It was here that Gino encountered the writings of Giovanni Berchet and Giuseppe Mazzini, two writers whose enthusiastic support for the unification cause leads them to be identified in contemporary sources as Italian Patriots.

The fact that his post had gone to an Italian - after twenty eight years under the Austrian archbishop, Cardinal Gaisruck - generated much enthusiasm among the people, and this was inflamed by the pronouncement of the new pope, Pius IX, endorsing nationalist aspirations for a unified Italy.

A few days later there was a visit from Cesare Correnti and the patriot doctor, Romolo Griffini who briefed him on the disturbances in the city at the end of the previous week.

Giovanni was still too young to participate as actively as his brother Emilio in the March uprising on the streets of Milan, but his emotional commitment was total, as was his joy at seeing the revolutionary flag fluttering from the spire of the cathedral.

After the victory (from the "patriotic" perspective) at Goito and the capture of Peschiera, the tide appeared to turn in favour of the conservatives, however: the King of Naples fought back successfully against the liberal forces in the south of the Italian peninsular, and declared himself in support of continued Austrian dominance in the north.

With the return of a reinforced Austrian force imminent, the leading families of Milan fled, seeking refuge in Switzerland.

The perceived defeat of liberal nationalism in 1848 engendered, among the Milanese political exiles in Switzerland, a wider diffusion of the ideas of Mazzini and admiration for the patriotic exploits of Garibaldi.

[2] Discussion in the salon increasingly favoured a monarchist future for a united Italy, and there was a growing awareness of the potential importance of Piedmont under the hard headed administration of Cavour.

Warned by Rosa Bargnani that they were being sought by the authorities, Emiolio headed out of the city without delay, Giovanni decided to stay behind and wait for the delivery of signed emigration authorisations from nearby Brescia.

He then got hold of Clara Maffei who immediately contacted Carlo Tenca who realised that Visconti Venosta had escaped from his house without taking any money.

A few meters further on he reached the house of di Laura d'Adda Salvaterra Scaccabarozzi who was able to provide him with some cash, after which Tenco accompanied the fugitive to beyond the city limits.

After promising the commissioner to put in a good word for his son, Giovanni obtained the man's permission to undertake a reconnaissance on the far side of the river: he duly crossed, which took him into Piedmont, outside the territory controlled by the Austrians.

The Visconti Venosta brothers arrived in Turin shortly before the outbreak of the Second Italian War of Independence which involved the annexation of Lombardy to Piedmont by a combined Franco-Piedmontese army (on the flat lands to the south) and a patriotic force under Garibaldi (in the mountains to the north).

He quickly acquired a reputation as a natural diplomat, mediating between the Piedmontese political leader, Cavour, and the revolutionary hero originally from southern Italy, Garibaldi.

In 1865 he was elected to the new Italian parliament, representing a Milan electoral district, but he served only for one term, after which he was content to leave politics to his brother.