Cesare Battisti and the Trentino
Austria refused to accede to this demand; instead, as a palliative, the number of Italian courses was increased from two to four, and then to six. The people of Trentino while always considering those courses as a sort of account, tried for obvious reasons to make certain that the instructors should be not only competent scientifically, but undeniably Italian in thought, so as to form the nucleus of the future university. Their deputies at Vienna were therefore charged to insist that the incumbents be chosen either in Italy or the irredente provinces. Their demands were granted in part. Austria refused to call to the chair of Criminal Law Scipio Sighele, born in Trentino, well known to scholars both in Italy and elsewhere, but she accepted the designation of other men who now are teaching in the universities of Bologna and Turin, and others who later attained important positions in Italy.
The Italians demanded that those courses be created as an independent Faculty of Law with the seat in Trieste, but the government acceded to this demand only in part.
An independent Italian School of Law was in reality established, but its seat was in the German city of Innsbruck instead of the Italian city of Trieste. A truly Austrian adjustment, which, of course, did not satisfy the Italians, who decided, however, not to deny the school their support — nor did it please the Germans, who did not limit themselves to demanding its transfer to other than German soil, but protested at the same time that "there was no more room for higher institutions of learning in Austria outside of German." And they calmly announced that they would use force to prevent the continuance of the school.
The Italians took up the challenge with the cry, "On to Innsbruck," supported by Battisti in his paper, "Il Popolo." Thus early in November, 1904, over two hundred Italian students gathered at Innsbruck to attend the opening of the School on November 3rd. Battisti was with them, and I can still see him sitting before me during my opening lecture in the midst of
