![]() ![]() ![]() This epic story, in Jonathan Keates's gripping and meticulously-researched account, embraces the wider world of the revolutionary Italy of Garibaldi, Mazzini and Pope Pius IX, warrior priests, militant actresses, death-or-glory poets, a Mata Hari-type siren spy and a rebel princess. The city braced itself for a siege lasting more than a year, ending only when bombardment, cholera and starvation made further resistance impossible. When the Austrians returned with a massive army, intent on recapturing Venice, Manin rejected their surrender demands. Led by the Jewish lawyer Daniele Manin, a man of immense courage and personal integrity, they embraced the lofty values of the Risorgimento, Italy's struggle for national unity, freedom and justice. After half a century of Habsburg imperial rule, the Venetians drove out the occupying army and established their own republic. The siege of Venice in 1848 is one of history's most thrilling and tragic episodes. ![]()
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