Sicilian independentists march to remember the Camiciotti revolt against the Bourbon army in 1848

The event called by the Vespro Committee (Comitato Vespro) with support of Antudo, Gran Sicilia and Fajdda was held on September 7th. Since its foundation the Committee has guided its course on the assumption that Sicilian history can become a terrain of political struggle when it is freed from the misrepresentation and falsifications imposed by the colonial system. "With this new appointment we intend to recall to mind that glorious episode of our history and to reaffirm our ever stronger determination against the internalizing devices of colonialism. - say the organizers who continue: "Today as yesterday, in fact, Sicily is a colony; the Sicilian people are subordinate. By erasing our identity, our values ​​and the heroisms of our ancestors, they have taken away our ability to inspire us into our past to make us manipulable and submissive. Not phantom and improbable saviors coming from outside, but only a people aware of their identity and aware of their own strength can save Sicily ”.

The procession, rich in flags marched through the roads of Messina that, in September 1848, were affected by the popular mobs of opposition to the Bourbon army. Messina remembers the heroic example of the Camiciotti during the 5 days of Messina, a revolt against the oppression of the Bourbons which lasted from 3 to 7 September 1848.

The Camiciotti were the components of two battalions that together reached about 1000 units of the total 6000 that opposed the invader. They were young with poor military training but, despite this, they proved to be the most disciplined and generous. In fact, after fighting fiercely against the Bourbon army, they lost their lives trying to cover up the flight of their comrades. The 5 days of Messina mark a very important historical passage within the scenario of European revolutions. Many still try to give a false interpretation of those days. Many tell the Sicilian '48 (and even before '47) as if it were the revolt of the people that started the Italian Risorgimento and that already carried within it the demands of the Unity of Italy. What we know with certainty is that '48 was a year of revolts in Sicily against the Bourbons. Those who claimed to use it as a possession, subjecting it to wanting away from the interests of the Sicilians. Reasons that led to the establishment of the Sicilian Republic. Remembering these events is important because it is important to rebuild a Sicilian historical memory erased by more than 150 years of colonization.

After the procession, an artistic-cultural moment was held on the theme of the 5 days of Messina
In Largo Seggiola the memory of the heroic Camiciotti and the 5 Giornate