The Unification of Italy: The History of the Risorgimento and the Conflicts that Unified the Italian Nation

by Charles River Editors

*Includes pictures *Includes a bibliography for further reading In the 18th century, Italy was still divided into smaller states, but differently than during medieval times when the political entities were independent and were flourishing economic and cultural centers almost unrivaled in Europe. During the 18th century, all of them were submitted, in one way or another, to one of the greater hegemonic powers. This process of conquest and submission began during the early 16th century, when France was called on by the Duke Milan to intervene in his favor and from there never stopped. Starting from the northwest, the kingdom of Sardinia was controlling the alpine western area and the island from which it took its name and ruled by the Savoy family. The kingdom of Sardinia was the youngest political entity in Italy and, possibly because of that, the strongest and most independent. Milan was found dominating part of the central plane, Venice was in control of the east, and Genova was dominating the coastal area south of the kingdom of Sardinia. Central Italy was ruled by the Duchy of Tuscany and the Papal States, while the south was united under the kingdom of Sicily. While the kingdom of Sardinia and the republic of Venice could be considered independent, Milan was submitted to Austrian direct authority through vassalage. The Duchy of Tuscany was part of their sphere of influence as a vassal state, given as a fiefdom to the Empress Maria of Habsburg’s husband. Finally, the southern state, the kingdom of Sicily, was historically a Spanish domain. In 1847, the Austrian Chancellor Klement von Metternich referred to Italy as merely a “geographical expression,” and to some extent, he was not far off the mark. The inhabitants did not speak Italian; only a literate few wrote in the Italian of Dante and of Machiavelli, and a mere estimated two and a half percent spoke the language. The rest spoke their own regional dialects, which were so distinct from one another as to be incomprehensible from town to town. Similarly, most future Italian citizens knew nothing of the history of the peninsula, but instead learned of their own local traditions and histories. The events of 1848-1849 began to pull the peninsula together, however. In January 1848, Sicily had a major revolution, which provoked widespread uprisings and riots, after which the kingdoms of Sardinia, the Two Sicilies, the Papal States and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany all were granted constitutions. In February, the Pope fled Rome and a three-month long Republic was declared, headed by Giuseppe Mazzini. In March, a revolution in Venice led to the declaration of a republic. In April, Milan also rebelled and became a republic. Soon, the Austrian government clamped down again on the peninsula with such intensity that not even the most optimistic would have been able to fathom the nationalist Risorgimento movement would unify Italy a little more than a decade later. The Italian state may have come together thanks to ideals, but the success of the Second Italian War of Independence owed a lot of its success to chance, foreign intervention, and the wheeling and dealing of a few powerful men. Its story is long and complex, and the ultimate unification of Italy as it’s recognized today would require no less than four wars. Nonetheless, despite its difficult birthing process and rocky start, the Italian state has survived over 150 years, and it even managed to remain united in the aftermath of World War II, escaping the fate of Nazi Germany. The Unification of The History of the Risorgimento and the Conflicts that Unified the Italian Nation chronicles the turbulent events and wars that unified Italy, and the struggle to maintain the new nation.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

83 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 8, 2019

About the author

Charles River Editors is an independent publisher of thousands of ebooks on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and Apple iBookstore & provider of original content for third parties.

Reviews

[Roxana Sabau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read for a history nerd.

[Stan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Unification of Italy is an interesting read. It covers the development of modern Italy and the key people who took part in the politics and wars that led to unification. It was a long, slow process - but this wasn't a long, slow read. Of particular interest was the development of propaganda in the form of poetry and other arts of communication. The book could have been improved by offering a few examples of this communication. While the important role of Mazzini was exemplified, the actual content of his intellectual contribution was lacking. Garibaldi received his own chapter and a good deal of coverage. In short, Mazzini was the pen and Garibaldi the sword of Italian Unification. This is a major aspect of the development of modern Europe, so it is an important subject. This is an introductory level presentation of the material, but pretty well written.

[Stephen Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an odd book of being too long to be a quick analysis, but being too short to get into depth on the subject. I am glad it showed the influences of Napoleon and then the Carbonari in the build up, but the overall analysis of the Risorgimento seemed more interested in minor details than the big picture. It was interesting that they looked at how the Risorgimento has been perceived in the last 150 years, but overall, I just wasn't satisfied with the quality of the analysis and the way it was communicated.

[Jayesh Bheda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting account

I have never read about the unification of Italy and its interesting read about the past events and particularly about Girabaldi!

[paul ellmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful overiew

I knew very little about this period of history, other than the name Garibaldi. This is an easy to read overview and a good place to start

[Palorossi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can’t say this book settled in my mind just how Italy became unified. Maybe I need to re read or try another book

[Vincent Ferretti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but great summary!