SUI CAMPI DELLA LIBERTÀ: LA BATTAGLIA DI CURTATONE E MONTANARA

A wave of freedom sweeps across Europe: it is 1848, a year of revolutions, ideals, and hopes. Italy also rises up against foreign rule. While the populations of Venice, Milan, and Brescia revolt, on May 29, 1848, the Mantua area becomes the scene of one of the most heroic battles of the Risorgimento: the Battle of Curtatone and Montanara.

Here, young university students from Pisa and Siena, together with volunteers and soldiers from the Kingdom of Naples and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, bravely and patriotically faced the Austrian troops of Field Marshal Radetzky. Despite the disproportionate forces, their resistance lasted seven hours, marking a moment of great civil and military value.

The episode, remembered as one of the noblest pages of the Risorgimento, combines heroism and sacrifice: young men in their early twenties, professors, and ordinary citizens fought side by side for an ideal of freedom and independence. The battle was not limited to a military event, but became a symbol of national identity and collective courage.
 

Today, memories of those days live on in the battle sites scattered between Curtatone, Montanara, San Silvestro, and Le Grazie. The historical route of monuments allows visitors to retrace the events where the fighting took place:

• Corte Spagnola, headquarters of the resistance and now the town hall of Montanara, with a plaque commemorating the 257 Italian soldiers who died;
• Palazzo Cavalcabò, the scene of fierce fighting;
• The Parish Church of Montanara, hit during the battle;
• Corte Pierina and Loghino Sissa, where doctors treated the wounded;
• The Ossuary of Montanara, a memorial monument that houses the remains of the volunteers;
• The Mill and the Fortress of Montanara, the last bastions of defense;
• The monument to the Fallen of the Battle, in memory of the Tuscan students who fought to their last breath.

The citizens of Curtatone wanted to preserve the memory of that feat in the names of their streets: streets such as Via dei Toscani, Via Siena, Via Ateneo Pisano, Via Leopoldo Pilla, Via Pisa, and many others commemorate the protagonists, places, and combatants of the battle. The elementary school in Montanara is dedicated to Carlo Lorenzini, better known as Collodi, author of Pinocchio and a combatant on that historic day.

Visiting the sites of the Battle of Curtatone and Montanara today means immersing oneself in a story of courage and ideals, where the passion of young students and soldiers immortalized a page of freedom.