When Lombardia and Veneto fell under the Austrian domination, in
the years from 1849 to 1859, Moneta himself got involved with the
movement against the Austria Empire: at first through a “secret
association of active young men” then through Daniele Manin’s
”Unionist of the italian National Society”. This political
organization wanted to premote the national unification with the
Savoia family. Moneta deeply admired Manin and Pallavicino; they
convinced Moneta to fight for their cause. The marquis Giorgio
Pallavicino, who was the new president of the society (after
Manin) and directed “L’unità nazionale” and “il piccolo
Corriere”, invited him to join them in February 1859 and Moneta
accepted enthusiastically. But when Pallavicino became blind, he in
became responsable for the newspaper.
In 1866 Moneta went back to the army. He was a very experienced man
and officer; he was also clever, brilliant and cultured. Thanks to his
role in the army, he could see the positive and negative aspects of
the Italian political life. For a very long time he was the director
of the newspaper, “Il Secolo”, but, because of the topics
developed in the paper, he had to go abroad to avoid arrest. In 1887,
he promoted the associations ”Unione Lombarda per la pace”,
“L’arbitrato internazionale”, and “Società per la pace e la
giustizia internazionale”.
In 1889, two years later he was one of the most important speakers
at the World Congress for the centenary of the French revolution.
In 1903 in Milan, Paris and London there was a movement defending
the Armene and Macedoni people against the Turkish government Moneta
was the leader of the movement together with other famous people like:
Turati, Marconi; Ada Negri etc.
In 1907 he receved the “Pace Nobel Price” was given Moneta the
reason was his activity in favour of peace. Famous writers like Leone
Tolstoi and Edmondo de Amicis wrote articles for Moneta’ s magazine.
He died in Milan in 1918 he was boried in Missaglia churchyard.
