9.4. Unification of Italy

The Italian Peninsula before Unification

At the start of the nineteenth century, the Italian peninsula was not a single country. It was a patchwork of separate states, each with its own government, laws, and often foreign rulers. In the north, the Kingdom of Sardinia, also called Piedmont-Sardinia, was ruled by the House of Savoy and included the island of Sardinia and territory around Turin. To the northeast, Lombardy and Venetia were controlled by the Austrian Empire. In central Italy, several duchies such as Parma, Modena, and Tuscany were ruled by local dynasties but were strongly influenced or protected by Austria. At the very center lay the Papal States, governed directly by the pope as a temporal ruler. In the south, the large Kingdom of the Two Sicilies covered Naples and Sicily under the Bourbon dynasty.

This divided situation was the result of centuries of European power politics, and it made the Italian lands vulnerable to outside influence. Austrian troops, in particular, were present or ready to intervene in much of northern and central Italy. There was no Italian parliament, no unified army, and no common legal system. Yet many inhabitants spoke forms of Italian, shared cultural traditions, and increasingly began to imagine that they belonged to a single nation.

Early Nationalist Ideas and the Impact of Revolutions

The French Revolution and the Napoleonic campaigns brought new ideas of citizenship, constitutions, and national identity to the Italian peninsula. Napoleon created satellite republics and later the Kingdom of Italy in parts of northern Italy. Although these Napoleonic states were under French control, they introduced administrative reforms, legal codes, and a sense that the peninsula could be organized under a more unified structure.

After Napoleon’s defeat, the Congress of Vienna in 1814–1815 restored the old rulers and strengthened Austria’s role in the region. Many who had grown used to more modern institutions and had glimpsed the possibility of unity resented this restoration. In the following decades, secret societies such as the Carbonari, and later more open movements, began to promote the idea of an Italian nation.

One of the most important early nationalist figures was Giuseppe Mazzini. He founded the movement known as Young Italy, which urged Italians to rise against foreign domination and internal tyranny. Mazzini envisioned a united, republican Italy, based on popular sovereignty and moral renewal. His attempts at insurrection in the 1830s and 1840s mostly failed, and he spent much of his life in exile, but his writings and activities spread the idea that Italy should be one nation.

The Role of the 1848 Revolutions

The year 1848 saw a wave of revolutions across Europe, and the Italian states were part of this upheaval. In many cities, uprisings demanded constitutions, national independence, and liberal reforms. In Milan and Venice, rebels briefly forced Austrian troops to withdraw. The pope granted a constitution in the Papal States, and Charles Albert, king of Sardinia-Piedmont, adopted a constitution known as the Statuto, which would later become the basis for the unified Italian state.

The revolutions of 1848 in Italy had a particular focus on expelling Austria from northern Italy and unifying at least that region under a constitutional framework. Sardinia-Piedmont declared war on Austria, beginning the First Italian War of Independence. Charles Albert hoped to lead a broader Italian coalition, but internal disagreements and military weaknesses limited cooperation.

Austria soon recovered its position. Under the command of Field Marshal Radetzky, Austrian forces defeated the Piedmontese at key battles such as Custoza in 1848 and Novara in 1849. Charles Albert abdicated in favor of his son Victor Emmanuel II. Revolutionary governments collapsed in most Italian states. Venice fell after a long siege, and the Roman Republic, briefly established by radicals including Mazzini, was crushed by French troops sent to restore papal rule.

Although the revolutions of 1848 failed in the short term, they had lasting effects. They showed both the strength and the limitations of spontaneous uprisings. They also demonstrated that Sardinia-Piedmont, under its new constitutional monarchy, could become a central player in any future attempt at unification.

Sardinia-Piedmont and Cavour’s Strategy

After 1849, Sardinia-Piedmont stood out as the only Italian state that preserved a liberal constitution. Under King Victor Emmanuel II and his leading minister, Count Camillo di Cavour, it embarked on a program of modernization. Cavour promoted economic development, built railways, encouraged industry, and pursued a policy that combined liberal reforms with a cautious monarchism. His aim was to strengthen Sardinia-Piedmont so it could take the lead in Italian politics.

Cavour believed that unification had to be achieved through diplomacy and war directed by a strong state, rather than through conspiracies or solely popular uprisings. He was skeptical of Mazzini’s revolutionary methods and republicanism. Cavour’s approach focused on gaining the support or at least the tolerance of major European powers, especially France and Britain, to balance Austria.

Sardinia-Piedmont took part in the Crimean War in the 1850s on the side of Britain and France against Russia. Although its military contribution was small, this move allowed Cavour to attend the postwar peace conference and present the Italian question to the Great Powers. He argued that Austrian dominance in Italy was a source of instability. By tying the Italian cause to European diplomatic concerns, Cavour positioned Sardinia-Piedmont as a responsible and useful ally.

War with Austria and the Unification of the North

Cavour’s diplomacy eventually led to a secret understanding with Napoleon III of France. The agreement, made at Plombières in 1858, promised French military support to Sardinia-Piedmont in a war against Austria, in exchange for territorial concessions such as Nice and Savoy to France. Cavour hoped that a successful war would liberate Lombardy and possibly other regions from Austrian control, which could then join an enlarged Sardinia-Piedmont.

In 1859, tensions over military mobilization led Austria to declare war on Sardinia-Piedmont, beginning the Second Italian War of Independence. French forces came to the aid of the Piedmontese. The combined armies won important victories, including the battle of Magenta and the particularly bloody battle of Solferino. These battles forced Austria to retreat from much of Lombardy.

However, Napoleon III grew wary of the scale and human cost of the conflict and of the possibility that a large unified Italian state might become too strong near French borders. He abruptly made peace with Austria at Villafranca. Under this agreement, Lombardy was ceded to France, which then transferred it to Sardinia-Piedmont, while Venetia remained under Austrian control. This outcome fell short of Cavour’s hopes, and he briefly resigned, but events in central Italy moved in favor of further unification.

In several central Italian duchies, rulers fled amid unrest, and local assemblies voted to join Sardinia-Piedmont. Through plebiscites, populations in regions such as Tuscany, Modena, and Parma expressed support for annexation. To secure French acceptance of these enlargements, Sardinia-Piedmont honored the earlier deal and ceded Nice and Savoy to France. By 1860, most of northern and central Italy, except Venetia and the Papal core territories, had united under the Savoy monarchy.

Garibaldi and the Conquest of the South

While Cavour worked from above through diplomacy and state-led war, Giuseppe Garibaldi represented the popular, revolutionary side of Italian nationalism. Garibaldi was a charismatic military leader who had fought in various struggles for liberty, including in South America. He admired Mazzini’s ideals but could also act pragmatically when necessary.

In 1860, an unexpected opportunity arose in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The Bourbon regime faced local unrest and lacked strong support in parts of Sicily. Garibaldi decided to intervene. With a small volunteer force known as the “Thousand,” dressed in their distinctive red shirts, he sailed from northern Italy to Sicily. Although outnumbered, Garibaldi’s forces won key battles, partly because of local support and the weakness of the Bourbon army.

Sicily was soon under his control. Garibaldi then crossed to the mainland, advanced northward, and captured Naples, the kingdom’s capital. His campaign inspired enthusiasm among many who saw him as a hero of Italian liberty. Yet his rapid success also alarmed Cavour, who feared that a radical republican movement might emerge under Garibaldi’s leadership and might even threaten the balance with foreign powers.

To prevent both a clash with Garibaldi and possible foreign intervention, Cavour persuaded Victor Emmanuel II to move the royal army into central Italy. Sardinian forces entered the Papal States from the north, defeating papal troops at Castelfidardo, while avoiding Rome itself so as not to provoke France, which still protected the pope. They then linked up with Garibaldi’s forces in the south.

In a carefully staged encounter at Teano, Garibaldi greeted Victor Emmanuel II as king of Italy and handed over his conquests. Garibaldi gave up his own hope for a republican government in order to secure the broader goal of national unification. In 1861, a parliament representing the newly unified territories met and proclaimed the Kingdom of Italy, with Victor Emmanuel II as king. Turin became the first capital of the new state.

Completing Unification: Venetia and Rome

Although the creation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 marked a major milestone, unification was not yet complete. Two key territories, Venetia in the northeast and Rome in the center, remained outside the kingdom. Venetia was still under Austrian rule, and Rome remained the seat of the pope, protected by French troops. Italian nationalists often referred to Rome as the “natural” capital of Italy because of its historical and cultural significance.

The new Italian state sought opportunities to acquire these remaining regions. In 1866, Italy allied with Prussia in its conflict with Austria. This conflict became known as the Austro-Prussian War. Italian forces did not perform well in their campaigns against Austria on land and at sea, suffering defeats at battles such as Custoza and Lissa. Despite this, Prussia’s victories in central Europe forced Austria to negotiate peace on unfavorable terms. As part of the settlement, Austria agreed to relinquish Venetia, which was then transferred to Italy. Another plebiscite confirmed the annexation, and Venetia joined the kingdom, further extending its territory.

Rome remained the most sensitive and difficult issue. French troops continued to station in the city, and Napoleon III insisted on protecting the temporal power of the pope. To avoid direct confrontation with France and a wider war, the Italian government reluctantly accepted this situation for several years and even moved the capital from Turin to Florence as a compromise. Many Italians, however, continued to view the absence of Rome as a painful limitation on national unity.

The situation changed dramatically after 1870, when the Franco-Prussian War broke out. France had to withdraw its troops from Rome to defend itself in the conflict. With the French garrison gone and France soon defeated by Prussia, Italy saw a chance to act. In 1870, Italian forces entered the Papal States and advanced on Rome. The city offered limited resistance before surrendering. A plebiscite followed, in which the majority of voters chose annexation to the Kingdom of Italy.

In 1871, Rome became the capital of Italy. The pope rejected the loss of his temporal territory and considered himself a “prisoner in the Vatican,” but the Italian state proceeded to incorporate the city and the surrounding region known as Lazio. With the annexation of Rome, the territorial unification of the Italian peninsula under one national government was largely complete.

Political and Social Challenges after Unification

The process of unification created a new state but did not immediately solve deeper political and social issues. One major problem was the gap between the relatively developed north and the poorer south. The southern regions, especially the former Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, experienced economic hardship, weak infrastructure, and distrust of the new authorities. Resistance and banditry, sometimes called brigandage, persisted for several years and had to be suppressed by the Italian army.

Another challenge was political integration. The new kingdom adopted the constitution originally granted in Sardinia-Piedmont, which established a constitutional monarchy with a parliament. However, in practice, political participation remained limited, since voting was restricted by property or literacy requirements. Many peasants and workers felt excluded from national politics and had little sense of connection to the distant central government.

The clash between the Italian state and the Catholic Church became a long-lasting issue. The papacy did not recognize the legitimacy of the Italian annexation of Rome. Italian laws reduced the pope’s temporal powers but guaranteed certain spiritual and financial rights, yet the conflict, often referred to as the “Roman Question,” affected relations between the state and many Catholic citizens. It created a tension between secular national institutions and religious loyalty that shaped Italian politics for decades.

Efforts to “make Italians,” as some leaders described it, involved promoting a standard Italian language, national education, military service, and shared symbols such as a flag and national holidays. Many regions had strong local identities and dialects, and it took time for a common Italian national consciousness to develop fully.

Key Figures of the Unification

Three figures stand out in the story of Italian unification, each representing a different aspect of the process. Giuseppe Mazzini symbolizes the ideological and revolutionary dimension. His writings and secret societies spread the idea of a unified and republican Italy and inspired generations of activists. Although his particular political vision did not prevail, his contribution to the idea of a single Italian nation was crucial.

Count Camillo di Cavour represents the diplomatic and state-centered approach. As prime minister of Sardinia-Piedmont, he combined domestic modernization with skillful foreign policy. He understood that defeating Austria and reshaping the Italian map required the backing or cooperation of other powers, especially France and Britain. His pragmatism, which included compromises such as ceding Nice and Savoy, contrasted with Mazzini’s more absolute principles.

Giuseppe Garibaldi personifies the popular and military energy behind unification. His daring expeditions, especially the campaign of the Thousand in southern Italy, captured public imagination in Italy and abroad. Garibaldi’s willingness to submit to the monarchy, even though he personally favored a more democratic republic, helped avoid a civil war among Italian nationalists.

These three men are often described as the soul, the brain, and the sword of Italian unification. Their cooperation was never perfect, and their visions sometimes clashed, but together their actions contributed decisively to the creation of a unified Italian state.

The Legacy of Unification

By the 1870s, the map of Europe included a new kingdom that did not exist a few decades earlier. The unification of Italy altered the balance of power on the continent and encouraged other nationalist movements. It showed that a combination of national feeling, strategic alliances, and military action could reshape old political structures.

At the same time, the unified Italy inherited uneven economic development, regional divisions, and unresolved conflicts with the Church. These problems influenced its later history in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Unification created the framework of a modern Italian state, but the work of building a cohesive and stable society within that framework continued long after the last territorial changes were completed.

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