1. The Battle of Curtatone and Montanara (May 29, 1848)

In 1848, Italy was swept by the revolutionary fervor of the First War of Independence. Milan had risen during the Five Days of the city against Austrian rule, and Charles Albert of Savoy had declared war on the Habsburg Empire. In this context, volunteers from across the peninsula rushed to fight for national unity and independence.

Among the most passionate protagonists of this patriotic surge were the students and professors from Tuscan universities. Organized into university battalions, these young people — many of whom had just left their school benches — headed to the Veneto region to join the Piedmontese army.

On May 29, 1848, near the areas of Curtatone and Montanara (particularly in the zone known as Quattro Venti), these Tuscan volunteers faced the Austrian troops commanded by Field Marshal Radetzky. Despite being outnumbered and poorly armed, the young university students fought with extraordinary courage, holding off the imperial forces for hours and allowing the Piedmontese army to regroup.

The battle ended with heavy losses among the Tuscan volunteers. Many young men, who had left Florence, Pisa, and Siena full of youthful enthusiasm and faith in the ideals of the Risorgimento, fell on the Mantuan fields. Their sacrifice immediately became a symbol of the Italian Risorgimento and national unity.

Today, in the Quattro Venti area, a monument commemorates these heroes. This site marks the first point on our journey along the Road of Freedom, representing the beginning of an ideal path that spans nearly a century of Italian history.