After a state of siege had been proclaimed by the Crispi government, armed bands dispersed into the mountains pursued by troops.

"[2] The revolt started when on January 13, 1894, with a demonstration against the government crackdown of the Fasci Siciliani a popular movement of democratic and socialist inspiration in 1891–1894 on Sicily, who had risen up against the ever-increasing taxes on the prices of basic commodities, such as bread, and for land reform.

A tax office in Carrara was set on fire and the main road to the neighbouring town of Massa was barricaded with huge marble blocks.

[6] On January 31, 1894, a military tribunal condemned the anarchist Luigi Molinari to 23 years imprisonment as the instigator of the insurrection.

Heavy penalties were announced for "incitement to class hatred" and police received extended powers of preventive arrest and deportation.

[5] Some observers assert that the revolt was organized by the anarchist movement with a well defined plan, while others claim that the insurrectionary outcome exceeded the original intentions of the leaders who only wanted to stage a protest demonstration.

[10] Prime Minister Crispi explained the uprising as a conspiracy with "a broader subsersive plan that linked Apuan insurgents to those of Sicily, to the libertarian centres in Italy and abroad, and through the latter to the dark maneuvers of foreign powers.