150 years ago the long process of Italian unification was nearing its end. Only Rome resisted, presided over by Pope Pio IX, and supported by a garrison of French troops. The Pope remained obdurate: \u201cIo non sono profeta, n\u00e9 figlio di profeta, ma in realt\u00e0 vi dico che non entrerete in Roma\u201d<\/strong> (I\u2019m not a prophet, or the son of\u00a0 a prophet, but I sincerely say to you that you shall not enter Rome).<\/em><\/p>\n Famous last words! When the Italian Army approached the Aurelian Walls that defended the city, the papal force, commanded by General Karl Kanzler, consisted of a total of 13,157 men, against the 50,000 Italians led by Cadorna. On the 19 September 1870 the Italian army placed Rome under a state of siege, Pio IX having decided that the surrender of the city would be granted only after his troops had put up enough resistance to make it plain that the take-over was not freely accepted.<\/p>\n Finally, on 20 September 1870, after a cannonade of three hours had breached the Aurelian Walls at Porta Pia, the crack Piedmontese Bersaglieri troops entered Rome. One of the Barsagliere\u2019s commanders, Edmondo de Amicis, describes the scene of the battle thus: \u201cLa Porta Pia era tutta sfracellata, la sola immagine della Madonna, che le sorge dietro, era rimasta intatta; le statue a destra e a sinistra non avevano pi\u00f9 testa; il suolo intorno era sparso di mucchi di terra; di materassi fumanti, di berretti di Zuavi, d\u2019armi, di travi, di sassi. Per la breccia vicina entravano rapidamente i nostri reggimenti\u201d <\/strong>(\u201cPorta Pia was completely crushed, only the image of the Madonna, which rose up behind, remained intact; the statues to the right and left were headless; the soil all around was covered with heaps of earth; smoking mattresses; Zuave\u2019s<\/strong>* berets, weapons, beams, rocks. Through the nearby breach our regiments rapidly poured in\u201d).<\/em><\/p>\n *The Zuavi Pontifici<\/strong> were mainly young, unmarried, Roman Catholic men, who volunteered to assist Pope Pius IX in his struggle against the Italian Risorgimento.<\/span><\/p>\n
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