The Turin Massacre was a massacre carried out by members of the Royal Italian Army (mainly Carabinieri cadets) on 21 and 22 September 1864 against groups of civilian demonstrators. The clashes occurred during popular protests against the transfer of the capital of the Kingdom of Italy from the Piedmontese city to Florence.
On the morning of 21 September 1864, clashes occurred in Piazza San Carlo between demonstrators and law enforcement. In the afternoon, a separate crowd armed with sticks moved toward the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior in Piazza Castello. There, a contingent of carabinieri cadets, defending the building, fired on the demonstrators, causing 15 casualties. On the evening of 22 September, carabinieri cadets fired on the crowd in Piazza San Carlo, striking an infantry battalion that was crossing the square. The battalion returned fire, creating a three-way crossfire between the carabinieri, the infantry, and the civilian crowd. 47 military and civilian personnel were killed in the crossfire.
The events caused the fall of the Minghetti government as well as several official inquiries by parliamentary commissions; however, all those arrested were subject to a general amnesty in February 1865.
Background: the relocation of the capital city In June 1864, taking advantage of rumors about the health of Pope Pius IX and possible uprisings in the Papal States, prime minister Marco Minghetti sent Gioacchino Napoleone Pepoli to the Italian ambassador in Paris, Costantino Nigra, with arrangements to negotiate the withdrawal of French troops from the Holy See's territories. To reach the agreement, Emperor Napoleon III required a guarantee showing the renunciation of the conquest of Rome, which had been indicated since 1861 by the Italian government as the ideal capital of the kingdom; Pepoli asked if moving the Italian capital from Turin to another city, something already assumed by the government, could provide adequate guarantee; the emperor confirmed that he would certainly sign the agreement with that condition. Victor Emmanuel II was informed in August, upon Pepoli's return.
On 11 September 1864 Minghetti informed Minister Menabrea that the king accepted the treaty, moving the capital to Florence for purely strategic reasons.
The convention was then officially signed on 15 September 1864. At the request of Victor Emmanuel II, the binding protocol to move the seat of government was kept separate and secret within six months of the signing to prevent it from appearing "the result of pressure from a foreign government."
Dissemination of the news in Turin
Despite ministerial secrecy, details of the agreement began to circulate as early as August 26 of that year. Turin newspapers, linked to political factions, took different positions on the agreement. The Minghetti government could count on Gazzetta ufficiale, the voice of the ministry, and on L'Opinione, directed by Giacomo Dina; it was also supported by La Stampa (different from the later newspaper of the same name), directed by Paulo Fambri and linked to Ubaldino Peruzzi and Silvio Spaventa, and the Gazzetta di Torino, linked to Luigi Menabrea. Then there were Senator Carlo Alfieri's Discussione, Monarchia nazionale linked to Urbano Rattazzi and the center-left, and Il Diritto linked to the left-wing. The anticlerical Gazzetta del popolo was headed by Giovan Battista Bottero.
On 16 September, the day after the signing, L'Opinione published the agreement, with no mention of the secret protocol; on 18 September Gazzetta del popolo reported the erroneous rumor (which had spread the previous day) that the condition imposed by the French side was the relocation of the capital to Florence. The dissemination of fragmentary news then led to speculation and accusations against the government; there were even rumors of ceding Piedmontese territory to France.
On 20 September a demonstration was held in the streets of the city with shouts against the relocation of the capital ("Down with the ministry!, Rome or Turin!, Down with the agreement!, Long live Garibaldi!") and with the participation of a large number of people (five or six thousand according to some sources). The relocation of the capital was seen by many as a threat to the economic development of the city, as can be seen below:
In addition, about 100 people gathered in Piazza Castello to protest with whistles against the headquarters of the Gazzetta di Torino, leaving after a short time without incident. The paper that day had published an articleThe article is fully reproduced in Rossi & Gabotto 1915, pp. 21–22 which, although in favor of the agreement, was supposed to pacify the people of Turin; it was "sent by the Court to the paper at the desire of the king himself, who was quite mistaken as to the effect it would produce, and to which none of the courtiers had the good sense to advise against its publication.In 1884 the article was attributed to the king himself. Cf. V.L., Vittorio Emanuele giornalista, in Corriere della Sera, January 9, 1884.
Events
21 September The afternoon
The extraordinary city council was scheduled for 2 pm. to discuss the relocation of the capital. Various people gathered under the windows to get news; protests also occurred and copies of the Gazzetta di Torino were burned.
In the lack of news from the ongoing city council, people quickly dispersed, while a small group of young people headed to Piazza San Carlo to the printing press of the Gazzetta di Torino with some Italian flags. The owner went to the police headquarters to request help, while others prevented the group from entering. Orders then came from the police headquarters to disperse the gatherings, seize the flags and arrest those carrying them. Numerous public security guards (mainly cadets) rushed to the scene and unsheathed their daggers against the gathering of people, who, taken by surprise, responded with stones; the guards then chased and beat the people outside the square as well, striking and throwing bystanders and passers-by to the ground and even those who were in charge of defending the printing press.
Twenty-nine people were taken to the police station, including some injured; a new group began to form in front of the building, and the guards came out again with daggers in their fists, but were stopped by their superiors. The group outside, which had become large, demanded the release of those arrested, considering the guards' action disproportionate; stones were also thrown at the windows.
The police headquarters was now besieged, and a delegation from the city council arrived (Rignon, Pateri Corsi, Moris and Villa) who, failing to calm the crowd, advised the police commissioner to release the arrested (the return of the flags was also requested). A pacification of the square was thus achieved.
Evening
Several gatherings of people formed in the city starting at 5 pm, first under the city hall and then under the mayor's residence; the latter on both occasions tried to persuade the protesters to respect the law.
A crowd had gathered in Piazza San Carlo to protest against the Turin Gazette and the police headquarters. Carabinieri cadets, armed with loaded rifles, were stationed in the square, followed by numerous troops (bersaglieri, cavalry and infantry) while the National Guard rode through the adjacent streets; the aim was to keep the square clear and disperse the gatherings. Despite some provocations against the soldiers by throwing stones, the crowd began to thin out.
Two squads (one of carabinieri cadets) were arranged in Piazza Castello, dispersing a first group directed against the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior. Another group of demonstrators, armed with sticks, entered the square and headed for the ministry toward the carabinieri cadets; after a brief uproar, two gunshots were heard, followed by a line of fire aimed at the population. After an initial moment of surprise, the square emptied leaving only dead and injured people.
Rescue efforts began; a gathering also formed, throwing stones at the carabinieri, who then retreated toward the Ministry headquarters.
During the night the bersaglieri arrested eight people who had taken weapons from a gunsmith's store.
22 September Reactions to the events of the previous evening
An exchange of communications took place between Victor Emmanuel II and Marco Minghetti the morning after the first massacre.
There were a few demonstrations during the day against the printing press of the Turin Gazette, but these were easily dispersed.
Evening
In the evening, several gatherings formed around the city which insulted the carabinieri and public security officers present in the streets and reached Piazza San Carlo. In the square, defending the police headquarters, were the carabinieri, infantry and public security officers, but without coordination between the different corporations. The square was crowded, however, and carriages passed regularly. The presence of the carabinieri was the cause of insults, as they were accused of firing on helpless citizens the day before; the commanders' proposal to withdraw the carabinieri from the square to avoid incidents was not approved by the police commissioner.
A vast cackling gathering, described as consisting largely of drunkards, arrived in the square and began cursing at the carabinieri present and throwing stones at the police headquarters. The police commissioner then ordered more troops out, including carabinieri cadets, to ward off those who were present. As intimations were being made for the crowd to disperse, gunshots were heard and the carabinieri fired toward the center of the square, hitting an infantry battalion that was crossing it; public security officers in turn fired from the door of the police headquarters. In the ensuing confusion, numerous shots were fired from various directions by the military officers present; when the firing finally succeeded, numerous dead and injured people remained on the ground in the square.
In the square, at the foot of the monument of Emmanuel Philibert, bullet marks are still visible to this day.
The victims
Data on deaths and injuries on the two days were collected by Dr. Giuseppe Rizzetti; his report was later published in at least three different versions (the first contained data updated as of 10 October,Report in Ara, pp. 129–163. the second as of Oct 13 of the same month,Report published by the printing house of Gazzetta del Popolo and the third updated in November).
The third version indicated 15 deaths from the 21 September events in Piazza Castello and 47 deaths from the 22 September events in Piazza San Carlo, respectively. A total of 138 injured were reported, but it is estimated that the actual number was higher, as some of the injured might have chosen to treat themselves "without medical intervention in order not to incur criminal penalties or to protect the family from possible retaliation."
The dead on 22 September included four military personnel; there were injured military personnel on both days.
The victims were buried in Turin's Monumental Cemetery "in a distinct square of earth to the northwest."
Deaths in Piazza Castello
Ceresito Ernesto (age 18), from Acqui, shopkeeper, unmarried. Constantin Giovanni (23), from Prarostino (Pinerolo), shopkeeper, died 7 October Dalla Lana Giulio (17), from Trento, printer, unmarried Gandiglio Vittorio (17), from Turin, bank clerk, unmarried Gauthier Vincenzo (50), from Vercelli, private secretary, married Genovese Serafino (18), from Montiglio, baker, single Gianoglio Alessandro (22), from Pinerolo, liquorman, died 28 October Guerra Mattia (23), from Vicenza, baker, died 22 September Longo Giuseppe (22), from Verzuolo, tailor, unmarried Mayer Giuseppina wife Bertino (20), from Tronzano, dwelling in Vercelli, died 23 October Meinardi Olisio (23), from San Giusto Canavese, carpenter