The Expedition of the Thousand, led by Giuseppe Garibaldi in 1860, was a pivotal moment in the Italian unification process. Garibaldi, a key figure in the Risorgimento, organized and executed a daring campaign to conquer the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Starting from Genoa, he and around 1,000 volunteers sailed to Sicily, where they rapidly gained support among the local population disillusioned with Bourbon rule. This campaign saw numerous battles against the royal forces, with Garibaldi’s troops employing a mix of guerrilla tactics and traditional military strategies. His charismatic leadership and ability to rally men to his cause played a crucial role in his successes during this expedition.

After a series of victories, including the crucial battles of Palermo and Calatafimi, Garibaldi advanced onto the mainland, further expanding his conquests. On October 26, he arrived in the northern town of Teano, where he famously met with King Victor Emmanuel II, in a moment symbolic of the merging of Garibaldi’s revolutionary fervor with the monarchist agenda of the House of Savoy. In this historic encounter, Garibaldi presented his captured territories to the King, willingly yielding his command and effectively placing the unification process under the royal banner of Sardinia, thus illustrating the complex relationship between republican and monarchist ideals within the movement for Italian unification.