A revolt broke out in Sicily in early April 1860 against Bourbon rule in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The unrest helped convince Giuseppe Garibaldi and his supporters that a volunteer landing could spark a wider collapse of Bourbon control. This set the immediate backdrop for the Expedition of the Thousand.
On the night of May 5–6, 1860, Garibaldi embarked from Quarto (near Genoa) with just over 1,000 volunteers, later famous as the “Thousand.” The group aimed to overthrow Bourbon power in southern Italy and help unify Italy under King Victor Emmanuel II. The departure was risky: the expedition had limited training, money, and weapons.
Garibaldi’s force landed at the port of Marsala on Sicily’s western coast. British Royal Navy ships were present in the harbor, a circumstance that helped discourage immediate Bourbon interference during the landing. From Marsala, Garibaldi moved inland to gather local support and momentum.
At Salemi, Garibaldi declared himself “dictator of Sicily” in the name of Victor Emmanuel II. This move tried to balance revolutionary energy with loyalty to the Piedmontese monarchy, making annexation easier later. It also gave Garibaldi a formal claim to govern and raise forces on the island.
Garibaldi’s volunteers defeated a larger Bourbon force at Calatafimi, his first key battlefield success in Sicily. The victory had an effect beyond the immediate military result: it boosted morale and encouraged more Sicilians to join the campaign. It also showed Bourbon troops could be pushed back by a smaller, motivated force.
Garibaldi assaulted Palermo, the island’s capital, in late May 1860. Fighting and bombardment brought heavy damage and civilian casualties, and the Bourbon commander’s position weakened rapidly. Taking Palermo was a turning point: it gave Garibaldi a major city, supplies, and political credibility.
After days of fighting, Palermo effectively fell under Garibaldi’s control by early June. With the capital secured, the Bourbon position in Sicily became harder to defend and easier to isolate. The capture helped Garibaldi expand recruitment and continue operations toward the island’s northeast.
Garibaldi’s forces fought around Milazzo, with the decisive clash occurring on July 20. The Garibaldini victory helped secure the island, leaving only limited Bourbon holdouts, especially around Messina. With Sicily largely won, Garibaldi prepared to carry the campaign onto the mainland.
In August 1860, Garibaldi crossed the Strait of Messina and landed in Calabria. This step was politically sensitive because Prime Minister Cavour feared Garibaldi might trigger wider conflict, especially if he moved toward Rome. Militarily, the landing opened the road north through southern Italy.
Garibaldi entered Naples in triumph after Bourbon forces abandoned the city. His arrival signaled the rapid breakdown of Bourbon rule across much of the mainland kingdom. Politically, it also raised a key question: would the south join the Piedmontese monarchy or follow a more revolutionary path?
Bourbon forces launched a major attempt to regain the initiative along the Volturno River. Garibaldi’s volunteers held on and ultimately won, preventing an immediate Bourbon recovery. The battle was one of the last large field actions fought mainly by Garibaldi’s southern army before Piedmont’s regular troops took over the final phase.
Voters in the Kingdom of Naples and in Sicily took part in plebiscites on annexation. The result strongly favored joining the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia under Victor Emmanuel II, giving a legal-political basis to what had been won by arms. This was crucial for turning Garibaldi’s conquest into a recognized expansion of the northern monarchy.
Garibaldi met King Victor Emmanuel II near Teano and formally transferred authority over the conquered territories. The meeting symbolized the shift from a volunteer-led revolution to a monarchy-led unification process directed from Piedmont. It also marked the end of Garibaldi’s dictatorship in the south.
After losing Naples, King Francis II held out at the fortress of Gaeta while Piedmontese forces conducted a long siege. Gaeta surrendered in February 1861, effectively ending organized Bourbon resistance in the former Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The fall of Gaeta cleared the way for a unified Italian state to be declared.
Parliament proclaimed the Kingdom of Italy, with Victor Emmanuel II taking the title “King of Italy.” This created a new national framework that incorporated Garibaldi’s southern conquests into a single state, even though some Italian territories (notably Rome and Venetia) were still outside the kingdom at that moment. The proclamation became a key endpoint for the 1860 campaign’s political purpose: unification under one crown.
Giuseppe Garibaldi's Expedition of the Thousand and the Conquest of the Two Sicilies (May–November 1860)