Memorie D'un Disertore, Vol. 3/3: Storia D'una Famiglia Di Patriotti

A historical novel written in the late 19th century. Set amid the Piedmontese ferment of revolution, it follows a family of patriots swept into student uprisings, military mutinies, and the court’s intrigues around Carlo Alberto’s hesitation. The narrative centers on ardent young conspirators like Giorgio Santafiori, Ernesto Gastone, and Pietro Muschietti, counterpoised with the calculating Salomone Arena and the magistrate Tacchini. Expect action, political maneuvering, and stark moral choices about loyalty, love, and sacrifice. The opening of the novel moves from the bloody repression of students in Turin to the first sparks of revolt: Alessandria rises, while Ferrero attempts a daring but understrength sortie near Porta Nuova, saved only when Ernesto shoots down a royal colonel who tries to sway the troops. Inside the Turin Citadel, Gambini and Giorgio seize the initiative by overpowering the commander Des Geneis, hoisting tricolors and rallying the garrison, which pushes the wavering Carlo Alberto to proclaim a constitution after Muschietti confronts him at gunpoint. The scene then shifts to a provincial town where the ruthless Sindaco Salomone Arena begs help for his arrested son and strikes a sordid bargain with Tacchini: his daughter Giusta’s hand in marriage in exchange for acquittal and safe-conduct. Arena intercepts letters, reveals that Giorgio too has been imprisoned, and, under family pressure, Giusta consents in principle while seeking proof. A brief historical interlude sketches the revolution’s weaknesses and the court’s countermoves, before returning to Giorgio on sentry duty overhearing the prince’s midnight soliloquy, torn between revolutionary promises and dynastic loyalty.