Page 175 - General Giuseppe GARIBALDI - english version

THE 1860 CAMPAIGN IN SICILY 173

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and baggage on the way. On the 17 , at dawn, he reached Palermo. He had his
soldiers cover more than 50 kilometres almost all in one go, whereas he had cov-
ered that same distance in seven days on the outward journey.
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On the morning of the 16 , Castelcicala, when he still did not know about
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the fight of the 15 , had sent Mechel and the 3 rd foreign battalion on board of
the steam frigate Ercole to Castellammare as reinforcements for Landi; but once
he knew what had happened in Calatafimi he sent the Eolo steamer to bring
them back. Then he was called to Naples and left.

May 17 th - Garibaldi’s army left Calatafìmi at 5:30am and reached Alcamo,
where other squads joined them. Garibaldi signed many decrees, abolished the
levy on ground grains, appointed Crispi as his secretary of state, and appointed
also 24 governors, one for each district.
Rosalino Pilo, preceding the column in Carini, read there the letter he had
received directly from Garibaldi, announcing their victory, aroused people’s
enthusiasm, established a committee and left Tondù there to recruit the youth.

May 18 th – Garibaldi’s soldiers continued their march and crossed Partinico.
«What a pitiful sight – said Garibaldi in his «Memoirs» - we found the corpses
of the Bourbon soldiers in the streets, devoured by dogs». These were part of the
disbanded column of Landi. In Partinico he received money, powder and lead to
melt. He continued towards Borgetto and Monreale carriageway, and made a
stop on the evening near the Renda pass or Scifo Pass (after marching for 30 kilo-
metres) in a basin-shaped field at the foot of the Cicero, Agrisotto and Campana
Mountains. In so doing he crossed the threshold of the mountain area located
between Partinico and Palermo.
From a tactical point of view that was a result of the outmost importance for
him. In fact, from Mount Montanello to Mount Piatti, there is a steep moun-
tain chain crossed by the two roads of Montelepre-Bellolampo and the Renda-
Pioppo-Monreale pass, leading to Palermo.
The first road could be defended after Mount Oro, Cozzo Della Vite, Mount
Saraceno and Fior dell’Occhio and in Bellolampo. The Renda-Monreale road in
some parts became a deep and narrow gorge, a real ravine; the Buarra mountain-
side and the Monreale Mountains (Meta Grande, Castellaccio) up to the Rocca
steeply jutted out over this gorge, whereas on the other side it was exposed to
the attacks from Parco (Cozzo Lo Pigno, Cozzo Meccino). Finally, the Sagana
region, a very important one, allowed those who defended Palermo (western
front) to control both roads from very good defensive-offensive positions.