In 1870, insurrectional attempts occurred in various Italian locations after the withdrawal of
French Army from
Rome following the French defeat in the
Franco-Prussian War, in the hope of annexing the
Papal States to the
Kingdom of Italy, an event which later occurred, putting an end to the
unification of Italy with the
capture of Rome on 20 September 1870. While
republican rebellions against the monarchy and for the claim of Rome to Italy were raging in the Kingdom of Italy, the Lino barracks in Pavia were attacked on the morning of 24 March 1870 by around forty revolutionaries shouting "Down with the monarchy, long live the republic, long live Rome". Instead of calming the revolt, Barsanti refused to intervene against the demonstrators and, with the help of some accomplices, even kidnapped some
non-commissioned officers, preventing the repression. Once the movement failed and the rebels dispersed, some soldiers who, together with Barsanti, had favored the Republican assault took to flight; he and other comrades remained, such as the
Cremonese sergeant Nicola Pernice, who were arrested on charges of high
treason. In
Milan, they were judged by the
military tribunal; Pernice was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment, while Barsanti and eight other defendants (who were
contumacious), were sentenced to
capital punishment on 27 May 1870. The military tribunal's sentence for Barsanti and Perince was issued on 16 August 1870. Solidarity initiatives arose towards the soldier near the capital punishment, since the sentence was considered excessive in relation to the crime, also for the ideological reasons that had inspired it. The Marquise Anna Pallavicino Trivulzio (
Giorgio's wife) collected women's signatures to present to King
Victor Emmanuel II to invoke the pardon, rejected by the
Council of Ministers on 18 August, by majority and secret ballot. in
Milan, where Pietro Barsanti was shot
Prime Minister Giovanni Lanza proposed to the monarch not to receive the marquise, who had come specifically from Florence, and King Victor Emmanuel II accepted the suggestion. This attitude displeased the noblewoman and her husband, sharing the disappointment, returned to the king the
collar of the Annunziata which he had been awarded. On 27 August of the same year, taken before the
firing squad, Barsanti refused religious comfort from the chaplains and did not deny his republican faith. Blindfolded and sitting with a cigar between his teeth, he was shot at the age of 21 in the
Sforzesco Castle in
Milan. Pernice, who became insane in prison, committed suicide a few years later. ==Aftermath==