Brigandage in the Two Sicilies

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A small band of brigandes from Bisaccia, photographed in 1862.

Brigandage in the Two Sicilies had existed in some form since ancient times, however its origins as outlaws targeting random travellers would evolve vastly later on in the form of the political resistance movement form of brigandage in the Two Sicilies. During the time of the Napoleonic conquest of the Kingdom of Naples, the first signs of political resistance brigandage came to public light, as the Bourbon loyalists of the country refused to accept the new Bonapartist rulers and actively fought against them until the Bourbon monarchy had been reinstated.^[1]

It was during the Italian unification in 1861, the invasion of Giuseppe Garibaldi and the Kingdom of Sardinia in the name of the House of Savoy that the most famous and well known form of brigandage in the area emerged. Once the Two Sicilies had been taken, social unrest, especially among the lower classes occurred due to poor conditions and the fact that the "risorgimento" benefited only the bourgeoisie vast-land owning classes.^[1] Many turned to brigandage in the mountains and hills of Basilicata, Campania, Calabria and Abruzzo to continue the fight against the northern invaders. Amongst the brigandes were a mixture of people, with different working backgrounds and motives, but the same desire to defeat the common enemy, the brigandes included; people who the Italian government considered criminals, many former soldiers and loyalists of the Bourbon army, poverty stricken farmers who had fled due to extortionate Italian taxes placed on them and peasants who wanted land reforms, both men and women took up arms.^[1]

They launched attacks against the Italian authorities (who were regarded as foreigners) and the land owning upper-classes, coming to be viewed by many of the common people as Robin Hood like figures, some of them gained celebrity in the area via the spreading of their stories.^[1] Especially after passing the Legge Pica legislation in 1863, an extremely strong handed repression of the brigandes by the Italian authorities picked up; it also brutally allowed the execution of relatives and those suspected with collaborating or helping a brigande.^[2] Villages such as Pontelandolfo and Casalduni are famous for the massacre of innocent civilians by the northern Italian authorities. In total several thousand southerners were arrested and executed, while many more were also deported or fled the country.^[1]