The Unification of Italy

In the early 19th century, Italy was a “geographical expression”, not a political entity.

The Hapsburgs dominated northern Italy, the Papacy the center, and the Bourbons the south. Sardinia-Piedmont, ruled by the house of Savoy, was the only secular Italian power on the peninsula. S-P was viewed by nationalists as the only logical leader of any effort to build an independent Italian state.

Count Cavour The “Head” Giuseppe Garibaldi The“Sword” King Victor Emmanuelle II Giuseppe Mazzini The “Heart” Italian Nationalist Leaders

Pope Pius IX: The “Spoiler”?

Mazzini founded and led a movement called “Young Italy” that condemned the Hapsburgs as the prime obstacle to Italian unification. The Risorgimento, or Resurgence movement, grew and demanded a united Italy. Mazzini and Garibaldi ousted the pope and declared a Roman Republic in 1848.

Louis Napoleon sent troops to defeat the Roman Republic and restored the Pope. French troops remained until 1871, making France yet another roadblock to Italian unification.

Garibaldi Defends Rome Against the French, April 30, 1849

Sardinia-Piedmont: The “Magnet” Sardinia-Piedmont went to war twice with Austria but were unsuccessful in removing the Hapsburgs from northern Italy. Austria regained control of Lombardy and Venetia.

Camilo de Cavour wanted unification only under Sardinian leadership. He favored a moderate liberal solution based on constitutional monarchy, fearing radical liberals and republicans such as Garibaldi and Mazzini.

What does Piedmont-Sardinia get in return? Crimean War and Diplomacy

The Defeat of Austria. 1-In 1854, Cavour allied S-P with France and England in the Crimean War, hoping to win favor with Napoleon III. 2-With support from France, Cavour provoked Austria into declaring war in A. French and Italian forces defeated Austria at Magenta and Solferino. B. Cavour was shocked when Napoleon III signed a peace treaty with Austria that ceded Lombardy to Piedmont but left Venetia in Hapsburg hands. France absorbed Nice and Savoy. 3. In 1860, the smaller states of northern Italy merged with Sardinia to create a northern Italian kingdom.

Garibaldi’s Red Shirts conquered Sicily from the Bourbons, then marched towards Rome and overthrew the Bourbon kingdom of Naples. Civil war loomed as Cavour sent Piedmontese troops south to prevent Garibaldi’s forces from taking Rome. He eventually made a deal with Garibaldi that prevented war. The northern and southern parts of Italy united--only Rome and Venetia remained outside the union. In 1866, Cavour signed an agreement with Bismarck. If Prussia defeated Austria, the Italian kingdom could seize Venetia. France now remained the only obstacle to Italian unification

In 1870 when Prussia defeated Napoleon III, French troops were withdrawn from Rome and the ancient city was annexed by the House of Savoy. Italy was now unified but the Papacy was alienated from the new regime, which set the stage for future difficulties.

Italy is united!

A contemporary British cartoon, entitled "Right Leg in the Boot at Last," shows Garibaldi helping Victor Emmanuel put on the Italian boot..

Conclusions Italian unification resulted not only from nationalism but from astute diplomacy and military might. Italy would have to overcome many obstacles on the road to real nationhood.