After the Piedmontese were defeated in the Battle of Custoza (1848), Lombardi sought refuge in the friendly Kingdom of Sardinia and enlisted in the "20º Reggimento Fanteria", participating in the latter stages of the First Italian War of Independence in 1849. In that same year he also managed to return to his native city and take part to the Ten Days of Brescia between 23 March and 1 April. After the uprising was crushed he returned to Piedmont, but was arrested on occasion of the Milan revolt (1853).