Tra Crispi e l'Aspromonte : il Processo Acerbi dell'agosto 1862

This article focuses on the trial of Giovanni Acerbi in August 1862. While Garibaldi was enrolling volunteers in Sicily to march on Rome, despite the government’s warnings and decrees to stand down, in Turin the ‘party of action’ was also under attack by the ministry. Colonel Acerbi, former chief of southern army supplies in 1860, was arrested and accused of illegal enlistments. Instead of joining Garibaldi in Sicily, Francesco Crispi, who stood in the opposition benches in Parliament, decided to defend Acerbi. He knew that it was fundamental to push back the offensive of the Italian Prime Minister Urbano Rattazzi, who, to assure the endurance of the government over which he resided, had managed to strike down democratic societies, associations and leaders which supported Garibaldi’s initiative. Only by considering the events related to the trial, can one understand Crispi’s attitude towards Garibaldi’s new expedition – which tragically finished on the Day of Aspromonte – in addition to the political strategy the left would carry on in subsequent years.