He had moved to Paris for a spell, when in 1859, he moved back to Italy to join the Cacciatori delle Alpi in the battles against the Austrians. In 1860, he joined the expedition of General Enrico Cosenz to join the forces of Garibaldi in Palermo. He joined the Garibaldini in the landings in Calabria, which later he memorialized in the paintings depicting Avamposti de' primi 200 garibaldini sbarcati in Calabria and Garibaldini explorers in Calabria.[4]
After the Battle of the Volturnus on 1 October 1860, he was promoted to be an officer of Nino Bixio. With the Italian unification, he was made a major in the National Guard, and contributed to the efforts to repress brigandage in the South.
By 1870, he moved to Rome, where he opened a studio on Via Margutta #33.[5]
In 1873 at the Esposizione Internazionale of Vienna, he exhibited a Riposo di cacciatori (Hunters at Rest).[6] In 1877 at the National Exposition of Naples, he exhibited: Agostino Nifo at the Court of Charles V. he also painted The Death of Pilade Bronzetti at Castel Morrone, in memory of an officer who died fighting at the Battle of Volturno;[7][8][9] and Taddeo da Sessa at the Council of Lyon defends the Emperor Frederick II.[10][11]
^The Death of Pilade Bronzetti was reviewed by Gabriele D'Annunzio on 10 July 1885 in the journal “La Tribuna” of Rome, the painting was donated to the Reggia di Caserta by Intesa Sanpaolo del 29 September 2017)
Nicola Borelli (1921). "Un artista e un patriota dimenticato. Luigi Toro". Rivista Campana, periodico trimestrale di storia, etnografia, lettere ed arte. 1 (4). Maddaloni. republished in "Un artista e un patriota dimenticato. Luigi Toro". Il Mensile Suessano. Vol. XI, no. 112. 1993. pp. 1539–1545.
Agostino Mario Comanducci (1945). "Luigi Toro". In Grafitalia (ed.). Dizionario illustrato dei pittori e incisori italiani moderni, 1800-1900. Milan.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Mastrostefano, Gaetano; Maffei, Maria Elena; Puccio, Gianluca (2012). Caramanica Editore (ed.). Luigi Toro, pittore e patriota dell'800. Marina di Minturno.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)