Museum of the Risorgimento

The Museum of the Risorgimento (Museo del Risorgimento) in Milan, Italy, is a civic museum dedicated to the history of Italian unification from Napoleon's first Italian campaign in 1796 to the capture of Rome in 1870. Housed since 1951 in the 18th-century Palazzo Moriggia, the museum forms part of the Civic Historical Collections (Civiche Raccolte Storiche) of Milan. Its holdings comprise artworks, relics, weapons, prints, and documents that trace the military and political struggles of the Risorgimento, with particular emphasis on Milan's pivotal role, notably the 1848 Five Days of Milan uprising against Austrian rule.

The museum originated from a core collection of Risorgimento documents and artifacts gathered for the Italian General Exhibition in Turin in 1884. Prominent Milanese figures including Carlo d'Adda, Cesare Correnti, Gian Alfonso Casati, Enrico Guastalla, Giovanni Visconti Venosta, and artists Gerolamo Induno and Eleuterio Pagliano contributed to the collection. After the Turin exhibition, the materials returned to Milan and were installed in the showroom at the Public Gardens of Porta Venezia, where the museum was officially founded on 24 June 1886. In 1896 the exhibition moved to the Rocchetta rooms at the Sforza Castle. Following Allied bombardment of the castle in 1943, the museum was temporarily relocated to the ground floor of Casa Manzoni, the former home of writer Alessandro Manzoni. It found its permanent home in 1950-1951 when it was transferred to Palazzo Moriggia. A major refurbishment in 1998 redesigned the permanent exhibition spaces, updated lighting and information systems, and improved the Romantic Garden behind the building.

The museum's collections span the period from 1796 to 1870, encompassing the Napoleonic era, the Restoration, the 1848 revolutions, the Italian Wars of Independence, and the final unification of Italy. The chronological exhibition path guides visitors through fourteen historical rooms, augmented by a new Weapons Room. The holdings include paintings, sculptures, prints, weapons, flags, personal relics, and documents. The Napoleonic section is particularly strong, featuring original standards of the Lombard Legion Cacciatori a Cavallo from 1796 and the green-and-silver velvet cloak with regal insignia from Napoleon Bonaparte's coronation as King of Italy in 1805. The collections also preserve items associated with key figures such as Silvio Pellico and Giuseppe Garibaldi, including a poncho with red shirt belonging to Garibaldi and a Bible presented by English noblewomen.

The painting collection is especially significant, with works documenting major events from the Five Days of Milan through the capture of Rome. For the 1848 uprising, the museum holds Carlo Canella's Combat at Porta Tosa during the Five Days, Carlo Bossoli's The Retreat of the Austrians from the Porta Tosa Toll and The Armoury of Nobleman Uboldi Plundered by the Milanese Insurgents, and Baldassare Verazzi's Episode from the Five Days. The Roman Republic of 1849 is represented by Pietro Bouvier's Garibaldi and Major Leggero Carrying the Dying Anita through the Comacchio Marshes. The Second War of Independence is depicted in Gerolamo Induno's Battle of Magenta, Eleuterio Pagliano's Capture of the Cemetery of Solferino, and Domenico Induno's Milan at the News of the Armistice of Villafranca. The Expedition of the Thousand is commemorated by Gerolamo Induno's The Embarkation of the Thousand at Quarto, while the Third War of Independence is marked by his Entry of Victor Emmanuel II into Venice. The capture of Rome appears in Carlo Ademollo's The Breach of Porta Pia and Luigi Riva's The Roman Plebiscite. The museum also preserves Francesco Hayez's 1840 Portrait of Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria and sculptures by Giannino Castiglioni. Among historical relics, the original tricolor that flew over Milan Cathedral on 20 March 1848 and the bell from the tower of Piazza dei Mercanti that broke while ringing to summon the populace to revolt hold particular significance.

The Museum of the Risorgimento is located at Palazzo Moriggia in Milan, Italy. It operates as part of the Civic Historical Collections under municipal ownership. The permanent exhibition follows a chronological sequence through fifteen rooms including the recently added Weapons Room. The 1998 renovation enhanced the presentation of collection highlights and improved visitor facilities including the Romantic Garden at the rear of the building. The museum's official website is http://www.museodelrisorgimento.mi.it/.