went on to play an important part in the Risorgimento, the movement to create a united Italy.

One of his older brothers was Alessandro Ferrero La Marmora, who founded the Italian army’s famous Bersaglieri corps, which entered French-occupied Rome in 1870 through a breach in the wall at Porta Pia and completed the unification of Italy.

Alfonso La Marmora went into the army in 1823 and first distinguished himself in the Italian wars of independence against Austria.

In 1848, La Marmora rescued the Sardinian king, Charles Albert, from Milanese revolutionaries who had resented the king’s armistice with the Austrians. Afterwards he was promoted to general and briefly served as minister of war.

La Marmora suppressed an insurrection at Genoa in 1849 and commanded the Sardinian forces in the Crimean War in 1855.

A meeting between La Marmora (right) and
Garibaldi, as depicted by an Italian magazine

Later, while serving as minister of war again, he reorganised the Italian army.

He then served as premier of Piedmont, governor of Milan and as the king’s lieutenant in Naples.

He became the sixth prime minister of the new united Italy in 1864, succeeding Marco Minghetti, and concluded the country’s alliance with Prussia against Austria.

But La Marmora was held responsible for the overwhelming defeat of the Italians by the Austrians at Custoza in 1866 and was accused of hesitant conduct during the battle, despite the superior numbers of the Italian troops.

Scenes from the Italian side of the Battle of Custoza were recreated in the 1954 Luchino Visconti film, Senso.

La Marmora retired shortly afterwards but was appointed the king’s lieutenant in Rome after it was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1870.

One of the books he wrote in retirement was entitled Un po’ di luce sugli eventi politici e militari dell’anno 1866 (A little light on the political and military events of the year 1866), which aimed to justify his actions at Custoza. 

Alfonso La Marmora died in 1878 in Florence.

The equestrian statue of La Marmora in
Turin's Piazza Bodoni

Travel tip:

In Turin, the Via Alfonso Lamarmora, an elegant residential street, commemorates the military general and sixth prime minister of Italy who was born in the city. The street links Corso Stati Uniti with Via Sebastiano Caboto, bisecting the busy Corso Luigi Einaudi.  There is an equestrian statue of Alfonso La Marmora in Via Giambattista Bodoni, not far from Turin's main railway station

Travel tip:

Custoza, where the Italians under Alfonso La Marmora were defeated in battle in 1866, is in the province of Verona in the Veneto, close to Lake Garda . The town is also famous for producing the prestigious wine, Bianco di Custoza, sometimes referred to as the white equivalent of the red wine Bardolino, which is produced nearby.

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