Marsala. At the site of the 1860 landing, Garibaldi swore the oath, “Rome or death!” which would quickly become the rallying cry of democrats throughout Italy. In parliament, the military party that had governed since April 1861 knew full well that doing so would spark a war with France, Rome’s protector, with likely disastrous consequences. They did not want Garibaldi and the “extreme party” to rise again after the defeat of 1861.
