Rassegna storica del Risorgimento

158
Ronald E, Coons
Italian city of Ferara. As soon as the Pope had received intelligence of what had transpired at Ferara, he forthwith despatched a protest to the Austrian Government, against what he conceived an unwarrantable treapass upon the soil of his dominìons. Owing to the great dislike which the Italians entertain for the Germans, togelher with the universa! popularity of the Pope, this tep of the entrance of the Imperiai troops, into one of the Italian cities produced the utmost excitement throughont ali Italy; not only in Rome, bnt also in Florence, Bologna, Leghorn, Lucca and Genoa, the people bave arisen almost in mass, and without regard to their different governments, bave made the strongest demonslrations, against the Imperiai Government and in favor of the sovereign Pontili. Charles Albert, king of Sardinia, promptly sent to ali the Power a protest against the occupation of Ferara, by the Austrians, and at the same time addressed the Pope and placed at his disposition, his entire army and navy, in case the independance of the Pontificai States should be attacked by Austria. The Grand Duke of Tuscany and the Duke of Lucca, notwithstanding their con nections with the Imperiai crown, have been forced by their people into the Baine wake and compelled not only to establish national guards but to pledge themselves, and to declare by proclamation, their intention to enter upon the path of progress, and to adopt such reforms as might be necessary for the happiness of their people. This excitement has even extende d to the city of Milan, within the Imperiai dominions, where violent disturbances and outbreaks have occurred between die populace and the military, the former attacking and disarming the latter, whilst shouting long live Pius 9th! and down with the Germans! In the meantime the Austrian cabinet have answered the protest of the Pope in the following nianner viz that the occupation of the city of Ferara was ordered by Radetzky (the commander of the Austrian troops dn that city) alone, who had however been invested with the power of judging when it might be right and necessary to take such a step, that this proceeding was not considered an infringement of the rigbts of the Sovereign PontiiT, but was a right vested in the Emperor by the treaty of Vienna, and that if His Holiness was of a different opinion, Austria consented to have the matter referred to an arbiter, at the choice of the Holy Father .7) Tis true that by the terms of artiole 103 in the treaty of Vienna,8) a right was reserved to the Austrian government of occupying, for the defence of their frontier, the place de Ferara*, and by which the Austrians imply a right to keep a garrison in the town, but which the Italiana, on the other band, deny, whilst they contend, that as the word place, in French, significa as they say, a fortified town, that ergo they, the Austrians, should be confined to the citadel, and not perniìtted to enter the town. In this dispute the Austrians would seem to be in the right, not only on
7) In questo brano, Stiles non citava un documento esplicito, piuttosto ricapitolava la politica austrìaca circa la questione di Ferrara. L'affermazione che Mettermeli fosse dispo­sto ad accettare una soluzione negoziata si riferisce, probabilmente, all'offerta di media­zione proposta dal ministro prussiano a Roma, conte Uscdom; cfr. NICOMEDE BIANCHI, Sto­ria documentata della diplomazia europea in Italia dall'anno 1814 all'anno 1861, Torino, 1865-1872, voi. V, pp. 27-28, e 403-405.
8 Per l'articolo 103 del Trattato di Vienna vedi Aden des Wiener Congresses in den Jahren 1814-1815, a cura di JOHANN LUDWIG KLÌÌBEH, Osnabrìick, 1966, edizione ristam­pata, voi. VI, p. 86.