The city of Penne was the site of three uprisings in the Nineteenth Century. The first, in 1814, was against Joachim Murat and the French occupation of the Kingdom of Naples. The other two, in 1837 and in 1848-49, tried to overthrow Ferdinando II, king of the Two Sicilies. None of the three were successful, but all three had a role in the eventual decline of the Bourbon Dynasty and its eventual collapse as well as in the unification of Italy. The personal cost to the patriots of Penne was great. Many were condemned to long prison sentences as political prisoners, forced to be continuously chained to other inmates in miserable conditions. Others were exiled or forced to hide, far from their families, their homes, and from a normal life; eight were sentenced to death. This book recounts the story of the uprisings in more detail than told by Giovanni De Caesaris and Luigi Polacchi, using genealogical research that reveals new details and paints a more complete picture of these men in terms of family and familial relationships. The book is divided into two parts. The first recounts the history of the three uprisings and other significant political events from 1814 to 1870. The second part contains an entry for every person identified as a patriot of Penne as well as others who interacted with them during that period. For each of the 245 persons listed there is information concerning their activities, their parents, siblings, spouses, their spouse's family, and their children, as well as notes on their relatives who were also involved in patriotic actions.
