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| 1848, Jan. 12 |
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| Palermo. A rising resulted from the economic problems of the lower classes and Neapolitan rule. The liberals declared the fall of the royal house and forced the king in Naples to grant a constitution (Jan. 27). | 1 |
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| March 18 |
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| Milanese republicans called a massive demonstration. The Austrian government and the liberals opposed the uprising, but Radetzky, whose troops controlled Milan, was advised to keep the troops out of the demonstration. When people attacked the government palace and forced the government to agree to their demands, Radetzky was sent in with his troops. The barricades in Milan proved much stronger than elsewhere in Europe, and Radetzky feared intervention by Piedmont. Students led the revolutionary attacks and drove Radetzky's forces back through the city until he withdrew on March 23. | 2 |
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| March 18 |
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| A liberal-radical government was established in Milan with Carlo Cattaneo at its head. The government abandoned the more radical and popular causes and also refused to allow dissidents from the countryside to join the urban demonstrations. These peasants and rural dissidents harassed Radetzky's forces outside the walls, but the liberal government of Milan refused to let them into the city. The liberalism of the government helped convince the Piedmontese to intervene on behalf of the Milanese. | 3 |
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| March 22 |
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| Proclamation of Venetian Republic under Daniele Manin as president, after news of the rising in Vienna. | 4 |
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| March–April |
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| Italian military intervention. Driven by nationalism, both Charles Albert and Ferdinand of Naples, the latter under pressure from the radicals, supported the Milanese revolution by sending troops after Radetzky's retreat. (March 22, Piedmont declares war on Austria.) The pope faced greater difficulty because he could not justify attacking a Catholic nation; he refused to release his troops and published a somewhat ambiguous statement supporting all Catholic peoples. | 5 |
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| May 15 |
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| Troops put down a new rising in Naples. The rising stemmed from Ferdinand's efforts to resist radical attempts to revise the constitution. Ferdinand, supported by liberals and landowners in southern Italy, drove the radical elements of the revolution out of Naples and dissolved the National Guard. | 6 |
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| May 29 |
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| Charles Albert intervened because he envisioned a unified state of Piedmont and Lombardy. He was opposed by Cattaneo and Mazzini, who feared his recent conservatism and hoped for a more liberal-democratic unity of all Italy. However, a plebiscite carried the attempt at unifying the two states practically unanimously. This action was followed by similar decisions in Parma, Modena, and Venice (the latter was blockaded by the Austrian fleet and needed Piedmont's assistance). | 7 |
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| Spring |
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| Radetzky received reinforcements from Austria and began to make considerable progress. Lamartine urged Piedmont to accept French assistance but, backed by Britain, Piedmont declined. | 8 |
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| July 24 |
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| Radetzky, greatly reinforced by fresh troops, attacked and defeated the Italian troops at the Battle of Custozza. He returned to Milan where he promised leniency and signed the Armistice of Salasco (Aug. 9) with Piedmont, which gave up Lombardy. | 9 |
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| Aug |
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| Popular uprisings in both Tuscany and Bologna were put down by liberal governments, but growing unrest surrounding Pius IX's conservatism proved a larger threat. On Nov. 15, the pope's leading liberal minister was assassinated. | 10 |
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| Nov. 16 |
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| Demonstrations in the streets of Rome protested the assassination. Crowds were supported by the armed forces, National Guard, and volunteers returning from Lombardy. The pope agreed to support a radical government that called for the election of a constituent assembly. The government abolished the tax on flour and began to create public works to ease the economic hardship. | 11 |
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| Nov. 24 |
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| The pope fled to Neapolitan protection. | 12 |
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