In this rare painting attributed to the German painter Wilhelm Gotzloff (as indicated by a label affixed to the back of the cardboard), the artist depicts a brutal scene from the revolutionary uprisings that took place in Catania in April 1849. 

During Easter week, on April 6th, Good Friday, Catania witnessed a bloody repression carried out by Bourbon troops, supported by the Swiss militia regiment from Bern. The people of Catania, during this painful week, saw the inevitable fall of their city despite widespread resistance. The rebels' defense against the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies' monarchy was heroic.

Catania was severely punished for participating in the Sicilian federal and Risorgimento revolution of 1848-49. The population offered desperate resistance, with barricades in every street, as the royal Neapolitan troops, commanded by General Antonio Filangieri and backed by a military fleet that bombarded the city from the sea, moved in. The military commander of Catania, General Luigi Mierolawski, sent by Ruggero Settimo's provisional government, proved ineffective and was overwhelmed by the efficient enemy artillery.

In this painting, the battle is vividly portrayed, likely by an artist who was an eyewitness to the combat. The scene unfolds in the square beside the Duomo, in front of the famous obelisk with the Elephant, known as the Liotru: A Bourbon contingent fires at the insurgents barricaded in nearby buildings, who return fire from the windows. Numerous fallen bodies are depicted lying lifeless on the ground. 

At the end of the Strada Reale, the flames of fires set by the combatants illuminate the sky between the silhouettes of the two domes in the foreground: the Duomo and the church of  Badia di S. Agata.