Afterwards Became the Fi Rst King 0.1 Sardinia,Ailied Himsell with Austria
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- 26- afterwa rds became th e fi rst king 0.1 Sardinia,aIlied himsell with A ustria against France and Spain. The siege vigorously ma inta ine d by th e French troop s, is remember ed in our history for the in vincible braver y of th e tr oop s and citizens, vigilant over th e de fense of Turin, and for th e heroism of Pietro Micca (page 121), the humble pion eer soldi er from Sa glian o in th e Biellese, who on the nigh t th e 29th of Aug ust to close the entrance to the invadors, set alight to a min e and buried himself with them under the ruins of an underground gall er y of th e Citad el. The Prince Eu gen e ca me in aid of th e distressed city; and th e siege terminated on th e 7th September with th e glorious victor y of th e Mad on na di Cam pagna, gained by th e two pri nces of Savoy, Victor Amadeus II and Euge ne, over th e French. - In fulfilm ent ora vow , th e Duke er ected th e Basilica of Superga (page 156) on th e Hill of Turin, on th e spot wher e th e two Princes of Savoy had asce nde d to reconnoiter th e enemy 's camp. - And at Mad onna di Ca mpagna (Madonna of the Country) (page 174) was erecte d on the square of th e church an eloq ue nt monument, for the bi-centenary com memorati on, in which Leonardo Bistolfi symbolized the very high sentime nt of th e « Motherl and » who consecrates alik e to vanquished and victo rious th e ea rth which received their bodi es . Inside th e ch urch is a tablet recording th at th ere, afte r th e battle, was buried th e Marshall De Marsin , Commander-in-Chief of th e French tro ops, and othe r tabl ets in mem ory of th e French officers fallen on th e field. - Similarly in th e church of Lucento (see p. 174) was un veiled in 1906 a monument sculptured by Lu igi Ca lderin i, inspired by th e co nce ption of th e three armi es, comme morating, between th e symbols of pea ce, the fier ce battle of 1706. Turin had to endure fresh foreign occ upations and a long French dominati on followin g up on th e invasion of th e troops of the first French R epublic. Occup ied by the Fren ch in 1798, it was taken by th e Au strians and Russian s in May 1799. Re-occu pied by th e Fren ch after th e battle of Maren go, in 1802 Turin was united to F rance, and mad e th e Capital 0.1 tile Department 0.1tile Po. This dom inat ion ceased with th e « Restorati on » of 1814 ; a nd on th e 20th May Kin g Victor E ma nuel I ente re d Turin, which had been abando ned in 1798 by his brother Charl es Ernanuel IV, who took refuge in th e island of Sardinia. - In co mme mo ration of th e return of th e Royal Hou se of Savoy, was erec ted the church of the Gran Madre di Dio (page 149). Chosen spirits and manl y so uls, thinkers and poets, patriots all had meantime desired new forms of govern ment and sown th e seed of national patriotism; hence the « jlIoti del Ventun o » (Agi tation of 1821). From 1821 to 18.t8 th e ge rm flourish ed, and in 1848 King Charles Atbert ope nly ma intain ed th e It alian Cause. F rom T urin, the 4th March 1848, he promulgat ed th e Constitution ; and on.