Editing Unification of Italy (section)

===Expedition of the Thousand===
{{Main|Expedition of the Thousand}}
[[File:Giuseppe Garibaldi 1861.jpg|thumb|[[Giuseppe Garibaldi]], celebrated as one of the greatest generals of modern times<ref name="scholar and patriot">{{cite web |url={{Google books|iWK7AAAAIAAJ |page=PA133 |keywords=Garibaldi+one+of+the+greatest+generals+of+modern+time |text= |plainurl=yes}}|title=Scholar and Patriot|publisher=Manchester University Press|via=Google Books}}</ref> and as the "Hero of the Two Worlds" because of his military enterprises in South America and Europe,<ref name="Garibaldi on Encyclopædia Britannica">{{cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/225978/Giuseppe-Garibaldi |title=Giuseppe Garibaldi (Italian revolutionary) |access-date=6 March 2014 | url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226091529/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/225978/Giuseppe-Garibaldi |archive-date=26 February 2014 }}</ref> who commanded and fought in many military campaigns that led to the unification of Italy]]

Thus, by early 1860, only five states remained in Italy—the Austrians in Venetia, the [[Papal States]] (now minus the Legations), the new expanded Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, the [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]], and [[San Marino]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Barbagallo|first=Francesco|title=Mezzogiorno e questione meridionale|year=1980|publisher=Guida|location=Napoli|page=9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Seaman|first=L. C. B.|chapter=Proved Only Negative Propositions|title=The Unification of Italy, 1859–1861: Cavour, Mazzini, or Garibaldi?|editor1-last=Delzell|editor1-first=Charles|year=1980|publisher=Hold, Rinehart, and Winston|location=New York|page=72}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Commissione nazionale per la pubblicazione dei carteggi del Conte di Cavour |title=Camillo Cavour: Epistolario |publisher=Olschki |year=2005 |volume=17 |location=Firenze |page=2944 |quote=La Sicilia sarà una delle più belle gemme della sua corona; ed uno degli elementi più vitali della nazione.}}</ref>

[[Francis II of the Two Sicilies]], the son and successor of [[Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies|Ferdinand II]] (the infamous "King Bomba"), had a well-organized army of 150,000 men. But his father's tyranny had inspired many secret societies, and the kingdom's [[Swiss mercenaries]] were unexpectedly recalled home under the terms of a new Swiss law that forbade Swiss citizens to serve as mercenaries. This left Francis with only his mostly unreliable native troops. It was a critical opportunity for the unification movement. In April 1860, separate insurrections began in [[Messina]] and [[Palermo]] in Sicily, both of which had demonstrated a history of opposing Neapolitan rule. These rebellions were easily suppressed by loyal troops.

In the meantime, [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]], a native of Nice, was deeply resentful of the French annexation of his home city. He hoped to use his supporters to regain the territory. Cavour, terrified of Garibaldi provoking a war with France, persuaded Garibaldi to instead use his forces in the Sicilian rebellions. On 6 May 1860, Garibaldi and his cadre of about a thousand Italian volunteers (called ''[[Redshirts (Italy)|I Mille]]''), steamed from [[Quarto dei Mille|Quarto]] near [[Genoa]], and, after a stop in [[Talamone]] on 11 May, landed near [[Marsala]] on the west coast of Sicily.

Near [[Salemi]], Garibaldi's army attracted scattered bands of rebels, and the combined forces defeated the [[Army of the Two Sicilies]] at the [[Battle of Calatafimi]] on 13 May. Within three days, the invading force had swelled to 4,000 men. On 14 May Garibaldi proclaimed himself [[Dictatorship of Garibaldi|dictator of Sicily]], in the name of Victor Emmanuel. After waging various successful but hard-fought battles, Garibaldi advanced upon the Sicilian capital of Palermo, announcing his arrival by beacon-fires kindled at night. On 27 May the force began the [[Siege of Palermo]], while a mass uprising of street and barricade fighting broke out within the city.

[[File:Battle of Calatafimi.jpg|thumb|[[Battle of Calatafimi]]]]
With Palermo deemed insurgent, Neapolitan general [[Ferdinando Lanza]], arriving in Sicily with some 25,000 troops, furiously bombarded Palermo nearly to ruins. With the intervention of a British admiral, an armistice was declared, leading to the Neapolitan troops' departure and surrender of the town to Garibaldi and his much smaller army.

This resounding success demonstrated the weakness of the Neapolitan government. Garibaldi's fame spread and many Italians began to consider him a national hero. Doubt, confusion, and dismay overtook the Neapolitan court—the king hastily summoned his ministry and offered to restore an earlier constitution, but these efforts failed to rebuild the people's trust in [[House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies|Bourbon]] governance.

Six weeks after the surrender of Palermo, Garibaldi attacked Messina. Within a week, its citadel surrendered. Having conquered Sicily, Garibaldi proceeded to the mainland, crossing the [[Strait of Messina]] with the Neapolitan fleet at hand. The garrison at [[Reggio Calabria]] promptly surrendered. As he marched northward, the populace everywhere hailed him, and military resistance faded: on 18 and 21 August, the people of [[Basilicata]] and [[Apulia]], two regions of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, independently declared their annexation to the Kingdom of Italy. At the end of August, Garibaldi was at [[Cosenza]], and, on 5 September, at [[Eboli]], near [[Salerno]]. Meanwhile, [[Naples]] had declared a state of siege, and on 6 September the king gathered the 4,000 troops still faithful to him and retreated over the [[Volturno|River Volturno]]. The next day, Garibaldi, with a few followers, entered by train into Naples, where the people openly welcomed him.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/spedizione-dei-mille/|title=Spedizione Dei Mille nell'Enciclopedia Treccani|work=Treccani, l'Enciclopedia italiana|access-date=30 September 2014}}</ref>