He participated to all the Italian War of Independence (1848–1849, 1859 and 1866) and in the Italian Expedition in the Crimean War (1855–1856). He was wounded in the Battle of Custoza (1866), where he was in command of the I Corps. In 1849 Durando spent a period in Sardinia where he quenched popular revolts in Sassari and in Gallura.