The Quarantotto                                             

The extraordinary events of 1848, with the famous “five days” (18-22 March), affected Manzoni directly. Filippo, the only one of his children still living at home, took part from the very beginning in the Milanese uprising, fighting on the rooftops of the vicolo San Dalmazio, and receiving moving words of encouragement from his father for his commitment. He was arrested by the Austrians, sent to prison, taken hostage three days later by the fleeing Austrian troops, then released through an exchange of prisoners, thanks also to Niccolò Tommaseo’s intervention. On the fifth day of the uprising, a large crowd gathered outside Manzoni’s house to express solidarity with the writer, also asking him to compose a poem on the events taking place. Manzoni decided to bring out two unpublished poems, the Proclama di Rimini and Marzo 1821, both well-suited to celebrating the heroic uprisings of the Risorgimento. Manzoni showed his support for the rebellion by providing food and other supplies, and signed the petition to King Carlo Alberto of the House of Savoy appealing for support for the Milanese rebels. Nonetheless, he himself never took part in the public political and ideological debate among the various groups within the movement for national independence and unity. His political views, closely connected with his ethical-religious beliefs, emerge indirectly from his correspondence with Rosmini, and are explicit only in his last historiographic studies. He was opposed to the federalist solution to the national question (put forward by Gioberti and later by Rosmini), namely, a confederation of States united under the aegis of the Pope and the Papal State. As senator in the new Kingdom of Italy, Manzoni also voted for Rome as capital, but was nonetheless in favour of a unified and secular State.