The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century
political
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studi ...
and
social movement
A social movement is a loosely organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a social or political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to resist or undo one. It is a type of group action and ma ...
that resulted in the
consolidation of
different states of the
Italian Peninsula into a
single state in 1861, 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 ...
. Inspired by the rebellions in the 1820s and 1830s against the outcome of the
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon ...
, the unification process was precipitated by the
Revolutions of 1848
The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europ ...
, and reached completion in 1871 after the
Capture of Rome
The Capture of Rome ( it, Presa di Roma) on 20 September 1870 was the final event of the unification of Italy (''Risorgimento''), marking both the final defeat of the Papal States under Pope Pius IX and the unification of the Italian Peninsul ...
and its designation as the capital of the Kingdom of Italy.
Some of the states that had been targeted for unification (''
terre irredente'') did not join the Kingdom of Italy until 1918 after Italy defeated
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
in the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. For this reason, historians sometimes describe the unification period as continuing past 1871, including activities during the late 19th century and the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
(1915–1918), and reaching completion only with the
Armistice of Villa Giusti
The Armistice of Villa Giusti or Padua ended warfare between Italy and Austria-Hungary on the Italian Front during World War I. The armistice was signed on 3 November 1918 in the Villa Giusti, outside Padua in the Veneto, Northern Italy, a ...
on 4 November 1918. This more expansive definition of the unification period is the one presented at the
Central Museum of the Risorgimento at the
Vittoriano.
Background
From ancient times to early modern era
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 ...
was unified by the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...
in the latter part of the third century BC. For 700 years, it was a ''de facto'' territorial extension of the capital of the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...
and
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
, and for a long time experienced a
privileged status but was not converted into a province. Under
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
the prior differences in municipal and political rights were abolished and Roman Italy was subdivided into administrative regions ruled directly by the Roman Senate.
After the
fall of the Western Roman Empire
The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its va ...
,
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 ...
remained united under the
Ostrogothic Kingdom
The Ostrogothic Kingdom, officially the Kingdom of Italy (), existed under the control of the Germanic Ostrogoths in Italy and neighbouring areas from 493 to 553.
In Italy, the Ostrogoths led by Theodoric the Great killed and replaced Odoacer, ...
and later disputed between the
Kingdom of the Lombards
The Kingdom of the Lombards ( la, Regnum Langobardorum; it, Regno dei Longobardi; lmo, Regn di Lombard) also known as the Lombard Kingdom; later the Kingdom of (all) Italy ( la, Regnum totius Italiae), was an early medieval state established ...
and the
Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinop ...
, losing its unity for centuries. Following conquest by the
Frankish Empire
Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...
, the title of
King of Italy
King of Italy ( it, links=no, Re d'Italia; la, links=no, Rex Italiae) was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian military leader ...
merged with the office of
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
. However, the emperor was an absentee
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
-speaking foreigner who had little concern for the governance of Italy as a state; as a result, Italy gradually developed into a system of
city-states. Southern Italy, however, was governed by the long-lasting
Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...
or
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...
, which had been established by the Normans. Central Italy was governed by the Pope as a temporal kingdom known as 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 ...
.
This situation persisted through the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...
but began to deteriorate with the rise of modern
nation-state
A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group.
A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may in ...
s in the
early modern period. Italy, including the Papal States, then became the site of
proxy war
A proxy war is an armed conflict between two states or non-state actors, one or both of which act at the instigation or on behalf of other parties that are not directly involved in the hostilities. In order for a conflict to be considered a p ...
s between the major powers, notably the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...
(including Austria), Spain, and France.
Harbingers of national unity appeared in the treaty of the
Italic League, in 1454, and the 15th-century foreign policy of
Cosimo De Medici and
Lorenzo De Medici. Leading Renaissance Italian writers
Dante
Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ' ...
,
Petrarch
Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists.
Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited ...
,
Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was some ...
,
Machiavelli and
Guicciardini expressed opposition to foreign domination. Petrarch stated that the "ancient valour in Italian hearts is not yet dead" in ''Italia Mia''. Machiavelli later quoted four verses from ''Italia Mia'' in ''
The Prince
''The Prince'' ( it, Il Principe ; la, De Principatibus) is a 16th-century political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new princes and royals. The general theme of ''The ...
'', which looked forward to a political leader who would unite Italy "to free her from the
barbarians
A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...
".
The
Italian Wars
The Italian Wars, also known as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts covering the period 1494 to 1559, fought mostly in the Italian peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and the Mediterranean Sea. The pr ...
saw 65 years of French attacks on some of the Italian states, starting with
Charles VIII's invasion of Naples in 1494. However, the
Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis
Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
(1559) saw parts of Italy fall under the direct or indirect control of the Habsburgs. The
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pe ...
in 1648 formally ended the rule of the Holy Roman Emperors in Italy. However, the Spanish branch of the
Habsburg dynasty
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
, which ruled the
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
, continued to rule Southern Italy and the Duchy of Milan down to the
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
(1701–14).
A sense of Italian national identity was reflected in
Gian Rinaldo Carli
Gian Rinaldo Carli (1720–1795), also known by other names, was an Italian economist, historian, and antiquarian.
Name
"Gian Rinaldo Carli" is the modern Italian form of his name, which may also appear as "Gianrinaldo Carli" or "Gian-Rinaldo ...
's ''Della Patria degli Italiani'', written in 1764. It told how a stranger entered a café in Milan and puzzled its occupants by saying that he was neither a foreigner nor a Milanese. Then what are you?' they asked. 'I am an Italian,' he explained."
French Revolution and Napoleonic era
![Flag of Repubblica Cispadana1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Flag_of_Repubblica_Cispadana1.jpg)
The Habsburg rule in Italy came to an end with the campaigns of the French Revolutionaries in 1792–97 when a series of client republics were set up. In 1806, the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved by the last emperor,
Francis II, after its defeat by Napoleon at the
Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz ...
. The
Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars
The Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802) were a series of conflicts fought principally in Northern Italy between the French Revolutionary Army and a Coalition of Austria, Russia, Piedmont-Sardinia, and a number o ...
destroyed the old structures of feudalism in Italy and introduced modern ideas and efficient legal authority; it provided much of the intellectual force and social capital that fueled unification movements for decades after it collapsed in 1814.
The French Republic spread republican principles, and the institutions of republican governments promoted citizenship over the rule of the Bourbons and Habsburgs and other dynasties. The reaction against any outside control challenged
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
's choice of rulers. As Napoleon's reign began to fail, the rulers he had installed tried to keep their thrones (among them
Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French nobleman, statesman, and military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
Through the second ma ...
, viceroy of Italy, and
Joachim Murat
Joachim Murat ( , also , ; it, Gioacchino Murati; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French military commander and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the ...
,
king of Naples
The following is a list of rulers of the Kingdom of Naples, from its first separation from the Kingdom of Sicily to its merger with the same into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
Kingdom of Naples (1282–1501)
House of Anjou
In 1382, the Kin ...
) further feeding nationalistic sentiments. Beauharnais tried to get Austrian approval for his succession to the new Kingdom of Italy, and on 30 March 1815, Murat issued the
Rimini Proclamation
The Rimini Proclamation was a proclamation on 30 March 1815 by Joachim Murat, who had been made king of Naples by Napoleon I. Murat had just declared war on Austria and used the proclamation to call on Italians to revolt against their Austria ...
, which called on Italians to revolt against their Austrian occupiers.
During the Napoleonic era, in 1797, the first official adoption of the
Italian tricolour as a national flag by a sovereign Italian state, the
Cispadane Republic
The Cispadane Republic () was a short-lived client republic located in northern Italy, founded in 1796 with the protection of the French army, led by Napoleon Bonaparte. In the following year, it was merged with the Transpadane Republic (former ...
, a Napoleonic
sister republic of
Revolutionary France
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, took place, on the basis of the events following the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
(1789–1799) which, among its ideals, advocated the national
self-determination
The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a '' jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It sta ...
. This event is celebrated by the
Tricolour Day
Tricolour Day ( it, Festa del Tricolore), officially National Flag Day ( it, Giornata Nazionale della Bandiera), is the flag day of Italy. Celebrated on 7 January, it was established by Law 671 on 31 December 1996. It is intended as a celebration, ...
.
[Article 1 of the law n. 671 of 31 December 1996 ("National celebration of the bicentenary of the first national flag")] The
Italian national colours
The national colours of Italy are green, white, and red, collectively known in Italian as ''il Tricolore'' ( en, the Tricolour, ). The three Italian national colours appeared for the first time in Genoa on 21 August 1789 on the cockade of Italy ...
appeared for the first time on a
tricolour cockade in 1789,
anticipating by seven years the first green, white and red Italian military
war flag
A war flag, also known as a military flag, battle flag, or standard, is a variant of a national flag for use by a country's military forces when on land. The nautical equivalent is a naval ensign. Under the strictest sense of the term, few count ...
, which was adopted by the
Lombard Legion in 1796.
Reaction (1815–1848)
![Giuseppe Mazzini](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Giuseppe_Mazzini.jpg)
After Napoleon fell (1814), the
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon ...
(1814–15) restored the pre-Napoleonic patchwork of independent governments. Italy was again controlled largely by the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central- Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
and the
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
s, as they directly controlled the predominantly Italian-speaking northeastern part of Italy and were, together, the most powerful force against unification.
With the fall of Napoleon and the restoration of the
absolutist monarchical regimes, the
Italian tricolour went underground, becoming the symbol of the patriotic ferments that began to spread in Italy and the symbol which united all the efforts of the Italian people towards freedom and independence. The Italian tricolour waved for the first time in the history of the ''Risorgimento'' on 11 March 1821 in the
Cittadella of Alessandria, during the
revolutions of 1820s, after the oblivion caused by the restoration of the absolutist monarchical regimes.
An important figure of this period was
Francesco Melzi d'Eril
Francesco Melzi d'Eril, Duke of Lodi, Count of Magenta (6 March 1753 – 16 January 1816) was an Italian politician and patriot, serving as vice-president of the Napoleonic Italian Republic (1802–1805). He was a consistent supporter of the I ...
, serving as vice-president of the Napoleonic
Italian Republic
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 ...
(1802–1805) and consistent supporter of the Italian unification ideals that would lead to the Italian ''Risorgimento'' shortly after his death.
Meanwhile, artistic and literary sentiment also turned towards nationalism;
Vittorio Alfieri
Count Vittorio Alfieri (, also , ; 16 January 17498 October 1803) was an Italian dramatist and poet, considered the "founder of Italian tragedy." He wrote nineteen tragedies, sonnets, satires, and a notable autobiography.
Early life
Alfieri was ...
,
Francesco Lomonaco and
Niccolò Tommaseo
Niccolò Tommaseo (; 9 October 1802 – 1 May 1874) was a Dalmatian linguist, journalist and essayist, the editor of a ''Dizionario della Lingua Italiana'' in eight volumes (1861–74), of a dictionary of synonyms (1830) and other works. He is ...
are generally considered three great literary precursors of Italian nationalism, but the most famous proto-nationalist work was
Alessandro Manzoni
Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Antonio Manzoni (, , ; 7 March 1785 – 22 May 1873) was an Italian poet, novelist and philosopher. He is famous for the novel '' The Betrothed'' (orig. it, I promessi sposi) (1827), generally ranked among the maste ...
's
''I promessi sposi'' ''(The Betrothed)'', widely read as a thinly veiled allegorical critique of Austrian rule. Published in 1827 and extensively revised in the following years, the 1840 version of ''I Promessi Sposi'' used a standardized version of the
Tuscan dialect
Tuscan ( it, dialetto toscano ; it, vernacolo, label=locally) is a set of Italo-Dalmatian varieties of Romance mainly spoken in Tuscany, Italy.
Standard Italian is based on Tuscan, specifically on its Florentine dialect, and it became the ...
, a conscious effort by the author to provide a language and force people to learn it.
Three ideals of unification appeared.
Vincenzo Gioberti
Vincenzo Gioberti (; 5 April 180126 October 1852) was an Italian Catholic priest, philosopher, publicist and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Sardinia from 1848 to 1849. He was a prominent spokesman for liberal Catholicism.
Bio ...
, a Piedmontese priest, had suggested a confederation of Italian states under the leadership of the Pope in his 1842 book ''Of the Moral and Civil Primacy of the Italians''.
Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...
at first appeared interested but he turned reactionary and led the battle against liberalism and nationalism.
Giuseppe Mazzini
Giuseppe Mazzini (, , ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the in ...
and
Carlo Cattaneo
Carlo Cattaneo (; 15 June 1801 – 6 February 1869) was an Italian philosopher, writer, and activist, famous for his role in the Five Days of Milan in March 1848, when he led the city council during the rebellion.
Early life
Cattaneo was born ...
wanted the unification of Italy under a
federal republic
A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. At its core, the literal meaning of the word republic when used to reference a form of government means: "a country that is governed by elected representatives ...
, which proved too extreme for most nationalists. The middle position was proposed by
Cesare Balbo
Cesare Balbo, Conte di Vinadio (21 November 1789 – 3 June 1853), was an Italian writer and statesman.
Balbo was born in Turin on 21 November 1789. His father, Prospero Balbo, who belonged to a noble Piedmontese family, held a high position i ...
(1789–1853) as a confederation of separate Italian states led by Piedmont.
Carbonari
![Italian-unification](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Italian-unification.gif)
One of the most influential revolutionary groups was the
Carboneria
The Carbonari () was an informal network of secret revolutionary societies active in Italy from about 1800 to 1831. The Italian Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in France, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Uruguay and Ru ...
, a secret political discussion group formed in
Southern Italy
Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half.
The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the pe ...
early in the 19th century; the members were called ''Carbonari''. After 1815,
Freemasonry
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
in Italy was repressed and discredited due to its French connections. A void was left that the Carboneria filled with a movement that closely resembled Freemasonry but with a commitment to Italian nationalism and no association with Napoleon and his government. The response came from middle-class professionals and businessmen and some intellectuals. The Carboneria disowned Napoleon but nevertheless were inspired by the principles of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
regarding liberty, equality and fraternity. They developed their own rituals and were strongly anticlerical. The Carboneria movement spread across Italy.
Conservative governments feared the Carboneria, imposing stiff penalties on men discovered to be members. Nevertheless, the movement survived and continued to be a source of political turmoil in Italy from 1820 until after unification. The Carbonari condemned
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...
(who, as a young man, had fought on their side) to death for
failing to unite Italy, and the group almost succeeded in assassinating him in 1858, when
Felice Orsini
Felice Orsini (; ; 10 December 1819 – 13 March 1858) was an Italian revolutionary and leader of the '' Carbonari'' who tried to assassinate Napoleon III, Emperor of the French.
Early life
Felice Orsini was born at Meldola in Romagna, the ...
,
Giovanni Andrea Pieri,
Carlo Di Rudio and
Andrea Gomez launched three bombs at him. Many leaders of the unification movement were at one time or other members of this organization. The chief purpose was to defeat tyranny and to establish constitutional government. Though contributing some service to the cause of Italian unity, historians such as Cornelia Shiver doubt that their achievements were proportional to their pretensions.
Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi
![First meeting between Giuseppe Garibaldi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/First_meeting_between_Giuseppe_Garibaldi.jpg)
Many leading Carbonari revolutionaries wanted a republic,
two of the most prominent being
Giuseppe Mazzini
Giuseppe Mazzini (, , ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the in ...
and
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, pa ...
. Mazzini's activity in revolutionary movements caused him to be imprisoned soon after he joined. While in prison, he concluded that Italy could − and therefore should − be unified, and he formulated a program for establishing a free, independent, and republican nation with Rome as its capital. Following his release in 1831, he went to
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
in France, where he organized a new political society called
''La Giovine Italia'' (Young Italy), whose mottos were "''Dio e Popolo''" (God and People) and "''Unione, Forza e Libertà''" (Union, Strength and Freedom), which sought the unification of Italy.
Garibaldi, a native of
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative ...
(then part of
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
), participated in an uprising in Piedmont in 1834 and was sentenced to death. He escaped to South America, though, spending fourteen years in exile, taking part in several wars, and learning the art of guerrilla warfare before his return to Italy in 1848.
Early revolutionary activity
Exiles and European and masculine ideals
Many of the key intellectual and political leaders operated from exile; most Risorgimento patriots lived and published their work abroad after successive failed revolutions. Exile became a central theme of the foundational legacy of the Risorgimento as the narrative of the Italian nation fighting for independence. The exiles were deeply immersed in European ideas, and often hammered away at what Europeans saw as Italian vices, especially effeminacy and indolence. These negative stereotypes emerged from Enlightenment notions of national character that stressed the influence of the environment and history on a people's moral predisposition. Italian exiles both challenged and embraced the stereotypes and typically presented gendered interpretations of Italy's political "degeneration". They called for a masculine response to feminine weaknesses as the basis of national regeneration and fashioned their image of the future Italian nation firmly in the standards of European nationalism.
Two Sicilies insurrection
![Guglielmo Pepe Illustration](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Guglielmo_Pepe_Illustration.jpg)
In 1820, Spaniards successfully
revolted
In political science, a revolution ( Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically d ...
over disputes about their Constitution, which influenced the development of a similar movement in Italy. Inspired by the Spaniards (who, in 1812, had created their constitution), a regiment in the army of the
Kingdom of 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 all ...
, commanded by
Guglielmo Pepe
Guglielmo Pepe (13 February 1783 – 8 August 1855) was an Italian general and patriot. He was brother to Florestano Pepe and cousin to Gabriele Pepe. He was married to Mary Ann Coventry, a Scottish woman who was the widow of John Borthw ...
, a Carbonaro (member of the secret republican organization), mutinied, conquering the peninsular part of Two Sicilies. The king,
Ferdinand I, agreed to enact a new constitution. The revolutionaries, though, failed to court popular support and fell to Austrian troops of the
Holy Alliance
The Holy Alliance (german: Heilige Allianz; russian: Священный союз, ''Svyashchennyy soyuz''; also called the Grand Alliance) was a coalition linking the monarchist great powers of Austria, Prussia, and Russia. It was created after ...
. Ferdinand abolished the constitution and began systematically persecuting known revolutionaries. Many supporters of revolution in
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
, including the scholar
Michele Amari
Michele Amari (7 July 1806 – 16 July 1889) was a Sicilian patriot, historian and orientalist.
Biography
Born at Palermo son of Ferdinando and Giulia Venturelli, he devoted a great part of his life to the history of Sicily. Amari was also a ...
, were forced into exile during the decades that followed.
Piedmont insurrection
![Arresto pellico maroncelli](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Arresto_di_Silvio_Pellico_e_Piero_Maroncelli_-_Carlo_Felice_Biscarra.jpg)
The leader of the 1821 revolutionary movement in
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
was
Santorre di Santarosa, who wanted to remove the Austrians and unify Italy under 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 ...
. The Piedmont revolt started in
Alessandria
Alessandria (; pms, Lissandria ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about east of Turin.
Alessandri ...
, where troops adopted the green, white, and red
''tricolore'' of the
Cisalpine Republic
The Cisalpine Republic ( it, Repubblica Cisalpina) was a sister republic of France in Northern Italy that existed from 1797 to 1799, with a second version until 1802.
Creation
After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte organiz ...
. The king's regent, prince
Charles Albert
Charles Albert (; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the King of Sardinia from 27 April 1831 until 23 March 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constitution, the Albertine Statute, and with the First Italian War of Independenc ...
, acting while the king
Charles Felix was away, approved a new
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these pr ...
to appease the revolutionaries, but when the king returned he disavowed the constitution and requested assistance from the
Holy Alliance
The Holy Alliance (german: Heilige Allianz; russian: Священный союз, ''Svyashchennyy soyuz''; also called the Grand Alliance) was a coalition linking the monarchist great powers of Austria, Prussia, and Russia. It was created after ...
. Di Santarosa's troops were defeated, and the would-be Piedmontese revolutionary fled to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
.
In
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
,
Silvio Pellico
Silvio Pellico (; 24 June 1789 – 31 January 1854) was an Italian writer, poet, dramatist and patriot active in the Italian unification.
Biography
Silvio Pellico was born in Saluzzo (Piedmont). He spent the earlier portion of his life at Pin ...
and
Pietro Maroncelli organized several attempts to weaken the hold of the Austrian despotism by indirect educational means. In October 1820, Pellico and Maroncelli were arrested on the charge of carbonarism and imprisoned.
1830 insurrections
Denis Mack Smith
Denis Mack Smith CBE FBA FRSL (3 March 1920 – 11 July 2017) was an English historian who specialized in the history of Italy from the Risorgimento onwards. He is best known for his biographies of Garibaldi, Cavour and Mussolini, and for hi ...
argues:
![Assalto alla casa di Ciro Menotti e arresto del Grande Patriotta e dei suoi compagni](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Assalto_alla_casa_di_Ciro_Menotti_e_arresto_del_Grande_Patriotta_e_dei_suoi_compagni.jpg)
After 1830, revolutionary sentiment in favour of a unified Italy began to experience a resurgence, and a series of insurrections laid the groundwork for the creation of one nation along the Italian peninsula.
The
Duke of Modena
Emperor Frederick III conferred Borso d'Este, Lord of Ferrara, with the Duchy of Modena and Reggio in 1452, while Pope Paul II formally elevated him in 1471 as Duke of Ferrara, over which the family had in fact long presided. This latter territo ...
,
Francis IV, was an ambitious noble, and he hoped to become king of
Northern Italy
Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative region ...
by increasing his territory. In 1826, Francis made it clear that he would not act against those who subverted opposition toward the unification of Italy. Encouraged by the declaration, revolutionaries in the region began to organize.
During the
July Revolution of 1830 in France, revolutionaries forced the king to abdicate and created the
July Monarchy
The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 ...
with encouragement from the new French king,
Louis-Philippe
Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France.
As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wa ...
. Louis-Philippe had promised revolutionaries such as
Ciro Menotti
Ciro Menotti (22 January 1798 – 23 May 1831) was an Italian patriot.
Biography
Menotti was born in Migliarina, near Carpi, then part of the Duchy of Modena and Reggio. A member of the Carboneria since 1817, he was a fervent democratic and p ...
that he would intervene if Austria tried to interfere in Italy with troops. Fearing he would lose his throne, Louis-Philippe did not, however, intervene in Menotti's planned uprising. The Duke of Modena abandoned his Carbonari supporters, arrested Menotti and other conspirators in 1831, and once again conquered his duchy with help from the Austrian troops. Menotti was executed, and the idea of a revolution centred in Modena faded.
At the same time, other insurrections arose in the
Papal Legations
The delegations as they existed in 1859.
Between the Congress of Vienna (1815) and the capture of Rome (1870), the Papal State was subdivided geographically into 17 apostolic delegations (''delegazioni apostoliche'') for ...
of
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...
,
Ferrara
Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...
,
Ravenna
Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the c ...
,
Forlì
Forlì ( , ; rgn, Furlè ; la, Forum Livii) is a '' comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. It is the central city of Romagna.
The city is situated along the Vi ...
,
Ancona
Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...
and
Perugia
Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia.
The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part ...
. These successful revolutions, which adopted the ''tricolore'' in place of the
Papal flag, quickly spread to cover all the Papal Legations, and their newly installed local governments proclaimed the creation of a united Italian nation. The revolts in Modena and the Papal Legations inspired similar activity in the
Duchy of Parma
The Duchy of Parma and Piacenza ( it, Ducato di Parma e Piacenza, la, Ducatus Parmae et Placentiae), was an Italian state created in 1545 and located in northern Italy, in the current region of Emilia-Romagna.
Originally a realm of the Farnese ...
, where the ''tricolore'' flag was adopted. The Parmese duchess
Marie Louise Marie Louise or Marie-Louise may refer to:
People
*Marie Louise of Orléans (1662–1689), daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, queen consort of Charles II of Spain
*Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel (1688–1765), daughter of Charles I, Landgrave ...
left the city during the political upheaval.
Insurrection provinces planned to unite as the ''
Province Italiane unite
United Italian Provinces or Italian United Provinces ( it, Provincie Unite Italiane, in modern Italian: ''Province Unite Italiane'') was a short-lived state (a Republic) that was established in 1831 in some territories of the Papal States ( Romag ...
'' (United Italian Provinces), which prompted
Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He h ...
to ask for Austrian help against the rebels. Austrian
Chancellor Metternich warned Louis-Philippe that Austria had no intention of letting Italian matters be and that French intervention would not be tolerated. Louis-Philippe withheld any military help and even arrested Italian patriots living in France.
In early 1831, the Austrian army began its march across the Italian peninsula, slowly crushing resistance in each province that had revolted. This military action suppressed much of the fledgling revolutionary movement, and resulted in the arrest of many radical leaders.
Revolutions of 1848–1849 and First Italian War of Independence
![Fratelli Bandiera](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Fratelli_Bandiera.jpg)
In 1844, two brothers from
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
,
Attilio and Emilio Bandiera, members of the ''
Giovine Italia
Young Italy ( it, La Giovine Italia) was an Italian political movement founded in 1831 by Giuseppe Mazzini. After a few months of leaving Italy, in June 1831, Mazzini wrote a letter to King Charles Albert of Sardinia, in which he asked him to un ...
'', planned to make a raid on the
Calabria
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
n coast against the
Kingdom of 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 ...
in support of Italian unification. They assembled a band of about twenty men ready to sacrifice their lives and set sail on their venture on 12 June 1844. Four days later they landed near
Crotone
Crotone (, ; nap, label= Crotonese, Cutrone or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( grc, Κρότων or ; la, Crotona) in Magna Graecia, it was known as Cotrone from the Middle Ages until ...
, intending to go to
Cosenza
Cosenza (; local dialect: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000; the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Province of Cosenza, which has a populati ...
, liberate the political prisoners, and issue their proclamations. Tragically for the Bandiera brothers, they did not find the insurgent band they were told awaited them, so they moved towards
La Sila
La Sila, also simply Sila, is the name of the mountainous plateau and historic region located in Calabria, southern Italy. The Sila National Park is known to have the purest air in Europe.
Geography
The Sila occupies part of the provinces of Co ...
. They were ultimately betrayed by one of their party, the
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
n Pietro Boccheciampe, and by some peasants who believed them to be Turkish pirates. A detachment of
gendarmes
Wrong info! -->
A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...
and volunteers were sent against them, and after a short fight, the whole band was taken prisoner and escorted to Cosenza, where a number of Calabrians who had taken part in a previous rising were also under arrest. The Bandiera brothers and their nine companions were executed by firing squad; some accounts state they cried "''Viva l’Italia''!" ("Long live Italy!") as they fell. The moral effect was enormous throughout Italy, the action of the authorities was universally condemned, and the martyrdom of the Bandiera brothers bore fruit in the subsequent revolutions.
![Image-Inno di Mameli 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Image-Inno_di_Mameli_2.jpg)
In this context, in 1847, the first public performance of the song ''
Il Canto degli Italiani
"" (; "The Song of the Italians") is a canto written by Goffredo Mameli set to music by Michele Novaro in 1847, and is the current national anthem of Italy. It is best known among Italians as the "" (, "Mameli's Hymn"), after the author of the ...
'', the Italian
national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...
since 1946, took place. ''Il Canto degli Italiani'', written by
Goffredo Mameli
Goffredo Mameli (; 5 September 1827 – 6 July 1849) was an Italian patriot, poet, writer and a notable figure in the Risorgimento. He is also the author of the lyrics of "Il Canto degli Italiani", the national anthem of Italy.
Biography
The so ...
set to music by
Michele Novaro
Michele Novaro (; 23 December 1818 – 20 October 1885) was an Italian composer.
Novaro was born on 23 December 1818 in Genoa, where he studied composition and singing. Novaro is mostly known as the composer of the music of the Italian nati ...
, is also known as the ''Inno di Mameli'', after the author of the lyrics, or ''Fratelli d'Italia'', from its
opening line
At the beginning of a written work stands the opening sentence or opening line. The opening line is part or all of the opening sentence that may start the lead paragraph. For older texts the Latin term "incipit" (it begins) is in use for the very ...
.
On 5 January 1848, the revolutionary disturbances began with a civil disobedience strike in
Lombardy
Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
, as citizens stopped smoking cigars and playing the
lottery
A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of ...
, which denied Austria the associated tax revenue. Shortly after this, revolts began on the island of
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
and in Naples. In Sicily the revolt resulted in the proclamation of the
Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...
with
Ruggero Settimo
Ruggero Settimo (19 May 1778 – 2 May 1863) was an Italian politician, diplomat, and patriotic activist from Sicily. He was a counter-admiral of the Sicilian Fleet. He fought alongside the British fleet in the Mediterranean Sea against th ...
as Chairman of the independent state until 1849, when the Bourbon army took back full control of the island on 15 May 1849 by force.
![Ruggero Settimo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Ruggero_Settimo.jpg)
In February 1848, there were revolts in
Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze'').
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
that were relatively nonviolent, after which
Grand Duke Leopold II granted the Tuscans a constitution. A breakaway republican provisional government formed in Tuscany during February shortly after this concession. On 21 February,
Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...
granted a constitution to the Papal States, which was both unexpected and surprising considering the historical recalcitrance of the Papacy. On 23 February 1848, King
Louis Philippe of France
Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France.
As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...
was forced to flee
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
, and a republic was proclaimed. By the time the revolution in Paris occurred, three states of Italy had constitutions—four if one considers Sicily to be a separate state.
Meanwhile, in Lombardy, tensions increased until the Milanese and Venetians rose in revolt on 18 March 1848. The insurrection in Milan succeeded in expelling the Austrian garrison after five days of street fights – 18–22 March (
Cinque giornate di Milano). An Austrian army under Marshal
Josef Radetzky besieged Milan, but due to the defection of many of his troops and the support of the Milanese for the revolt, they were forced to retreat.
Soon,
Charles Albert
Charles Albert (; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the King of Sardinia from 27 April 1831 until 23 March 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constitution, the Albertine Statute, and with the First Italian War of Independenc ...
, the King of Sardinia (who ruled Piedmont and
Savoy
Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps.
Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south.
Savo ...
), urged by the Venetians and Milanese to aid their cause, decided this was the moment to unify Italy and declared war on Austria (
First Italian Independence War
The First Italian War of Independence ( it, Prima guerra d'indipendenza italiana), part of the Italian Unification (''Risorgimento''), was fought by the Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont) and Italian volunteers against the Austrian Empire and other ...
). After initial successes at
Goito
Goito ( Upper Mantovano: ) is a ''comune'' with a population of 10,005 in the Province of Mantua in Lombardy. Goito is north of Mantua on the road leading to Brescia and Lake Garda, and straddles the old east–west Via Postumia between Cremona a ...
and
Peschiera, he was decisively defeated by Radetzky at the
Battle of Custoza on 24 July. An armistice was agreed to, and Radetzky regained control of all of
Lombardy-Venetia save
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
itself, where the
Republic of San Marco
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 ...
was proclaimed under
Daniele Manin
Daniele Manin (13 May 180422 September 1857) was an Italian patriot, statesman and leader of the Risorgimento in Venice. Many Italian historians consider him to be an important figure in Italian unification.
Early and family life
left, House i ...
.
![Daniele Manin Repubblica di Venezia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Daniele_Manin_Repubblica_di_Venezia.jpg)
While Radetzky consolidated control of Lombardy-Venetia and Charles Albert licked his wounds, matters took a more serious turn in other parts of Italy. The monarchs who had reluctantly agreed to constitutions in March came into conflict with their constitutional ministers. At first, the republics had the upper hand, forcing the monarchs to flee their capitals, including
Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...
.
Initially, Pius IX had been something of a reformer, but conflicts with the revolutionaries soured him on the idea of constitutional government. In November 1848, following the assassination of his Minister
Pellegrino Rossi
Pellegrino Luigi Odoardo Rossi (13 July 1787 – 15 November 1848) was an Italian economist, politician and jurist. He was an important figure of the July Monarchy in France, and the minister of justice in the government of the Papal States, unde ...
, Pius IX fled just before
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, pa ...
and other patriots arrived in Rome. In early 1849, elections were held for a Constituent Assembly, which proclaimed a
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...
on 9 February. On 2 February 1849, at a political rally held in the Apollo Theater, a young Roman priest, the Abbé
Carlo Arduini, had made a speech in which he had declared that the
temporal power of the popes was a "historical lie, a political imposture, and a religious immorality". In early March 1849,
Giuseppe Mazzini
Giuseppe Mazzini (, , ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the in ...
arrived in Rome and was appointed Chief Minister. In the Constitution of the Roman Republic, religious freedom was guaranteed by article 7, the independence of the pope as head of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
was guaranteed by article 8 of the ''Principi fondamentali'', while the death penalty was abolished by article 5, and free public education was provided by article 8 of the ''Titolo I''.
Before the powers could respond to the founding of the Roman Republic, Charles Albert, whose army had been trained by the exiled Polish general
Albert Chrzanowski, renewed the war with Austria. He was quickly defeated by Radetzky at
Novara
Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is ...
on 23 March 1849. Charles Albert abdicated in favour of his son,
Victor Emmanuel II
Victor Emmanuel II ( it, Vittorio Emanuele II; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia from 1849 until 17 March 1861, when he assumed the title o ...
, and Piedmontese ambitions to unite Italy or conquer Lombardy were, for the moment, brought to an end. The war ended with a treaty signed on 9 August. A popular revolt broke out in
Brescia
Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...
on the same day as the defeat at Novara, but was suppressed by the Austrians ten days later.
There remained the Roman and
Venetian Republics. In April, a French force under
Charles Oudinot
Lieutenant-General Charles Nicolas Victor Oudinot, 2nd Duc de Reggio (3 November 1791 in Bar-le-Duc – 7 June 1863 in Bar-le-Duc), the eldest son of Napoleon I's marshal Nicolas Oudinot and Charlotte Derlin, also made a military career.
He serve ...
was sent to Rome. Apparently, the French first wished to mediate between the Pope and his subjects, but soon the French were determined to restore the Pope. After a two-month siege, Rome capitulated on 29 June 1849 and the Pope was restored. Garibaldi and Mazzini once again fled into exile—in 1850 Garibaldi went to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Meanwhile, the Austrians besieged Venice, which was defended by a volunteer army led by
Daniele Manin
Daniele Manin (13 May 180422 September 1857) was an Italian patriot, statesman and leader of the Risorgimento in Venice. Many Italian historians consider him to be an important figure in Italian unification.
Early and family life
left, House i ...
and
Guglielmo Pepe
Guglielmo Pepe (13 February 1783 – 8 August 1855) was an Italian general and patriot. He was brother to Florestano Pepe and cousin to Gabriele Pepe. He was married to Mary Ann Coventry, a Scottish woman who was the widow of John Borthw ...
, who were forced to surrender on 24 August. Pro-independence fighters were
hanged en masse in Belfiore, while the Austrians moved to restore order in central Italy, restoring the princes who had been expelled and establishing their control over the
Papal Legations
The delegations as they existed in 1859.
Between the Congress of Vienna (1815) and the capture of Rome (1870), the Papal State was subdivided geographically into 17 apostolic delegations (''delegazioni apostoliche'') for ...
. The revolutions were thus completely crushed.
Cavour and prospects for unification
![Garibaldiecavour](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Garibaldiecavour.JPG)
Morale was of course badly weakened, but the dream of Risorgimento did not die. Instead, the Italian patriots learned some lessons that made them much more effective at the next opportunity in 1860. Military weakness was glaring, as the small Italian states were completely outmatched by France and Austria.
France was a potential ally, and the patriots realized they had to focus all their attention on expelling Austria first, with a willingness to give the French whatever they wanted in return for essential military intervention. As a result of this France received Nice and Savoy in 1860. Secondly, the patriots realized that the Pope was an enemy, and could never be the leader of a united Italy. Thirdly, they realized that republicanism was too weak a force. Unification had to be based on a strong monarchy, and in practice that meant reliance on Piedmont (the
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...
) under
King Victor Emmanuel II
en, Victor Emmanuel Maria Albert Eugene Ferdinand Thomas
, house = Savoy
, father = Charles Albert of Sardinia
, mother = Maria Theresa of Austria
, religion = Roman Catholicism
, image_size = 252px
, succession1 ...
(1820–1878) of 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 ...
.
Count 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 towa ...
(1810–1861) provided critical leadership. He was a modernizer interested in agrarian improvements, banks, railways and free trade. He opened a newspaper as soon as censorship allowed it: ''
Il Risorgimento'' called for the independence of Italy, a league of Italian princes, and moderate reforms. He had the ear of the king and in 1852 became prime minister. He ran an efficient active government, promoting rapid economic modernization while upgrading the administration of the army and the financial and legal systems. He sought out support from patriots across Italy.
In 1855, the kingdom became an ally of Britain and France in the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
, which gave Cavour's diplomacy legitimacy in the eyes of the great powers.
Towards the Kingdom of Italy
Pisacane fiasco
In 1857,
Carlo Pisacane
Carlo Pisacane, Duke of San Giovanni (22 August 1818 – 2 July 1857) was an Italian patriot and one of the first Italian socialist thinkers. He argued that violence was necessary not only to draw attention to, or generate publicity for, a c ...
, an aristocrat from Naples who had embraced Mazzini's ideas, decided to provoke a rising in 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 ...
. His small force landed on the island of
Ponza
Ponza (Italian: ''isola di Ponza'' ) is the largest island of the Italian Pontine Islands archipelago, located south of Cape Circeo in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is also the name of the commune of the island, a part of the province of Latina in the ...
. It overpowered guards and liberated hundreds of prisoners. In sharp contrast to his hypothetical expectations, there was no local uprising and the invaders were quickly overpowered. Pisacane was killed by angry locals who suspected he was leading a gypsy band trying to steal their food.
Second Italian Independence War of 1859 and aftermath
The Second War of Italian Independence began in April 1859 when the Sardinian Prime Minister
Count 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 towa ...
found an ally in
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...
. Napoleon III signed a secret alliance and Cavour provoked Austria with military maneuvers and eventually led to the war in April 1859. Cavour called for volunteers to enlist in the Italian liberation. The Austrians planned to use their army to beat the Sardinians before the French could come to their aid. Austria had an army of 140,000 men, while the Sardinians had a mere 70,000 men by comparison. However the Austrians' numerical strength was outweighed by an ineffectual leadership appointed by the Emperor on the basis of noble lineage, rather than military competency. Their army was slow to enter the capital of Sardinia, taking almost ten days to travel the . By this time, the French had reinforced the Sardinians, so the Austrians retreated.
![San Fermo 1859 Gaildrau](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/San_Fermo_1859_Gaildrau.jpg)
The Austrians were defeated at the
Battle of Magenta
The Battle of Magenta was fought on 4 June 1859 during the Second Italian War of Independence, resulting in a French-Sardinian victory under Napoleon III against the Austrians under Marshal Ferencz Gyulai.
It took place near the town of Magenta ...
on 4 June and pushed back to
Lombardy
Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
. Napoleon III's plans worked and at the
Battle of Solferino
The Battle of Solferino (referred to in Italy as the Battle of Solferino and San Martino) on 24 June 1859 resulted in the victory of the allied French Army under Napoleon III and Piedmont-Sardinian Army under Victor Emmanuel II (together know ...
, France and Sardinia defeated Austria and forced negotiations; at the same time, in the northern part of Lombardy, the Italian volunteers known as the
Hunters of the Alps
The Hunters of the Alps ( it, Cacciatori delle Alpi) were a military corps created by Giuseppe Garibaldi in Cuneo on 20 February 1859 to help the regular Sardinian army to free the northern part of Italy in the Second Italian War of Independen ...
, 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, pa ...
, defeated the Austrians at
Varese
Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559.
It is the c ...
and
Como
Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como.
Its proximity to Lake Como and ...
. On 12 July, the Armistice of Villafranca was signed. The settlement, by which Lombardy was annexed to Sardinia, left Austria in control of Venice.
Sardinia eventually won the Second War of Italian Unification through statesmanship rather than armies or popular election. The final arrangement was ironed out by "back-room" deals instead of on the battlefield. This was because neither France, Austria, nor Sardinia wanted to risk another battle and could not handle further fighting. All of the sides were eventually unhappy with the outcome of the Second War of Italian Unification and expected another conflict in the future.
Sardinia annexed Lombardy from Austria; it later occupied and annexed the
United Provinces of Central Italy
The United Provinces of Central Italy, also known as Confederation of Central Italy or General Government of Central Italy, was a short-lived military government established by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. It was formed by a union of the for ...
, consisting of the
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
The Grand Duchy of Tuscany ( it, Granducato di Toscana; la, Magnus Ducatus Etruriae) was an Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In th ...
, the
Duchy of Parma
The Duchy of Parma and Piacenza ( it, Ducato di Parma e Piacenza, la, Ducatus Parmae et Placentiae), was an Italian state created in 1545 and located in northern Italy, in the current region of Emilia-Romagna.
Originally a realm of the Farnese ...
, the
Duchy of Modena and Reggio
The Duchy of Modena and Reggio ( Emilian: ''Duchêt ed Mòdna e Rèz'', it, Ducato di Modena e Reggio, la, Ducatus Mutinae et Regii) was an Italian state created in 1452 located in Northwestern Italy, in the present day region of Emilia-Romagn ...
and the Papal Legations on 22 March 1860. Sardinia handed Savoy and Nice over to France at the
Treaty of Turin, a decision that was the consequence of the
Plombières Agreement
The Plombières Agreement ( it, Accordi di Plombières, french: Entrevue de Plombières) of the 21 July 1858 was a secret verbal agreement which took place at Plombières-les-Bains between the chief minister of Piedmont-Sardinia, Count Cavour, a ...
, on 24 March 1860, an event that caused the
Niçard exodus
The Niçard exodus ( it, esodo nizzardo ; ) was one of the first emigration phenomena that involved the Italian populations in the contemporary age. It was due to the refusal of a quarter of the Niçard Italians to stay in Nice after its anne ...
, which was the emigration of a quarter of the
Niçard Italians
Niçard Italians ( it, nizzardi italiani ) are Italians who have full or partial County of Nice, Nice heritage by birth or ethnicity.
History
Niçard Italians have roots in Nice and the County of Nice. They often speak the Ligurian language after ...
to Italy.
Expedition of the Thousand
![Giuseppe Garibaldi (1866)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Giuseppe_Garibaldi_%281866%29.jpg)
Thus, by early 1860, only five states remained in Italy—the Austrians in Venetia, 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 ...
(now minus the Legations), the new expanded Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, 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
San Marino
San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...
.
Francis II of the Two Sicilies
, image = Francesco II of the Two Sicilies.JPG
, caption = King Francis II
, succession = King of the Two Sicilies
, reign = 22 May 1859 – 20 March 1861
, predecessor = Ferdinand II
, successor = ''Ki ...
, the son and successor of
Ferdinand II (the infamous "King Bomba"), had a well-organized army of 150,000 men. But his father's tyranny had inspired many secret societies, and the kingdom's
Swiss mercenaries
The Swiss mercenaries (german: Reisläufer) were a powerful infantry force constituted by professional soldiers originating from the cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy. They were notable for their service in foreign armies, especially among th ...
were unexpectedly recalled home under the terms of a new Swiss law that forbade Swiss citizens to serve as mercenaries. This left Francis with only his mostly unreliable native troops. It was a critical opportunity for the unification movement. In April 1860, separate insurrections began in
Messina
Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...
and
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
in Sicily, both of which had demonstrated a history of opposing Neapolitan rule. These rebellions were easily suppressed by loyal troops.
In the meantime,
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, pa ...
, a native of Nice, was deeply resentful of the French annexation of his home city. He hoped to use his supporters to regain the territory. Cavour, terrified of Garibaldi provoking a war with France, persuaded Garibaldi to instead use his forces in the Sicilian rebellions. On 6 May 1860, Garibaldi and his cadre of about a thousand Italian volunteers (called ''
I Mille
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 ...
''), steamed from
Quarto
Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...
near
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
, and, after a stop in
Talamone
Talamone is a town in Tuscany, on the west coast of central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Orbetello, province of Grosseto, in the Tuscan Maremma.
Talamone is easily reached from Via Aurelia, and is about from Grosseto and ...
on 11 May, landed near
Marsala
Marsala (, local ; la, Lilybaeum) is an Italian town located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in its province and the fifth in Sicily.
The town is famous for the docking of Gius ...
on the west coast of
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
.
Near
Salemi
Salemi is a town and ''comune'' in southwestern Sicily, Italy, administratively part of the province of Trapani.
History
Salemi is where Giuseppe Garibaldi announced the annexation of Sicily on May 14, 1860, as part of the Expedition of the Tho ...
, Garibaldi's army attracted scattered bands of rebels, and the combined forces defeated the
Neapolitan Army at the
Battle of Calatafimi
The Battle of Calatafimi was fought on the 15 May 1860 between Giuseppe Garibaldi's volunteers and the troops of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies at Calatafimi, Sicily, as part of the Expedition of the Thousand (Italian: ''I Mille''). The battle ...
on 13 May. Within three days, the invading force had swelled to 4,000 men. On 14 May Garibaldi proclaimed himself
dictator of Sicily, in the name of Victor Emmanuel. After waging various successful but hard-fought battles, Garibaldi advanced upon the Sicilian capital of
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
, announcing his arrival by beacon-fires kindled at night. On 27 May the force began the
Siege of Palermo
The siege of Palermo took place between 27 and 30 May 1860 in Palermo, Sicily, during the Expedition of the Thousand led by Giuseppe Garibaldi against the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, as part of the Italian unification wars.
Battle
Although wit ...
, while a mass uprising of street and barricade fighting broke out within the city.
![Battle of Calatafimi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Battle_of_Calatafimi.jpg)
With Palermo deemed insurgent, Neapolitan general Ferdinando Lanza, arriving in Sicily with some 25,000 troops, furiously bombarded Palermo nearly to ruins. With the intervention of a British admiral, an armistice was declared, leading to the Neapolitan troops' departure and surrender of the town to Garibaldi and his much smaller army.
This resounding success demonstrated the weakness of the Neapolitan government. Garibaldi's fame spread and many Italians began to consider him a national hero. Doubt, confusion, and dismay overtook the Neapolitan court—the king hastily summoned his ministry and offered to restore an earlier constitution, but these efforts failed to rebuild the peoples' trust in
Bourbon Bourbon may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash
* Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels
* Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit
* A beer produced by Bras ...
governance.
Six weeks after the surrender of Palermo, Garibaldi attacked Messina. Within a week, its citadel surrendered. Having conquered Sicily, Garibaldi proceeded to the mainland, crossing the
Strait of Messina
The Strait of Messina ( it, Stretto di Messina, Sicilian: Strittu di Missina) is a narrow strait between the eastern tip of Sicily (Punta del Faro) and the western tip of Calabria ( Punta Pezzo) in Southern Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Se ...
with the Neapolitan fleet at hand. The garrison at
Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label= Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label= Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria. It has an estimated popul ...
promptly surrendered. As he marched northward, the populace everywhere hailed him, and military resistance faded: on 18 and 21 August, the people of
Basilicata
it, Lucano (man) it, Lucana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
...
and
Apulia
it, Pugliese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographic ...
, two regions of the Kingdom of Naples, independently declared their annexation to the Kingdom of Italy. At the end of August, Garibaldi was at
Cosenza
Cosenza (; local dialect: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000; the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Province of Cosenza, which has a populati ...
, and, on 5 September, at
Eboli
Eboli ( Ebolitano: ) is a town and ''comune'' of Campania, southern Italy, in the province of Salerno.
An agricultural centre, Eboli is known mainly for olive oil and for its dairy products, among which the famous buffalo mozzarella from the ...
, near
Salerno
Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...
. Meanwhile,
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
had declared a state of siege, and on 6 September the king gathered the 4,000 troops still faithful to him and retreated over the
Volturno
The Volturno (ancient Latin name Volturnus, from ''volvere'', to roll) is a river in south-central Italy.
Geography
It rises in the Abruzzese central Apennines of Samnium near Castel San Vincenzo (province of Isernia, Molise) and flows southeas ...
river. The next day, Garibaldi, with a few followers, entered by train into Naples, where the people openly welcomed him.
Defeat of the Kingdom of Naples
![Napoli Castel Nuovo museo civico - ingresso di Garibaldi a Napoli - Wenzel bis](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Napoli_Castel_Nuovo_museo_civico_-_ingresso_di_Garibaldi_a_Napoli_-_Wenzel_bis.jpg)
Though Garibaldi had easily taken the capital, the Neapolitan army had not joined the rebellion ''en masse'', holding firm along the
Volturno River
The Volturno (ancient Latin name Volturnus, from ''volvere'', to roll) is a river in south-central Italy.
Geography
It rises in the Abruzzese central Apennines of Samnium near Castel San Vincenzo (province of Isernia, Molise) and flows southea ...
. Garibaldi's irregular bands of about 25,000 men could not drive away the king or take the fortresses of
Capua
Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain.
History
Ancient era
The name of Capua comes from the Etrusc ...
and
Gaeta
Gaeta (; lat, Cāiēta; Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a city in the province of Latina, in Lazio, Southern Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples.
The town has played a consp ...
without the help of the Sardinian army. The Sardinian army, however, could only arrive by traversing the Papal States, which extended across the entire center of the peninsula. Ignoring the political will of the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
, Garibaldi announced his intent to proclaim a "Kingdom of Italy" from
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 ...
, the capital city of
Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...
. Seeing this as a threat to the domain of the Catholic Church, Pius threatened
excommunication
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
for those who supported such an effort. Afraid that Garibaldi would attack Rome, Catholics worldwide sent money and volunteers for the Papal Army, which was commanded by General
Louis Lamoricière, a French exile.
The settling of the peninsular standoff now rested with Napoleon III. If he let Garibaldi have his way, Garibaldi would likely end the temporal sovereignty of the Pope and make Rome the capital of Italy. Napoleon, however, may have arranged with Cavour to let the king of Sardinia free to take possession of Naples,
Umbria
it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, ...
and the other provinces, provided that Rome and the "Patrimony of
St. Peter" were left intact.
It was in this situation that a Sardinian force of two army corps, under Fanti and Cialdini, marched to the frontier of the Papal States, its objective being not Rome but Naples. The Papal troops under Lamoricière advanced against Cialdini, but were quickly defeated and besieged in the fortress of
Ancona
Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...
, finally surrendering on 29 September. On 9 October, Victor Emmanuel arrived and took command. There was no longer a papal army to oppose him, and the march southward proceeded unopposed.
![With Victor Emmanuel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/With_Victor_Emmanuel.jpg)
Garibaldi distrusted the pragmatic Cavour since Cavour was the man ultimately responsible for orchestrating the French annexation of the city of Nice, which was his birthplace. Nevertheless, he accepted the command of Victor Emmanuel. When the king entered
Sessa Aurunca
Sessa Aurunca is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy. It is located on the south west slope of the extinct volcano of Roccamonfina, by rail west north west of Caserta and east of Formia.
It is situated o ...
at the head of his army, Garibaldi willingly handed over his dictatorial power. After greeting Victor Emmanuel in
Teano
Teano ( Teanese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, northwest of Caserta on the main line to Rome from Naples. It stands at the southeast foot of an extinct volcano, Rocca Monfina. Its St. Clement's ...
with the title of
King of Italy
King of Italy ( it, links=no, Re d'Italia; la, links=no, Rex Italiae) was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian military leader, ...
, Garibaldi entered Naples riding beside the king. Garibaldi then retired to the island of
Caprera
Caprera is an island in the Maddalena archipelago off the coast of Sardinia, Italy. In the area of La Maddalena island in the Strait of Bonifacio, it is a tourist destination and the place to which Giuseppe Garibaldi retired from 1854 until his ...
, while the remaining work of unifying the peninsula was left to Victor Emmanuel.
The progress of the Sardinian army compelled Francis II to give up his line along the river, and he eventually took refuge with his best troops in the fortress of Gaeta. His courage boosted by his resolute young wife, Queen
Marie Sophie, Francis mounted a stubborn defence that lasted three months. But European allies refused to provide him with aid, food and munitions became scarce, and disease set in, so the garrison was forced to surrender. Nonetheless, ragtag groups of Neapolitans loyal to Francis fought on against the Italian government for years to come.
The fall of Gaeta brought the unification movement to the brink of fruition—only Rome and
Venetia remained to be added. On 18 February 1861, Victor Emmanuel assembled the deputies of the first Italian Parliament in Turin. On 17 March 1861, the Parliament proclaimed Victor Emmanuel King of Italy, and on 27 March 1861 Rome was declared Capital of Italy, even though it was not yet in the new Kingdom.
Three months later Cavour died, having seen his life's work nearly completed. When he was given the last rites, Cavour purportedly said: "Italy is made. All is safe."
Roman Question
Mazzini was discontented with the perpetuation of monarchical government and continued to agitate for a republic. With the motto "Free from the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
to the
Adriatic
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...
", the unification movement set its gaze on Rome and Venice. There were obstacles, however. A challenge against the Pope's temporal dominion was viewed with profound distrust by Catholics around the world, and there were French troops stationed in Rome. Victor Emmanuel was wary of the international repercussions of attacking the Papal States, and discouraged his subjects from participating in revolutionary ventures with such intentions.
Nonetheless, Garibaldi believed that the government would support him if he attacked Rome. Frustrated at inaction by the king, and bristling over perceived snubs, he came out of retirement to organize a new venture. In June 1862, he sailed from Genoa and landed again at Palermo, where he gathered volunteers for the campaign, under the slogan ''o Roma o Morte'' ("either Rome or Death"). The garrison of Messina, loyal to the king's instructions, barred their passage to the mainland. Garibaldi's force, now numbering two thousand, turned south and set sail from
Catania
Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...
. Garibaldi declared that he would enter Rome as a victor or perish beneath its walls. He landed at
Melito
Melito of Sardis ( el, Μελίτων Σάρδεων ''Melítōn Sárdeōn''; died ) was the bishop of Sardis near Smyrna in western Anatolia, and a great authority in early Christianity. Melito held a foremost place in terms of bishops in Asia ...
on 14 August and marched at once into the
Calabria
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
n mountains.
![The Injured Garibaldi in the Aspromonte Mountains (oil on canvas)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/The_Injured_Garibaldi_in_the_Aspromonte_Mountains_%28oil_on_canvas%29.jpg)
Far from supporting this endeavour, the Italian government was quite disapproving. General Cialdini dispatched a division of the regular army, under Colonel Pallavicino, against the volunteer bands. On 28 August the two forces met in the
Aspromonte
The Aspromonte is a mountain massif in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria (Calabria, southern Italy). The literal translation of the name means "rough mountain". But for others the name more likely is related to the Greek word Aspros ( Ά ...
. One of the regulars fired a chance shot, and several volleys followed, but Garibaldi forbade his men to return fire on fellow subjects of the Kingdom of Italy. The volunteers suffered several casualties, and Garibaldi himself was wounded; many were taken prisoner. Garibaldi was taken by steamer to
Varignano, where he was honorably imprisoned for a time, but finally released.
Meanwhile, Victor Emmanuel sought a safer means to the acquisition of the remaining Papal territory. He negotiated with the Emperor Napoleon for the removal of the French troops from Rome through a treaty. They agreed to the
September Convention
The September Convention was a treaty, signed on 15 September 1864, between the Kingdom of Italy and the French Empire, under which:
* French Emperor Napoleon III would withdraw all French troops from Rome within two years.
* King Victor Emmanuel ...
in September 1864, by which Napoleon agreed to withdraw the troops within two years. The Pope was to expand his own army during that time so as to be self-sufficient. In December 1866, the last of the French troops departed from Rome, in spite of the efforts of the pope to retain them. By their withdrawal, Italy (excluding Venetia and Savoy) was freed from the presence of foreign soldiers.
The seat of government was moved in 1865 from
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
, the old Sardinian capital, to
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, where the first Italian parliament was summoned. This arrangement created such disturbances in Turin that the king was forced to leave that city hastily for his new capital.
Third War of Independence (1866)
![Illustrated London News - 11 agosto 1866](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Illustrated_London_News_-_11_agosto_1866._Combattimento_fra_garibaldini_e_austriaci_a_Bezzecca.jpg)
In the
Austro-Prussian 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 ...
of 1866, Austria contested with
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
the position of leadership among the German states. The Kingdom of Italy seized the opportunity to capture
Venetia from Austrian rule and allied itself with Prussia. Austria tried to persuade the Italian government to accept Venetia in exchange for non-intervention. However, on 8 April, Italy and Prussia signed an agreement that supported Italy's acquisition of Venetia, and on 20 June Italy issued a declaration of war on Austria. Within the context of Italian unification, the Austro-Prussian war is called the ''Third Independence War'', after the ''First'' (1848) and the ''Second'' (1859).
Victor Emmanuel hastened to lead an army across the
Mincio
The Mincio (; Latin: Mincius, Ancient Greek: Minchios, ''Μίγχιος'', Lombard: Mens, Venetian: Menzo) is a river in the Lombardy region of northern Italy.
The river is the main outlet of Lake Garda. It is a part of the ''Sarca-Mincio'' ...
to the invasion of Venetia, while Garibaldi was to
invade the Tyrol with his
Hunters of the Alps
The Hunters of the Alps ( it, Cacciatori delle Alpi) were a military corps created by Giuseppe Garibaldi in Cuneo on 20 February 1859 to help the regular Sardinian army to free the northern part of Italy in the Second Italian War of Independen ...
. The Italian army encountered the Austrians at
Custoza on 24 June and suffered a defeat. On 20 July the
Regia Marina
The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the Italian constitutional referendum, 1946, birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' ch ...
was defeated in the
battle of Lissa. The following day, Garibaldi's volunteers defeated an Austrian force in the
Battle of Bezzecca
The Battle of Bezzecca was fought on 21 July 1866 between Italy and Austria, during the Third Italian Independence War. The Italian force, the Hunters of the Alps, were led by Giuseppe Garibaldi, and had invaded Trentino as part of the general ...
, and moved toward
Trento
Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...
.
Meanwhile,
Prussian Minister President Otto von Bismarck
Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...
saw that his own ends in the war had been achieved, and signed an armistice with Austria on 27 July. Italy officially laid down its arms on 12 August. Garibaldi was recalled from his successful march and resigned with a brief telegram reading only "''Obbedisco''" ("I obey").
![Einzug Vittorio Emanuels in Venedig 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Einzug_Vittorio_Emanuels_in_Venedig_1.jpg)
Prussia's success on the northern front obliged Austria to cede Venetia (present-day
Veneto
Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona.
Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...
and parts of
Friuli
Friuli ( fur, Friûl, sl, Furlanija, german: Friaul) is an area of Northeast Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity containing 1,000,000 Friulians. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli Venezia Giulia ...
) and the city of
Mantua
Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name.
In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...
(the last remnant of the ''
Quadrilatero
The ''Quadrilatero'' (, for greater specificity often called the "Quadrilateral fortresses") is the traditional name of a defensive system of the Austrian Empire in the Lombardy-Venetia region of Italy, which connected the fortresses of Peschie ...
''). Under the terms of a peace treaty signed in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
on 12 October, Emperor
Franz Joseph
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...
had already agreed to cede Venetia to Napoleon III in exchange for non-intervention in the Austro-Prussian War, and thus Napoleon ceded Venetia to Italy on 19 October, in exchange for the earlier Italian acquiescence to the French annexation of
Savoy
Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps.
Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south.
Savo ...
and
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative ...
.
In the peace treaty of Vienna, it was written that the annexation of Venetia would have become effective only after a referendum—taken on 21 and 22 October—to let the Venetian people express their will about being annexed or not to the Kingdom of Italy. Historians suggest that the referendum in Venetia was held under military pressure, as a mere 0.01% of voters (69 out of more than 642,000 ballots) voted against the annexation.
Austrian forces put up some opposition to the invading Italians, to little effect. Victor Emmanuel entered Venice and Venetian land, and performed an act of homage in the
Piazza San Marco
Piazza San Marco (; vec, Piasa San Marco), often known in English as St Mark's Square, is the principal public square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known just as ''la Piazza'' ("the Square"). All other urban spaces in the city (exc ...
.
Rome
Mentana and Villa Glori
![Garibaldi at Mentana, 3rd November 1867](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Garibaldi_at_Mentana%2C_3rd_November_1867.jpg)
The national party, with Garibaldi at its head, still aimed at the possession of Rome, as the historic capital of the peninsula. In 1867 Garibaldi made a second attempt to capture Rome, but the papal army, strengthened with a new French auxiliary force, defeated his poorly armed volunteers at Mentana. Subsequently, a French garrison remained in Civitavecchia until August 1870, when it was recalled following the outbreak of the
Franco-Prussian War.
Before the defeat at Mentana on 3 November 1867, Enrico Cairoli, his brother Giovanni, and 70 companions had made a daring attempt to take Rome. The group had embarked in Terni and floated down the Tiber. Their arrival in Rome was to coincide with an uprising inside the city. On 22 October 1867, the revolutionaries inside Rome seized control of the
Capitoline Hill
The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; it, Campidoglio ; la, Mons Capitolinus ), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome.
The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn. Th ...
and of
Piazza Colonna
Piazza Colonna is a piazza at the center of the Rione of Colonna in the historic heart of Rome, Italy. It is named for the marble Column of Marcus Aurelius, which has stood there since AD 193. The bronze statue of Saint Paul that crowns the column ...
. Unfortunately for the Cairoli and their companions, by the time they arrived at Villa Glori, on the northern outskirts of Rome, the uprising had already been suppressed. During the night of 22 October 1867, the group was surrounded by
Papal Zouaves
The Papal Zouaves ( it, Zuavi Pontifici) were an infantry battalion, later regiment, dedicated to defending the Papal States. Named after the French zouave regiments, the ' were mainly young men, unmarried and Catholic, who volunteered to assist ...
, and Giovanni was severely wounded. Enrico was mortally wounded and bled to death in Giovanni's arms.
With Cairoli dead, command was assumed by Giovanni Tabacchi who had retreated with the remaining volunteers into the villa, where they continued to fire at the papal soldiers. These also retreated in the evening to Rome. The survivors retreated to the positions of those led by Garibaldi on the Italian border.
Memorial
At the summit of Villa Glori, near the spot where Enrico died, there is a plain white column dedicated to the Cairoli brothers and their 70 companions. About 200 meters to the right from the Terrazza del Pincio, there is a bronze monument of Giovanni holding the dying Enrico in his arm. A plaque lists the names of their companions. Giovanni never recovered from his wounds and from the tragic events of 1867. According to an eyewitness, when Giovanni died on 11 September 1869:
Capture of Rome
![Porta Pia Pagliari Vizzotto](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Porta_Pia_Pagliari_Vizzotto.JPG)
In July 1870, the
Franco-Prussian War began. In early August, the French Emperor
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...
recalled his garrison from Rome, thus no longer providing protection to the Papal State. Widespread public demonstrations illustrated the demand that the Italian government take Rome. The Italian government took no direct action until the collapse of the
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Empire, Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the French Second Republic, Second and the French Third Republic ...
at the
Battle of Sedan
The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War from 1 to 2 September 1870. Resulting in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and over a hundred thousand troops, it effectively decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies, ...
. King Victor Emmanuel II sent Count
Gustavo Ponza di San Martino
Gustavo Ponza, conte di San Martino (1 June 1810 – 6 September 1876) was an Italian politician, who was administrator and senator of the Kingdom of Italy.
He was born in Cuneo, the son of conte Cesare. He was appointed ''Intendente general ...
to
Pius IX
Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...
with a personal letter offering a face-saving proposal that would have allowed the peaceful entry of the Italian Army into Rome, under the guise of offering protection to the pope. The Papacy, however, exhibited something less than enthusiasm for the plan:
The Italian Army, commanded by General
Raffaele Cadorna
Raffaele Cadorna (9 February 1815 – 6 February 1897) was an Italian general who served as one of the major Piedmontese leaders responsible for the unification of Italy during the mid-19th century.
Born in Milan, Cadorna entered the Piedmontese ...
, crossed the papal frontier on 11 September and advanced slowly toward Rome, hoping that a peaceful entry could be negotiated. The Italian Army reached the
Aurelian Walls on 19 September and placed Rome under a state of siege. Although now convinced of his unavoidable defeat, Pius IX remained intransigent to the bitter end and forced his troops to put up a token resistance. On 20 September, after a cannonade of three hours had breached the Aurelian Walls at
Porta Pia
Porta Pia is a gate in the Aurelian Walls of Rome, Italy. One of Pope Pius IV's civic improvements to the city, it is named after him. Situated at the end of a new street, the Via Pia, it was designed by Michelangelo in replacement for the Port ...
, the
Bersaglieri
The Bersaglieri, singular Bersagliere, (, "sharpshooter") are a troop of marksmen in the Italian Army's infantry corps. They were originally created by General Alessandro La Marmora on 18 June 1836 to serve in the Royal Sardinian Army, which ...
entered Rome and marched down ''Via Pia'', which was subsequently renamed ''Via XX Settembre''. Forty-nine Italian soldiers and four officers, and nineteen papal troops, died. Rome and
Latium
Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire.
Definition
Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whi ...
were annexed to the Kingdom of Italy after a plebiscite held on 2 October. The results of this plebiscite were accepted by decree of 9 October.
![Quirinale palazzo e obelisco con dioscuri Roma](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Quirinale_palazzo_e_obelisco_con_dioscuri_Roma.jpg)
Initially the Italian government had offered to let the pope keep the
Leonine City
The Leonine City (Latin: ''Civitas Leonina'') is the part of the city of Rome which, during the Middle Ages, was enclosed with the Leonine Wall, built by order of Pope Leo IV in the 9th century.
This area was located on the opposite side of the ...
, but the Pope rejected the offer because acceptance would have been an implied endorsement of the legitimacy of the Italian kingdom's rule over his former domain. Pius IX declared himself a
prisoner in the Vatican
A prisoner in the Vatican ( it, Prigioniero nel Vaticano; la, Captivus Vaticani) or prisoner of the Vatican described the situation of the Pope with respect to Italy during the period from the capture of Rome by the armed forces of the Kingdom o ...
, although he was not actually restrained from coming and going. Rather, being deposed and stripped of much of his former power also removed a measure of personal protection—if he had walked the streets of Rome he might have been in danger from political opponents who had formerly kept their views private. Officially, the capital was not moved from Florence to Rome until July 1871.
Historian Raffaele de Cesare made the following observations about Italian unification:
Problems
Unification was achieved entirely in terms of Piedmont's interests. Martin Clark says, "It was Piedmontization all around." Cavour died unexpectedly in June 1861, at 50, and most of the many promises that he made to regional authorities to induce them to join the newly unified Italian kingdom were ignored. The new Kingdom of Italy was structured by renaming the old Kingdom of Sardinia and annexing all the new provinces into its structures. The first king was Victor Emmanuel II, who kept his old title.
National and regional officials were all appointed by Piedmont. A few regional leaders succeeded to high positions in the new national government, but the top bureaucratic and military officials were mostly Piedmontese. The national capital was briefly moved to Florence and finally to Rome, one of the cases of Piedmont losing out.
However, Piedmontese tax rates and regulations, diplomats and officials were imposed on all of Italy. The new constitution was Piedmont's old constitution. The document was generally liberal and was welcomed by liberal elements. However, its anticlerical provisions were resented in the pro-clerical regions in places such as around Venice, Rome, and Naples – as well as the island of Sicily. Cavour had promised there would be regional and municipal, local governments, but all the promises were broken in 1861.
The first decade of the kingdom saw savage civil wars in Sicily and in the Naples region. Hearder claimed that failed efforts to protest unification involved "a mixture of spontaneous peasant movement and a Bourbon-clerical reaction directed by the old authorities".
The pope lost Rome in 1870 and ordered the Catholic Church not to co-operate with the new government, a decision fully reversed only in 1929. Most people for Risorgimento had wanted strong provinces, but they got a strong central state instead. The inevitable long-run results were a severe weakness of national unity and a politicized system based on mutually hostile regional violence. Such factors remain in the 21st century.
Ruling and representing Southern Italy
From the spring of 1860 to the summer of 1861, a major challenge that the Piedmontese parliament faced on national unification was how they should govern and control the southern regions of the country that were frequently represented and described by northern Italian correspondents as "corrupt", "barbaric", and "uncivilized". In response to the depictions of southern Italy, the Piedmontese parliament had to decide whether it should investigate the southern regions to better understand the social and political situations there or it should establish jurisdiction and order by using mostly force.
The dominance of letters sent from the Northern Italian correspondents that deemed Southern Italy to be "so far from the ideas of progress and civilization" ultimately induced the Piedmontese parliament to choose the latter course of action, which effectively illustrated the intimate connection between representation and rule.
[Nelson Moe, This is not Italy!': Ruling and Representing the South, 1860–1861", in ''The View from the Vesuvius: Italian Culture and the Southern Question'', 156–183 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002), 166.] In essence, the Northern Italians' "representation of the south as a land of barbarism (variously qualified as indecent, lacking in 'public conscience', ignorant, superstitious, etc.)" provided the Piedmontese with the justification to rule the southern regions on the pretext of implementing a superior, more civilized, "Piedmontese morality".
Historiography
![Francesco Hayez 048](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Francesco_Hayez_-_Ritratto_di_Massimo_d%E2%80%99Azeglio.jpg)
Italian unification is still a topic of debate. According to
Massimo d'Azeglio, centuries of foreign domination created remarkable differences in Italian society, and the role of the newly formed government was to face these differences and to create a unified Italian society. Still today the most famous quote of Massimo d'Azeglio is, "L'Italia è fatta. Restano da fare gli italiani" (''Italy has been made. Now it remains to make Italians'').
The economist and politician
Francesco Saverio Nitti
Francesco Saverio Vincenzo de Paolo Nitti (19 July 1868 – 20 February 1953) was an Italian economist and political figure. A Radical, he served as Prime Minister of Italy between 1919 and 1920.
According to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' (" ...
criticized the newly created state for not considering the substantial economic differences between Northern Italy, a
free-market economy
A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers are ...
, and Southern Italy, a state
protectionist
Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...
economy, when integrating the two. When the Kingdom of Italy extended the free-market economy to the rest of the country, the South's economy collapsed under the weight of the North's. Nitti contended that this change should have been much more gradual in order to allow the birth of an adequate entrepreneurial class able to make strong investments and initiatives in the south. These mistakes, he felt, were the cause of the economic and social problems which came to be known as the Southern Question (''Questione Meridionale'').
The politician, historian, and writer
Gaetano Salvemini
Gaetano Salvemini (; 8 September 1873 – 6 September 1957) was an Italian Socialist and antifascist politician, historian and writer. Born in a family of modest means, he became an acclaimed historian both in Italy and abroad, particularly in ...
commented that even though Italian unification had been a strong opportunity for both a moral and economic rebirth of Italy's Mezzogiorno (
Southern Italy
Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half.
The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the pe ...
), because of a lack of understanding and action on the part of politicians, corruption and organized crime flourished in the South. The Marxist theorist
Antonio Gramsci
Antonio Francesco Gramsci ( , , ; 22 January 1891 – 27 April 1937) was an Italian Marxist philosopher, journalist, linguist, writer, and politician. He wrote on philosophy, political theory, sociology, history, and linguistics. He was a ...
criticized Italian unification for the limited presence of the masses in politics, as well as the lack of modern
land reform
Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...
in Italy.
Revisionism of Risorgimento
Historian John A. Davis, said in 2005, "Everyone, it seems, is busy rethinking, revisioning, revisiting, remaking, remapping or demythologizing the Risorgimento. However, it is not the Risorgimento that is being revisited but the changing images t ...
produced a clear radicalization of Italy in the mid-20th century, following the fall of the
Savoy monarchy and
fascism
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
during World War II. Reviews of the historical facts concerning Italian unification's successes and failures continue to be undertaken by domestic and foreign academic authors, including
Denis Mack Smith
Denis Mack Smith CBE FBA FRSL (3 March 1920 – 11 July 2017) was an English historian who specialized in the history of Italy from the Risorgimento onwards. He is best known for his biographies of Garibaldi, Cavour and Mussolini, and for hi ...
,
Christopher Duggan, and
Lucy Riall
Lucy Riall is an Irish historian. She was a professor of history at Birkbeck, University of London, and is currently a professor in the Department of History and Civilisation at the European University Institute in Florence.
Biography
Riall studi ...
. Recent work emphasizes the central importance of nationalism.
Risorgimento and irredentism
![RegioniIrredenteItalia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/RegioniIrredenteItalia.jpg)
It can be said that Italian unification was never truly completed in the 19th century. Many Italians remained outside the borders 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 ...
and this situation created the
Italian irredentism
Italian irredentism ( it, irredentismo italiano) was a nationalist movement during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in Italy with irredentist goals which promoted the unification of geographic areas in which indigenous peoples ...
.
The term ''
risorgimento
The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...
'' (Rising again) refers to the domestic reorganization of the stratified Italian identity into a unified, national front. The word literally means "Rising again" and was an ideological movement which strove to spark national pride, leading to political oppositionalism to foreign rule and influence. There is contention on its actual impact in Italy, some Scholars arguing it was a liberalizing time for 19th century Italian culture, while others speculate that although it was a patriotic revolution, it only tangibly aided the upper-class and
bourgeois
The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
publics without actively benefitting the lower classes.
''
Italia irredenta
Italian irredentism ( it, irredentismo italiano) was a nationalist movement during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in Italy with irredentist goals which promoted the unification of geographic areas in which indigenous peoples c ...
'' (unredeemed Italy) was an Italian
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
opinion movement that emerged after Italian unification. It advocated irredentism among the Italian people as well as other nationalities who were willing to become Italian and as a movement; it is also known as "Italian irredentism". Not a formal organization, it was just an opinion movement that claimed that Italy had to reach its "natural borders," meaning that the country would need to incorporate all areas predominantly consisting of ethnic Italians within the near vicinity outside its borders. Similar patriotic and nationalistic ideas were common in Europe in the 19th century.
Irredentism and the World Wars
Italy entered into the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
in 1915 with the aim of completing national unity: for this reason, the Italian intervention in the First World War is also considered the
Fourth Italian War of Independence
Italy entered into the First World War in 1915 with the aim of completing national unity: for this reason, the Italian intervention in the First World War is also considered the Fourth Italian War of Independence, in a historiographical perspectiv ...
, in a historiographical perspective that identifies in the latter the conclusion of the unification of Italy, whose military actions began during the
revolutions of 1848
The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...
with the
First Italian War of Independence
The First Italian War of Independence ( it, Prima guerra d'indipendenza italiana), part of the Italian Unification (''Risorgimento''), was fought by the Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont) and Italian volunteers against the Austrian Empire and other ...
.
During the post-unification era, some Italians were dissatisfied with the current state of the Italian Kingdom since they wanted the kingdom to include Trieste,
Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...
, and other adjacent territories as well. This Italian irredentism succeeded in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
with the annexation of
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...
and
Trento
Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...
, with the respective territories of
Julian March
Venezia Giulia, traditionally called Julian March (Serbo-Croatian, Slovene: ''Julijska krajina'') or Julian Venetia ( it, Venezia Giulia; vec, Venesia Julia; fur, Vignesie Julie; german: Julisch Venetien) is an area of southeastern Europe wh ...
and
Trentino-Alto Adige.
The Kingdom of Italy had declared neutrality at the beginning of the war, officially because the
Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary was a defensive one, requiring its members to come under attack first. Many Italians were still hostile to Austria's continuing occupation of ethnically Italian areas, and Italy chose not to enter. Austria-Hungary requested Italian neutrality, while the
Triple Entente
The Triple Entente (from French '' entente'' meaning "friendship, understanding, agreement") describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as well a ...
(which included Great Britain, France and Russia) requested its intervention. With the
Treaty of London, signed in April 1915, Italy agreed to declare war against the
Central Powers
The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...
in exchange for the ''irredent'' territories of Friuli, Trentino, and
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
(see ''
Italia irredenta
Italian irredentism ( it, irredentismo italiano) was a nationalist movement during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in Italy with irredentist goals which promoted the unification of geographic areas in which indigenous peoples c ...
'').
Italian irredentism obtained an important result after the First World War, when Italy gained Trieste,
Gorizia
Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label= Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Gorit ...
, Istria, and the city of
Zara. But Italy did not receive other territories promised by the Treaty of London, so this outcome was denounced as a "
Mutilated victory
Mutilated victory (Italian: ''vittoria mutilata'') is a term coined by Gabriele D’Annunzio at the end of World War I, used to describe the dissatisfaction of Italian nationalists concerning territorial rewards in favor of the Kingdom of Italy af ...
". The rhetoric of "Mutilated victory" was adopted by
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
and led to the
rise of Italian Fascism, becoming a key point in the
propaganda of Fascist Italy
The propaganda used by the National Fascist Party (PNF) in the years leading up to and during Benito Mussolini's leadership of Italy (1922–1943) was a crucial instrument for acquiring and maintaining power, and for the implementation of Fascist ...
. Historians regard "Mutilated victory" as a "political myth", used by fascists to fuel
Italian imperialism
The Italian colonial empire ( it, Impero coloniale italiano), known as the Italian Empire (''Impero Italiano'') between 1936 and 1943, began in Africa in the 19th century and comprised the colonies, protectorates, concessions and dependencie ...
and obscure the successes of
liberal 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 ...
in the aftermath of World War I.
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, after the Axis attack on
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, Italy created the
Governatorate of Dalmatia
The Governorate of Dalmatia ( it, Governatorato di Dalmazia) was a territory divided into three provinces of Italy during the Italian Kingdom and Italian Empire epoch. It was created later as an entity in April 1941 at the start of World War II ...
(from 1941 to September 1943), so the Kingdom of Italy annexed temporarily even
Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, enterta ...
(Italian ''Spalato''),
Kotor
Kotor (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative c ...
(''Cattaro''), and most of coastal Dalmatia. From 1942 to 1943, even
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
and
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
(Italian ''Nizza'') were temporarily annexed to the Kingdom of Italy, nearly fulfilling in those years the ambitions of Italian irredentism.
For its avowed purpose, the movement had the "emancipation" of all Italian lands still subject to foreign rule after ''Italian unification''. The Irredentists took language as the test of the alleged Italian nationality of the countries they proposed to emancipate, which were
Trentino
Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region ...
, Trieste, Dalmatia, Istria, Gorizia,
Ticino
Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...
, Nice (Nizza), Corsica, and
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
. Austria-Hungary promoted
Croatian interests in Dalmatia and Istria to weaken Italian claims in the western
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
before the First World War.
After World War II
After World War II, the irredentism movement faded away in Italian politics. Under the
Treaty of Peace with Italy, 1947
The Treaty of Paris between Italy and the Allied Powers was signed on 10 February 1947, formally ending hostilities between both parties. It came into general effect on 15 September 1947.
Territorial changes
* Transfer of the Adriatic islands ...
,
Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...
,
Kvarner
The Kvarner Gulf (, or , la, Sinus Flanaticus or ), sometimes also Kvarner Bay, is a bay in the northern Adriatic Sea, located between the Istrian peninsula and the northern Croatian Littoral mainland. The bay is a part of Croatia's internal ...
, most of the
Julian March
Venezia Giulia, traditionally called Julian March (Serbo-Croatian, Slovene: ''Julijska krajina'') or Julian Venetia ( it, Venezia Giulia; vec, Venesia Julia; fur, Vignesie Julie; german: Julisch Venetien) is an area of southeastern Europe wh ...
as well as the
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
n city of
Zara was annexed by
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
causing the
Istrian-Dalmatian exodus, which led to the emigration of between 230,000 and 350,000 of local ethnic
Italians
, flag =
, flag_caption = The national flag of Italy
, population =
, regions = Italy 55,551,000
, region1 = Brazil
, pop1 = 25–33 million
, ref1 =
, region2 ...
(
Istrian Italians
Istrian Italians are an ethnic group from the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic region of Istria in modern northwestern Croatia and southwestern Slovenia. Istrian Italians descend from the original Latinized population of Roman Empire, Roman Istria#Early h ...
and
Dalmatian Italians
Dalmatian Italians are the historical Italian national minority living in the region of Dalmatia, now part of Croatia and Montenegro. Since the middle of the 19th century, the community, counting according to some sources nearly 20% of all Dalma ...
), the others being ethnic Slovenians, ethnic Croatians, and ethnic
Istro-Romanians
The Istro-Romanians ( ruo, rumeri or ) are a Romance ethnic group native to or associated with the Istrian Peninsula. Historically, they inhabited vast parts of it, as well as the western side of the island of Krk until 1875. However, due to se ...
, choosing to maintain Italian citizenship.
Anniversary of the unification of Italy
![Vittoriano Altare della Patria 2013-09-16](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Vittoriano_Altare_della_Patria_2013-09-16.jpg)
Italy celebrates the anniversary of the unification every fifty years, on 17 March (the date of
proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy
The proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy was the formal act that sanctioned the birth of the unified Kingdom of Italy. It happened with a normative act of the Savoyard Kingdom of Sardinia — the law 17 March 1861, n. 4761 — with which Victor ...
). The anniversary occurred in 1911 (50th), 1961 (100th), 2011 (150th) and 2021 (160th) with several celebrations throughout the country. While remaining a working day, 17 March is considered a "day promoting the values linked to national identity".
The
National Unity and Armed Forces Day
National Unity and Armed Forces Day is an Italian national day since 1919 which commemorates the victory in World War I, a war event considered the completion of the process of unification of Italy. It is celebrated every 4 November, which is the ...
, celebrated on 4 November, commemorates the end of World War I with the
Armistice of Villa Giusti
The Armistice of Villa Giusti or Padua ended warfare between Italy and Austria-Hungary on the Italian Front during World War I. The armistice was signed on 3 November 1918 in the Villa Giusti, outside Padua in the Veneto, Northern Italy, a ...
, a war event considered to complete the process of unification of Italy.
Culture and Risorgimento
Art
![S](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/S._croce%2C_tomba_vittorio_alfieri.JPG)
In art, this period was characterised by the
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...
that draws inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
or
Ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
. The main Italian sculptor was
Antonio Canova
Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italian Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was inspired by the Baroque and the cl ...
who became famous for his
marble sculptures that delicately rendered
nude
Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing.
The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...
flesh. The mourning
Italia turrita on the tomb to
Vittorio Alfieri
Count Vittorio Alfieri (, also , ; 16 January 17498 October 1803) was an Italian dramatist and poet, considered the "founder of Italian tragedy." He wrote nineteen tragedies, sonnets, satires, and a notable autobiography.
Early life
Alfieri was ...
is one of the main works of Risorgimento by Canova. By this time, in sculpture, a veiled woman in the style of the
Veiled Rebecca
''The Veiled Rebecca'' or ''The Veiled Rebekah'' is a 19th century sculpture carved out of marble in Italian neoclassical style by the sculptor Giovanni Maria Benzoni.The sculpture is also referred as The Veiled Lady in several records. It depi ...
of Benzoni had become an allegory for
Italian unification
The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...
.
Francesco Hayez
Francesco Hayez (; 10 February 1791 – 12 February 1882) was an Italian painter. He is considered one of the leading artists of Romanticism in mid-19th-century Milan, and is renowned for his grand historical paintings, political allegories, and ...
was another remarkable artist of this period whose works often contain allegories about Italian unification. His most known painting ''
The Kiss'' aims to portray the spirit of the
Risorgimento
The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...
: the man wears red, white and green, representing the Italian patriots fighting for independence from the
Austro-Hungarian empire
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
while the girl's pale blue dress signifies France, which in 1859 (the year of the painting's creation) made an alliance with the
Kingdom of Piedmont and Sardinia enabling the latter to unify the many states of the Italian peninsula into the new kingdom of Italy. Hayez's three paintings on the ''
Sicilian Vespers
The Sicilian Vespers ( it, Vespri siciliani; scn, Vespiri siciliani) was a successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out at Easter 1282 against the rule of the French-born king Charles I of Anjou, who had ruled the Kingdom of S ...
'' are an implicit protest against the foreign domination of Italy.
Andrea Appiani
Andrea Appiani (31 May 17548 November 1817) was an Italian neoclassical painter.
Life
Born in Milan, it had been intended that he follow his father's career in medicine but instead entered the private academy of the painter Carlo Maria Giud ...
, Domenico Induno, and Gerolamo Induno are also known for their patriotic canvases. Risorgimento was also represented by works not necessarily linked to Neoclassicism—as in the case of Giovanni Fattori who was one of the leaders of the group known as the Macchiaioli and who soon became a leading Italian En plein air, plein-airist, painting landscapes, rural scenes, and military life during the Italian unification.
Literature
![Francesco Hayez 040](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Francesco_Hayez_-_Ritratto_di_Alessandro_Manzoni.jpg)
The most well known writer of Risorgimento is
Alessandro Manzoni
Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Antonio Manzoni (, , ; 7 March 1785 – 22 May 1873) was an Italian poet, novelist and philosopher. He is famous for the novel '' The Betrothed'' (orig. it, I promessi sposi) (1827), generally ranked among the maste ...
, whose works are a symbol of the Italian unification, both for its patriotic message and because of his efforts in the development of the modern, unified Italian language. He is famous for the novel ''The Betrothed (Manzoni novel), The Betrothed'' (orig. Italian: ''I Promessi Sposi'') (1827), generally ranked among the masterpieces of world literature.
Vittorio Alfieri
Count Vittorio Alfieri (, also , ; 16 January 17498 October 1803) was an Italian dramatist and poet, considered the "founder of Italian tragedy." He wrote nineteen tragedies, sonnets, satires, and a notable autobiography.
Early life
Alfieri was ...
, was the founder of a new school in the Italian drama, expressed in several occasions his suffering about the foreign domination's tyranny.
Ugo Foscolo describes in his works the passion and love for the fatherland and the glorious history of the Italian people; these two concepts are respectively well expressed in two masterpieces, ''The Last Letters of Jacopo Ortis'' and ''Dei Sepolcri''.
Vincenzo Monti, known for the Italian language, Italian translation of the ''Iliad'', described in his works both enthusiasms and disappointments of Risorgimento until his death.
Giovanni Berchet wrote a poetry characterized by a high moral, popular and social content; he also contributed to ''Il Conciliatore'', a progressive bi-weekly scientific and literary journal, influential in the early
Risorgimento
The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...
that was published in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
from September 1818 until October 1819 when it was closed by the Austrian censors; its writers included also Ludovico di Breme, Giuseppe Nicolini (writer), Giuseppe Nicolini, and
Silvio Pellico
Silvio Pellico (; 24 June 1789 – 31 January 1854) was an Italian writer, poet, dramatist and patriot active in the Italian unification.
Biography
Silvio Pellico was born in Saluzzo (Piedmont). He spent the earlier portion of his life at Pin ...
.
Giacomo Leopardi was one of the most important poets of Risorgimento thanks to works such as ''Giacomo Leopardi#First Canti, Canzone all'Italia'' and ''Giacomo Leopardi#Risorgimento, Risorgimento''.
Niccolò Tommaseo
Niccolò Tommaseo (; 9 October 1802 – 1 May 1874) was a Dalmatian linguist, journalist and essayist, the editor of a ''Dizionario della Lingua Italiana'' in eight volumes (1861–74), of a dictionary of synonyms (1830) and other works. He is ...
, the editor of the ''Italian Language Dictionary'' in eight volumes, was a precursor of the
Italian irredentism
Italian irredentism ( it, irredentismo italiano) was a nationalist movement during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in Italy with irredentist goals which promoted the unification of geographic areas in which indigenous peoples ...
and his works are a rare examples of a metropolitan culture above nationalism; he supported the liberal revolution headed by
Daniele Manin
Daniele Manin (13 May 180422 September 1857) was an Italian patriot, statesman and leader of the Risorgimento in Venice. Many Italian historians consider him to be an important figure in Italian unification.
Early and family life
left, House i ...
against the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central- Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
and he will always support the unification of Italy.
Francesco de Sanctis was one of the most important scholars of Italian language and literature in the 19th century; he supported the Revolutions of 1848 in the Italian states, Revolution of 1848 in
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
and for this reason he was imprisoned for three years; his reputation as a lecturer on Dante in
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
brought him the appointment of professor at ETH Zürich in 1856; he returned to
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
as Minister of Public Education after the unification of Italy.
The writer and patriot Luigi Settembrini published anonymously the ''Protest of the People of the Two Sicilies'', a scathing indictment of the Bourbon government and was imprisoned and exiled several times by the Bourbons because of his support to Risorgimento; after the formation of the Kingdom of Italy, he was appointed professor of Italian literature at the University of Naples.
Ippolito Nievo is another main representative of Risorgimento with his novel ''Ippolito Nievo, Confessioni d'un italiano''; he fought with
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, pa ...
's Expedition of the Thousand.
Risorgimento was also depicted in famous novels:
''The Leopard'' written by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, ''Heart (novel), Heart'' by Edmondo De Amicis, and ''Piccolo mondo antico'' by Antonio Fogazzaro.
Music
![Verdi palermo bust 200805](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Verdi_palermo_bust_200805.jpg)
Risorgimento won the support of many leading Italian opera composers. Their librettos often saw a delicate balance between European romantic narratives and dramatic themes evoking nationalistic sentiments. Ideas expressed in operas stimulated the political mobilisation in Italy and among the cultured classes of Europe who appreciated Italian opera. Furthermore, Mazzini and many other nationalists found inspiration in musical discourses.
In his ''L'italiana in Algeri (The Italian Girl in Algiers)'', Gioachino Rossini expressed his support to the unification of Italy; the patriotic line ''Pensa alla patria, e intrepido il tuo dover adempi: vedi per tutta Italia rinascere gli esempi d’ardir e di valor'' ("Think about the fatherland and intrepid do your duty: see for all Italy the birth of the examples of courage and value") was censored in the
Kingdom of 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 ...
.
Vincenzo Bellini was a secret member of the Carbonari and in his masterpiece ''I puritani (The Puritans)'', the last part of Act 2 is an allegory to Italian unification. Another Bellini opera, ''Norma (opera), Norma'', was at the center of an unexpected standing ovation during its performance in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
in 1859: while the choir, chorus was performing ''Guerra, guerra! Le galliche selve (War, war! The Gallic forests)'' in Act 2, the Italians began to greet the chorus with loud applause and to yell the word "War!" several times towards the Austrian Empire, Austrian officers at the opera house.
The relationship between Gaetano Donizetti and the Risorgimento is still controversial. Even though
Giuseppe Mazzini
Giuseppe Mazzini (, , ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the in ...
tried to use some of Donizetti's works for promoting the Italian cause, Donizetti had always preferred not to get involved in politics.
![Viva VERDI grafitti](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Viva_VERDI_grafitti.jpeg)
Historians vigorously debate how political were the operas of Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901). In particular, the chorus of the Hebrew slaves (known as "Va, pensiero") from the third act of the opera ''Nabucco'' was intended to be an anthem for Italian patriots, who were seeking to unify their country and free it from foreign control in the years up to 1861 (the chorus's theme of exiles singing about their homeland, and its lines such as ''O mia patria, si bella e perduta'' – "O my country, so lovely and so lost" – were thought to have resonated with many Italians). Beginning in Naples in 1859 and spreading throughout Italy, the slogan "Viva VERDI" was used as an acronym for ''Viva Vittorio Emanuele Re ''D
'Italia (Vive, Viva, Viva Victor Emmanuel King of Italy), referring to Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Victor Emmanuel II.
Franco Della Peruta argues in favour of close links between the operas and the Risorgimento, emphasizing Verdi's patriotic intent and links to the values of the Risorgimento. Verdi started as a republican, became a strong supporter of Cavour and entered the Italian parliament on Cavour's suggestion. His politics caused him to be frequently in trouble with the Austrian censors. Verdi's main works of 1842–49 were especially relevant to the struggle for independence, including ''Nabucco'' (1842), ''I Lombardi alla prima crociata'' (1843), ''Ernani'' (1844), ''Attila (opera), Attila'' (1846), ''Macbeth (opera), Macbeth'' (1847), and ''La battaglia di Legnano'' (1848). However, starting in the 1850s, his operas showed few patriotic themes because of the heavy censorship of the absolutist regimes in power.
Verdi later became disillusioned by politics, but he was personally active part in the political world of events of the Risorgimento and was elected to the first Italian parliament in 1861. Likewise Marco Pizzo argues that after 1815 music became a political tool, and many songwriters expressed ideals of freedom and equality. Pizzo says Verdi was part of this movement, for his operas were inspired by the love of country, the struggle for Italian independence, and speak to the sacrifice of patriots and exiles. On the other side of the debate, Mary Ann Smart argues that music critics at the time seldom mentioned any political themes. Likewise Roger Parker argues that the political dimension of Verdi's operas was exaggerated by nationalistic historians looking for a hero in the late 19th century.
[Roger Parker, "Verdi politico: a wounded cliché regroups." ''Journal of Modern Italian Studies'' 17#4 (2012): 427–436.]
![Final scene from the opera Risorgimento!](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Final_scene_from_the_opera_Risorgimento%21.jpg)
Giuseppe Verdi's ''Nabucco'' and the Risorgimento are the subject of a 2011 opera, ''Risorgimento! (opera), Risorgimento!'' by Italian composer Lorenzo Ferrero, written to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Italian unification.
Films
''The Leopard (1963 film), The Leopard'' is a film from 1963, based on the novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, and directed by Luchino Visconti. It features Burt Lancaster as the eponymous character, the Prince of Salina. The film depicts his reaction to the Risorgimento, and his vain attempts to retain his social standing.
There are other movies set in this period:
* ''1860 (film), 1860'' (1934), by Alessandro Blasetti
* ''Piccolo mondo antico'' (1941), by Mario Soldati
* ''Un garibaldino al convento'' (1942), by Vittorio De Sica
* ''Heart and Soul (1948 film), Heart and Soul'' (1948), by Vittorio De Sica
* ''Senso (film), Senso'' (1954), by Luchino Visconti
* ''Garibaldi (film), Garibaldi'' (1961), by Roberto Rossellini
* ''1870 (film), 1870'' (1971), by Alfredo Giannetti
* ''Passion of Love, Passione D'Amore'' (1981), by Ettore Scola (later adapted by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine into the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical ''Passion (musical), Passion'')
* ''Noi credevamo'' (2010), by Mario Martone
Maps of Italy before and during Italian unification
File:Italy 1494.svg, Italy in 1494
File:Italy 1796.svg, Italy in 1796
File:Italy 1843.svg, Italy in 1843
File:Italia1860.png, Italy in 1860: orange Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...
, blue Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia (Austrian Empire), pink United Provinces of Central Italy
The United Provinces of Central Italy, also known as Confederation of Central Italy or General Government of Central Italy, was a short-lived military government established by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. It was formed by a union of the for ...
, red 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 ...
, pale green Kingdom of 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 ...
.
File:RegnoItalia1861.png, Italy in 1861: orange Kingdom of Italy, blue Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia (Austrian Empire), red 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 ...
.
File:Italy 1870.svg, 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 1870, showing 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 ...
, before the Capture of Rome
The Capture of Rome ( it, Presa di Roma) on 20 September 1870 was the final event of the unification of Italy (''Risorgimento''), marking both the final defeat of the Papal States under Pope Pius IX and the unification of the Italian Peninsul ...
.
File:Italy 1871.svg, 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 1871
File:RegnoItalia1919.png, Kingdom of Italy in 1919
See also
*German unification
*Unification of Moldavia and Wallachia, Formation of Romania
References
Bibliography
* Ascoli, Albert Russell and Krystyna Von Henneberg, eds. ''Making and Remaking Italy: The Cultivation of National Identity around the Risorgimento'' (2001
online*
* Carter, Nick, ed., ''Britain, Ireland and the Italian Risorgimento'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015), 233 pp
* Clark, Martin. ''The Italian Risorgimento'' (2nd ed. 2009); 146pp
* Collier, Martin, ''Italian Unification, 1820-71'' (Heinemann, 2003); textbook, 156 page
excerpt*
* De Mattei, Roberto. ''Pius IX'' (2004).
* Gilmour, David.''The Pursuit of Italy: A History of a Land, Its Regions, and Their Peoples'' (2011)
excerpt* Hearder, Harry. ''Italy in the Age of the Risorgimento 1790 – 1870'' (1983
excerpt* Holt, Edgar. ''The Making of Italy 1815–1870,'' (1971).
* Körner, Axel. ''America in Italy: The United States in the Political Thought and Imagination of the Risorgimento, 1763–1865'' (Princeton UP, 2017)
* Mendola, Louis. ''The Kingdom of Sicily 1130–1860'' (2015).
* Mowat, R.B. ''A history of European diplomacy, 1815–1914'' (1922
pp 115–63 online free* Patriarca, Silvana, and Lucy Riall, eds. ''The Risorgimento Revisited: Nationalism and Culture in Nineteenth-century Italy'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), 13 essays on specialized topics by scholar
excerptreview* Pearce, Robert, and Andrina Stiles. ''Access to History: The Unification of Italy 1789–1896'' (4th rf., Hodder Education, 2015), textbook
excerpt*
* Procacci, Giuliano. ''History of the Italian People'' (Pelican, London, 1973) Trans Anthony Paul.
* Rapone, Danilo. ''Religion and politics in the Risorgimento. Britain and the new Italy, 1861–1875'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), 3012pp.
* Riall, Lucy. ''The Italian Risorgimento: State, Society, and National Unification'' (Routledge, 1994
online* Riall, Lucy. ''Garibaldi: Invention of a hero'' (Yale UP, 2008).
*
* Ridley, Jasper. ''Garibaldi'' (1974), a standard biography.
*
* Smith, Denis Mack. ''Cavour'' (1985)
* Smith, Denis Mack. ''Mazzini'' (1995
excerpt* Smith, Denis Mack. ''Victor Emanuel, Cavour, and the Risorgimento'' (Oxford University Press, 1971)
* old interpretations but useful on details; vol 1 goes to 1859]
volume 2 online covers 1859–62*
* Wawro, Geoffrey. "Austria versus the Risorgimento: A New Look at Austria's Italian strategy in the 1860s." ''European History Quarterly'' 26#1 (1996): 7–29.
* Woolf, Stuart Joseph. ''The Italian Risorgimento'' (1969).
* Woolf, Stuart. '' A History of Italy 1700–1860: The Social Constraints of Political Change'' (1960), 519 pp
*
* Massimo Colella, ''Luigi Russo interprete di Vincenzo Cuoco. Un inedito corso universitario'', in «Otto/Novecento», 2020, pp. 153-187.
Historiography
* Alio, Jacqueline. ''Sicilian Studies: A Guide and Syllabus for Educators'' (2018), 250 pp.
* Bouchard, Norma, ed. ''Risorgimento in modern Italian culture: revisiting the nineteenth-century past in history, narrative, and cinema.'' (Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 2005).
* De Francesco, Antonino. ''The antiquity of the Italian nation: the cultural origins of a political myth in modern Italy, 1796–1943'' (Oxford UP, 2013).
*
* Manenti, Luca G., "Italian Freemasonry from the Eighteenth Century to Unification. Protagonists, Metamorphoses, Interpretations", in History of the Grand Orient of Italy, edited by E. Locci (Washington D.C., Westphalia Press, 2019), pp. 27–60.
*
* Rao, Anna Maria. "Napoleonic Italy: Old and New Trends in Historiography." in Ute Planert, ed., ''Napoleon's Empire'' (Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2016). pp 84–97.
* Salsini, Laura A. "Re-envisioning the Risorgimento: Isabella Bossi Fedrigotti's Amore mio uccidi Garibaldi." ''Forum Italicum: A Journal of Italian Studies'' 42#1 (2008).
Italian
* Alio, Jacqueline. ''Sicilian Studies: A Guide and Syllabus for Educators'' (2018), 250 pp.
* Bacchin, Elena. ''Italofilia. Opinione pubblica britannica e il Risorgimento italiano 1847–1864'' (Turin, Carocci editore, 2014), 266 pp
* Banti, Alberto Mario. ''La nazione del Risorgimento: parentela, santità e onore alle origini dell'Italia unita''. Torino, Einaudi, 2000
* Banti, Alberto Mario. ''Il Risorgimento italiano''. Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2004 (Quadrante Laterza; 125)
* Ghisalberti, Carlo. ''Istituzioni e società civile nell'età del Risorgimento''. Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2005 (Biblioteca universale Laterza; 575)
* Della Peruta, Franco. ''L'Italia del Risorgimento: problemi, momenti e figure''. Milano, Angeli, 1997 (Saggi di storia; 14)
* Della Peruta, Franco. ''Conservatori, liberali e democratici nel Risorgimento''. Milano, Angeli, 1989 (Storia; 131)
* De Rosa, Luigi. ''La provincia subordinata. Saggio sulla questione meridionale'', Bari, Laterza, 2004
*
*
* Scirocco, Alfonso. ''L'Italia del risorgimento: 1800–1860''. (vol. 1 di ''Storia d'Italia dall'unità alla Repubblica''), Bologna, Il mulino, 1990
* Scirocco, Alfonso. ''In difesa del Risorgimento''. Bologna, Il mulino, 1998 (Collana di storia contemporanea)
* Tomaz, Luigi. ''Il confine d'Italia in Istria e Dalmazia'', Presentazione di Arnaldo Mauri, Conselve, Think ADV, 2008.
* Carlo Cardia, ''Risorgimento e religione,'' Giappichelli, Torino, 2011, .
External links
Garibaldi & The Risorgimento*
*
''In the sign of the tricolour: Italians and Hungarians in the Risorgimento''A documentary directed by Gilberto Martinelli
{{DEFAULTSORT:Italian Unification
Italian unification,
Modern history of Italy
National unifications, Italy
19th century in Italy
History of Austria-Hungary
History of Savoy
1810s in Italy
1820s in Italy
1830s in Italy
1840s in Italy
1850s in Italy
1860s in Italy
1870s in Italy
Anti-Catholicism in Italy
1815 in Italy
1871 in Italy
19th century in Europe
19th century in politics
Italian nationalism
Unionism