Revolutions of 1848 in the Italian states

Revolutions of 1848 in the Italian states
Part of the Revolutions of 1848 and the First Italian War of Independence
Episode from the Five Days of Milan, painting by Baldassare Verazzi
Date 12 January — 27 October 1848 (9 months, 2 weeks and 1 day) Location Italy Result The Revolutions fail; some insurgent states obtain liberal constitutions, but they are all soon abolished with the exception of that of the Kingdom of Sardinia (Albertine Statute). Territorial changes None
Belligerents
Kingdom of Sicily Provisional Government of Milan Republic of San Marco Roman Republic Supported by: Kingdom of Sardinia	Austrian Empire Kingdom of Two Sicilies Papal States Grand Duchy of Tuscany
Commanders and leaders
Ruggero Settimo Carlo Cattaneo Daniele Manin Giuseppe Mazzini	Josef Radetzky Carlo Filangieri Charles Oudinot

The 1848 Revolutions in the Italian states, part of the wider Revolutions of 1848 in Europe, were organized revolts in the states of the Italian peninsula and Sicily, led by intellectuals and agitators who desired a liberal government. As Italian nationalists they sought to eliminate reactionary Austrian control. During this time, Italy was not a unified country, and was divided into many states, which, in Northern Italy, were ruled directly or indirectly by the Austrian Empire. A desire to be independent from foreign rule, and the conservative leadership of the Austrians, led Italian revolutionaries to stage revolution in order to drive out the Austrians. The revolution was led by the state of the Kingdom of Sardinia. Some uprisings in the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, particularly in Milan, forced the Austrian General Radetzky to retreat to the Quadrilateral fortresses.^[1]

King Charles Albert, who ruled Piedmont-Sardinia from 1831 to 1849, aspired to unite Italy with the endorsement of Pope Pius IX, head of the Papal States, which comprised a large territory in the center of the Italian peninsula. He declared war on Austria in March 1848 and launched a full-out attack on the Quadrilateral. Lacking allies, Charles Albert was no match for the Austrian army and was defeated at the Battle of Custoza on 24 July 1848. He signed a truce and withdrew his forces from Lombardy, and thus Austria remained dominant in a divided Italy until the Second Italian War of Independence.