The League developed from discussions on a customs union in 1847 between Piedmont,
Tuscany and the Papal States. The Tuscan government's efforts to pursue a defensive
league in February and early March 1848 received support from Ferdinand II and, at
first, from Pius IX who, after the revolutions began in March 1848 and the war
against Austria, perceived the league as a cover for military support against Austria.
When Piedmont troops entered Lombardy in support of the revolution against Austria,
Charles Albert wanted an offensive league with immediate military aid and the
postponement of political considerations until the completion of
the war. While Cardinal Antonelli supported by Ferdinand II pushed for a congress
in Rome, Charles Albert insisted on a meeting of the states in Turin or his military
headquarters. Regional particularism thwarted the league as the Tuscan government
feared both the threat of republicanism and especially Piedmont's expansion, and
so also did the papal government and Naples, the latter faced with a separatist
movement in Sicily. Accused by the Jesuits and Austria of contributing to the
revolution by sending papal troops under General Giovanni Durando to protect the
papal frontier and ultimately to cross the Po, Pius IX issued his Allocution on
April 29, an act ending his apparent liberal tendencies and thwarting the league
negotiations. Attempts by papal ministers to revive the league (Terenzio Mamiani
in May or Pellegrino Rossi in September), or Gioberti's effort after Custoza through
his emissary, Antonio Rosmini, to press his program of a confederation headed by the
pope, failed as the Piedmontese government issued an unsuccessful counter proposal
for an alliance of independent states with common military action.
Marion S. Miller
Coppa, Frank. Pope Pius IX: Crusader in a Secular Age. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1979.
_______. Cardinal Giacomo Antonelli and Papal Politics in European Affairs. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990.
Hale, E.E.Y. Revolution and Papacy. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1966.
jgc revised this file (http://www.cats.ohiou.edu/~chastain/ip/leagital.htm) on October 21, 2004.
Please E-mail comments or suggestions to chastain@www.cats.ohiou.edu
© 1997, 2004 James Chastain.