The Action Party ( it, Partito d'Azione) was an Italian pre-unitary
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
active during the
Risorgimento.
It was the first organized party in the
history of Italy
The history of Italy covers the ancient period, the Middle Ages, and the modern era. Since classical antiquity, ancient Etruscan civilization, Etruscans, various Italic peoples (such as the Latins, Samnites, and Umbri), Celts, ''Magna Graecia'' ...
.
History
After the failure of the
Italian revolutions of 1848,
Giuseppe Mazzini's
Young Italy was dissolved as a political organization to form the Italian National Association ( it, Associazione Nazionale Italiana), which was still led by Mazzini.
During the 1848–1849, the Italian National Association competed against the rival
Moderate Party
The Moderate Party ( sv, Moderata samlingspartiet , ; M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a liberal-conservative political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free market, civil liberties and economic liber ...
led by
Vincenzo Gioberti and
Massimo d'Azeglio that won the election in the
Kingdom of Sardinia and established a new government. After some years of weak activities, the Italian National Association was renamed in 1853 by Mazzini to the Action Party, which published the booklet-manifesto "To the Italians" (''Agli Italiani'')
and invited
Italians
, flag =
, flag_caption = The national flag of Italy
, population =
, regions = Italy 55,551,000
, region1 = Brazil
, pop1 = 25–33 million
, ref1 =
, region2 ...
to start various rebel and republican organizations. This tactic was changed after the failed invasion of
Sapri of the same year, where
Carlo Pisacane died.
In 1860, the Action Party financed the creation of a paramilitary group led by
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...
named the
Redshirts (''Camicie rosse''). The Redshirts become particularly famous for the
Expedition of the Thousand
The Expedition of the Thousand ( it, Spedizione dei Mille) was an event of the Italian Risorgimento that took place in 1860. A corps of volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed from Quarto, near Genoa (now Quarto dei Mille) and landed in Ma ...
, when Garibaldi conquered in a few months all of the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and a ...
and the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...
. In this period, the Action Party was strongly opposed to the Moderate Party and its new leader
Camillo Benso di Cavour
Camillo Paolo Filippo Giulio Benso, Count of Cavour, Isolabella and Leri (, 10 August 1810 – 6 June 1861), generally known as Cavour ( , ), was an Italian politician, businessman, economist and noble, and a leading figure in the movement t ...
, who was close to the
House of Savoy
The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...
. Mazzini particularly hated the annexation war, the falsification of the referendums and the Piedmontization of Italy that ignored the various diversities of a unified
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. The Action Party founded the first mutual aid societies, workers' associations, public schools and cooperatives. In 1861, Mazzini founded the newspaper of the Action Party, ''L'Unità italiana''. In 1867, the Action Party attempted to conclude the
Unification War
The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...
and take over
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
with the
Battle of Mentana
The Battle of Mentana was fought on November 3, 1867, near the village of Mentana, located north-east of Rome (then in the Papal States, now modern Lazio), between French-papal troops and the Italian volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who wer ...
, which failed. Disappointed, Mazzini dissolved the Action Party and retired from politics. In 1870,
Rome was captured and became the capital of the
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...
.
In 1877,
Agostino Bertani
Agostino Bertani (19 October 1812 – 10 April 1886) was an Italian revolutionary and physician during Italian unification.
Revolutionary
Bertani was born in Milan on 19 October 1812. His father was an administrator for the Napoleonic govern ...
, a former member of the Action Party, left the
Historical Left
The Left group ( it, Sinistra), later called Historical Left ( it, Sinistra storica) by historians to distinguish it from the left-wing groups of the 20th century, was a liberal and reformist parliamentary group in Italy during the second half of ...
to form the
Historical Far-Left
The Historical Far Left ( it, Estrema Sinistra Storica), originally known as Far Left ( it, Estrema Sinistra), Radical Extreme ( it, Estrema Radicale), simply The Extreme ( it, L'Estrema), or Party of Democracy ( it, Partito della Democrazia), wa ...
, reputed to be the real heir of the Action Party.
Proposals and goals
*
Unification of Italy
The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century Political movement, political and social movement that resulted in the Merger (politics), consolidation of List of historic stat ...
, including the "
Irrident Lands".
[
* Abolition of the ]monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...
and creation of a republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
.
* Elections with universal suffrage
Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
.
* Support of the freedom of religion
Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...
, press
Press may refer to:
Media
* Print media or news media, commonly called "the press"
* Printing press, commonly called "the press"
* Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers
* Press TV, an Iranian television network
People
* Press (surname), a famil ...
, speech
Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses Phonetics, phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if ...
and thought
In their most common sense, the terms thought and thinking refer to conscious cognitive processes that can happen independently of sensory stimulation. Their most paradigmatic forms are judging, reasoning, concept formation, problem solving, a ...
.
Electoral results
See also
* Liberalism and radicalism in Italy
Liberalism and radicalism have played a role in the political history of Italy since the country's unification, started in 1861 and largely completed in 1871, and currently influence several leading political parties.
During the first decade ...
References
{{Authority control
Italian unification
Kingdom of Sardinia
Defunct political parties in Italy
Defunct nationalist parties in Italy
Political parties established in 1853
Political parties disestablished in 1867
Radical parties in Italy
1848 establishments in Italy
1867 disestablishments in Italy