Silvio Pellico was a member of the secret sect known as the “Federati” (Federated). This was discovered by the Austrian police, and Pellico, Piero Maroncelli, Melchiorre Gioia, and others were arrested. From Milan, they were taken to the Piombi prison in Venice. Here, on February 21, 1822, the verdict in the famous Maroncelli-Pellico trial was read. The defendants were sentenced to death. However, both received commuted sentences: 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for Maroncelli, 15 for Pellico, to be served in the Spielberg fortress. On the night between March 25 and 26, 1822, they set out: via Udine and Ljubljana, they reached the Spielberg fortress in Brno, Moravia. Pellico spent 10 long years in prison. His ordeal in prison was the subject of his memoir, “My Prisons,” which enjoyed great popularity and had a significant influence on the Risorgimento movement. Metternich would later admit that the book had damaged Austria more than a lost battle. Pellico would also write the Memoirs after his release, a text that has since been lost.
