he helped persuade giuseppe garibaldi to sail with his expedition of the thousand, which disembarked on sicily on may 11, 1860. the expedition was formed by corps of volunteers led by garibaldi, who landed in sicily in order to conquer the kingdom of the two sicilies, ruled by the bourbons. the project was an ambitious and risky venture aiming to conquer, with a thousand men, a kingdom with a larger regular army and a more powerful navy. the expedition was a success and concluded with a plebiscite that brought naples and sicily into the kingdom of sardinia, the last territorial conquest before the creation of the kingdom of italy on 17 march 1861.