[6] From June to August 1848 he was part of the Calabrian expedition with the column commanded by General Ferdinando Lanza that successfully forced the passage of the Crati (or San Martino) valley occupied by the insurgents.

[8] As the revolutionary uprisings in Sicily continued, in April 1849 Pianell, who in the meantime had been promoted to lieutenant-colonel, found himself part of the expedition that moved from Messina with great success to reconquer Taormina and Catania.

[5] In 1855 an episode unexpectedly interrupted his string of acclaim: King Ferdinand II of Bourbon, during an inspection of the barracks at San Potito, Naples, commanded by Pianell, gave credence to some of the soldiers' grievances, who complained about the food and superiors.

Francis II decided to recall Pianell from the Gaeta retreat and appointed him, on July 1, 1859, commander of the Nocera brigade that was garrisoned in Naples, at the Granili.

As the political situation worsened, on September 21 he reconvened him at the Royal Palace of Portici and entrusted him with an army of twelve thousand soldiers to protect the northeastern borders of the Kingdom against the feared Garibaldi invasion.

[16] The threat of invasion from the north, however, seemed averted as early as November, when the Piedmontese realized that raising a question in Europe about an attack on papal territory would have been politically foolish.

After many difficulties, the Prime Minister formed his cabinet, assigning Giosuè Ritucci the Ministry of War, after Roberto de Sauget, the Prince of Ischitella (1788-1875) and Francesco Casella (1781-1875) had refused the post.

To Francis II he declared that to save the country it was necessary to implement the newly promulgated Constitution, accept a confederation of Italian states, and completely reorganize the army, focusing above all on discipline.

[26] At this stage, the government, faced with the refusal of some garrisons to obey the Constitution feared a plot by reactionary courtiers and decided on a renewal in favor of more liberal personalities.

Pianell asked Clary, in vain, to march to Bosco's aid and transferred three foreign battalions and a Swiss battery to Castellammare to land behind the enemy.

Moreover, taking advantage of France's proposal to Piedmont to impose an armistice on Garibaldi, he determined to withdraw the troops from Messina as well in order not to expose them to further defeat, and to favor the diplomats negotiating for the Italian League (which Pianell looked to with excessive hope).

[34] For the returning officers from Palermo punished by the king with a forced retreat to Ischia, Pianell set up a Military Council to determine responsibilities and recover meritorious men and assign them to the defense of Calabria.

[35] At court, meanwhile, insinuations by Francis of Bourbon, Count of Trapani accusing Pianell of having connections with revolutionary committees did not prevent the latter from continuing his work and forming the brigades and divisions of the new Continental Army.

For the command-in-chief, Pianell decided on General Giambattista Vial, in view of the fact that he was young and educated, had not been involved in the events in Sicily, inspired confidence in the king and was not opposed by the troops.

General Bartolo Marra telegraphed on August 2 complaining about the lack of instructions and topographical maps, and a few days later he sent a telegram in which, with disrespectful words, he considered himself relieved of command.

The event caused quite a stir; Pianell had to reprimand the general, and the latter still responded insolently, until, on August 8, he was recalled to Naples and placed under arrest at Castel Sant'Elmo.

[38] In those same days, Pianell's former colleague Mariano d'Ayala, sent by Cavour to further the Italian cause, proposed to the Minister of War that the Bourbon army be turned over to Piedmont, and was refused.

Wanting to take advantage of numerical superiority, Pianell and Francis II ordered attacks to be concentrated on the landed enemies; but Vial, from the first moment, lost contact with his generals, who, on the other hand, instead of keeping the troops together exhausted them in inconclusive marches.

Neapolitan Colonel Giuseppe Ruiz de Ballestreros telegraphed the king on August 22 that the brigades of Generals Nicola Melendez and Fileno Briganti had surrendered at Villa San Giovanni without firing a shot.

On August 31 Pianell, determined to act even on his own, wrote a letter to the king (which he delivered to him on September 2) in which he declared himself de facto exonerated from his position as Minister of War.

[55] Having obtained leave of absence from the king, he left on September 5 by sea for France where his wife had relatives and where he spent several months nearly until the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy.

[56] On August 4, 1861 Pianell was appointed Commander of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus and had to defend himself against the accusations of the Democrats, who considered it inadmissible for a former Bourbon general to be decorated along with Medici, Bixio and Turr.

On the other hand, in September, the French newspaper L'Ami de la Réligion accused Pianell and another former Bourbon general, Alessandro Nunziante, of being bribed by the Piedmontese government.

On February 4, 1862, in the Senate, Minister of War Alessandro Della Rovere defended the choice of appointment and together with General Fanti took Pianell's side, confirming the esteem he had for him.

A few weeks before the start of hostilities, along with the other former Bourbon general Alessandro Nunziante, Pianell fell victim to a plan, probably hatched in papal Rome, that was aimed at fomenting unrest in the Italian Army's divisions.

False reports were spread among the soldiers that General Nunziante had been shot for treason and Pianell had been arrested on the charge that he intended to hand over his division to the Austrians at the first opportunity.

[61] At the opening of hostilities on June 23, 1866, Pianell, with the 2nd Division deployed just north of Monzambano, had no orders other than to contain the Austrian garrison at the fortress of Peschiera, should it come out, and to protect the left flank of the rest of the 1st Army Corps that would cross the Mincio.

[67] At the end of hostilities (October 3, 1866) due to agreements made earlier with France, Austria had to cede Venetia to Italy, and Pianell's 1st Army Corps was given the task of occupying the region.

In mid-October Pianell was appointed commander of the Department of Verona (rank corresponding to General of Army Corps), and on November 7, 1866, he took part in the ceremonies of Victor Emmanuel II's takeover of Venice.

A few days later, in his apartment in Palazzo Carli, also the seat of the military headquarters, he took to his bed with bronchitis, and on April 5, 1892, after receiving his last rites, he passed away among his family, at just over 73 years of age.