In Rome's Quirinal Palace, a new pope was elected and installed in June 1846: The new man had studiously avoided giving commitments to any particular faction during the election process, and had a broadly liberal reputation based on his record as Archbishop of Spoleto. He was believed by those who wished to believe it to be sympathetic to reformist politics, which encouraged the Florentine democrats to intensify their activities. Towards the end of 1846 a subscription was organised in order to be able to offer a Sword of Honour to Giuseppe Garibaldi. Thanks to his exploits in Latin America, Garibaldi was already an iconic figure for those who dared to dream of Italian independence. Mordini was given the honour of delivering the sword to "The General" on his return to Italy. During the early months of 1847 Mordini was one of the organisers of numerous street protests in Florence, intended to encourage the Grand Duke to enact "liberal" reforms in Tuscany. As a lawyer, he also found himself frequently in court, appearing as a defence attorney representing arrested protesters. During 1847 he participated in the clandestine meetings of the "Florentine Revolutionary Committee" ("Comitato rivoluzionario fiorentino") which was gaining the backing of his increasingly influential friend Ferdinando Bartolommei. In September 1847 the Grand Duke was persuaded to create a National Guard ("Guardia Civica"), and Antonio Mordini immediately enlisted. On 20 December 1847 he was elected to the rank of captain within it. It was a sign of the times that on the very same day Giuseppe Mordini, his father, joined Tuscany's National Guard with the same rank.