TheGarfagnana Revolt occurred in theGarfagnana in late 1796 and early 1797. It was an uprising against the French occupation, provoked by discontent at heavy French levies imposed to pay for theirItalian campaign of 1796–1797. A large part of the population also remained loyal to theEste regime and hostile toJacobinism and theFrench Revolution. For over a month the insurgents were masters of the area, but when the French forces regained control they did not put up any resistance. However, at Bonaparte's own instigation, the repression after the revolt was particularly harsh.
Since the 15th century the Garfagnana had placed itself under the rule of theHouse of Este and theDukes of Modena and Reggio in order to avoid the recurring conflicts between Florence and theRepublic of Lucca. On several occasions it spontaneously surrendered to the Estes, a process which concluded at the end of 1451, even if the Estes only formally moved their capital toModena in 1598. The new rulers rewarded the area (around 450 square kilometres) with a certain autonomy, promoting it to the status of "province"[1] and granting it its own parliament responsible for some local affairs.
The Estes also kept the tax burden reasonable and kept out theInquisition, leading to relative prosperity and widespread support for the ducal government, so much so that - whenGiovanni Fantoni went there in July 1796 to seek support for the new revolutionary cause - he had found very little support among its population of around 24,000.[2]