In 1848, he joined the Italian armies and fought at Goito and Curtatone. He would paint canvases of these experiences, including "L'esule italiano" (1859, first exhibited in Genoa). After the war, he did not find local favor from the authorities of the Grand-Duchy of Tuscany. In 1860, with the annexation to the Kingdom of Savoy, he painted "The Reception of Vittorio Emanuele II to Livorno" for the latter city's town hall.