BANDIERA BROTHERS

The 'Bandiera Brothers' (in Italian: ''Fratelli Bandiera'') were Italian patriots, '''Attilio''' and '''Emilio'' ''Bandiera''', (1811–1844 and 1819–1844).

Contents

Background

Events

Aftermath

Background

The two brothers, sons of Baron ''Francesco Bandiera'', an admiral in the Austro-Hungarian Navy, were themselves members of that service, but at an early age they were won over to the ideas of Italian unification, and corresponded with ''Giuseppe Mazzini'' and other members of the ''La Giovine Italia'', a revolutionary secret society.
During the year 1843 the air was full of different conspiracies and various other ill-starred attempts at nationalist uprisings were made. The ''Bandieras'' spread propaganda among the officers and enlisted men of the Austrian navy, nearly all Italians, and planned to seize a warship and bombard the city of ''Messina''. Having been betrayed by informants they fled to Corfu early in 1844.

Events

Rumours reached them there of agitation in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, where the people were being represented as ready to rise ''en masse'' at the first appearance of a leader; the ''Bandieras'', encouraged by ''Mazzini'', consequently determined to make a raid on the ''Calabrian'' coast. They got together a band of about twenty men ready to sacrifice their lives, and set sail on their desperate venture on the 12th of June, 1844. Four days later they landed near Cotrone, intending to go to ''Cosenza'', liberate the political prisoners and issue their proclamations. Tragically for the ''Bandieras'', they did not find the insurgent band which they had been told awaited them and were betrayed by one of their party, the Corsican ''Boccheciampe'', and by some peasants who believed them to be Turkish pirates.
A detachment of gendarmes and volunteers were sent against them, and after a short fight the whole band was taken prisoner and escorted to ''Cosenza'', where a number of Calabrians who had taken part in a previous rising were also under arrest. First, the Calabrians were tried by court-martial and a large number condemned to death or the galleys. The raiders’ turn came next, and the whole party, save the traitor ''Boccheciampe'', were condemned to be shot, but in the case of eight of them the sentence was commuted to the galleys. On the 23rd of July the two ''Bandieras'' and their nine companions were executed by firing squad; they cried "''Viva l’Italia''!" as they fell.

Aftermath

The moral effect was enormous throughout Italy, the action of the authorities was universally condemned, and the martyrdom of the ''Bandieras'' bore fruit the in subsequent revolutions. It also created a profound impression in Great Britain, where it was believed that the ''Bandieras’'' correspondence with ''Mazzini'' had been tampered with, and that information as to the proposed expedition had been forwarded to the Austro-Hungarian and Bourbon governments by their own Foreign Office.