Margotti was a native of San Remo, where his father was president of the Chamber of Commerce, and there he studied the classics and philosophy, after which he entered the Augustinian seminary of Ventimiglia; in 1845, he obtained a doctorate at the University of Genoa and was received into the Royal Academy of Superga,[1] where he remained until 1849.

Throughout 1848 the paper followed the events of the war against Austria while maintaining a patriotic attitude in support of the monarchy and calling priests to their duties as citizens in defense of the country.

[1] Margotti's writings combined soundness of philosophy and of theological doctrine with rare purity of style, while his ready ability for reply made him a target of the Sardinian government, which at that moment, in furtherance of its policy of territorial expansion, had entered upon a course of legislation that was hostile to the Catholic Church and at variance with the wishes of a great majority of the people.

[5] Margotti was at this time threatened by the secret societies, and to avoid assassins he was forced to say Mass at an early hour in some quiet convent chapel and from there make his way furtively to the office of his paper.

This publication was replaced by Il Piemonte; but when the period of agitation passed, L'Armonia reappeared; its name was changed on 25 December 1863, at the wish of Pope Pius IX, and it was called L'Unità Cattolica ("Catholic Unity").

Prime Minister Cavour, not wishing any effective parliamentary opposition invalidated the election on the grounds of "abuse of spiritual weapons", by which he referred to their publicizing the excommunications.