La Sicilia garibaldina alla vigilia dell’Unità: formazione di una statualità inquieta

This article is about the relationship between the Sicilia administration and the elites during the Dictatorship of General Garibaldi in 1860. In order to pinpoint the relevant features of the local notables' class, the chief goal of this essay is to analyse the role of the elites in the building and functioning of the new administrative institutions of the Dictatorship. Accordingly, the starting point of this work is the thorny debate of the Sicilian annexation that is part of the Italian unification process during the Risorgimento. In particular, by investigating the Garibaldinian military and police records, it is possible to approach this problem from a different perspective. Given the importance of their role in the Sicilian countryside, the local notables that operated in the new institutions had a considerable manoeuvring space. Particularly, in the inner part of the island they endeavoured to maintain the traditional economic and social relationship and the local power system. The attitude of Garibaldi's government towards these local notables and the role of Francesco Crispi as segretario di Stato dell'Interno (Minister of the Interior) are therefore fundamental to understand the background of the Italian Unification.