Italian Renunification

Italian Unification

Garibaldi was the "hero of two worlds" as a revolutionary in both South America and his native Italy.

Mazzini, an intellectual. Cavour, a statesman. Garibaldi, a fighter. Together, they formed the soul, the brain, and the brawn of the Risorgimento, historians' term for the movement for Italian unity. The Italian Renaissance of the 15th and 16th centuries had demonstrated Italians' artistic, literary, and scientific genius. The revolutions of 1848 illustrated the emotional power of Italian nationalism. By February 1849, however, Austrian and French forces had crushed the romantic nationalists, leaving Italy again divided into four parts:

Ð'* Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in the south, ruled by the French

Ð'* the Papal States in the middle, governed by the Pope

Ð'* the states of northern Italy, controlled by Austrian forces

Courtesy of Robert Moss

Italy was divided into four separate parts until the entire country was eventually unified in 1870.

Ð'* the Kingdom of Sardinia, commonly called Piedmont, ruled by a hereditary monarch named Victor Emmanuel

Giuseppe Mazzini

Hailing from Genoa, Giuseppe Mazzini was the revolutionary of the Risorgimento, first rallying Italian nationalists through Young Italy, an organization dedicated to uniting Italy in the causes of democracy and social reform. Later, after the revolutions of 1848, he promoted "the Party of Action" in a campaign to rid Italy of Austrian influences.

Excerpts from "General Instructions for the Members of Young Italy"

Young Italy is a brotherhood of Italians who believe in a law of Progress and Duty, and are convinced that Italy is destined to become one nation Ð'-- convinced also that she possesses sufficient strength within herself to become one, and that the ill success of her former efforts is to be attributed not to the weakness, but to the misdirection of the revolutionary elements within her Ð'-- that the secret of force lies in constancy and unity of effort. They join this association in the firm intent of consecrating both thought and action to the great aim of re-constituting Italy as one independent sovereign nation of free men and equals. Young Italy is Republican and Unitarian.

Ð'- Giuseppe Mazzini, "General Instructions for the Members of Young Italy" (1831)

Considered a dreamer by some, he nonetheless inspired a new generation of Italian nationalists to secure independence and create a moral society. Mazzini's plans failed in the short run, but his long-term effect of igniting Italian nationalism remained critical to the hopes of a united Italy.

Camillo Cavour

The Risorgimento was the organization that fought to create a unified Italy, one nation under one flag.

In 1852, Count Camillo di Cavour was appointed Prime Minister of Piedmont by King Victor Emmanuel II. Cavour once called unification "nonsense," but he opposed Austrian domination. Thus, he joined the Risorgimento, hoping to create a unified Northern Italy governed by a liberal constitution. Cavour contributed to the first stage of unification in several ways. He secured an alliance with Napoleon III of France in 1858 and prepared for war with Austria, hoping to acquire the Austrian held states of Lombardy and Venetia. Napolean in turn demanded the two states of Nice and Savoy from Piedmont in exchange for French help. Angered by Cavour's audacity, Austria declared war on Piedmont in April, 1859.

Count Camillo di Cavour

The war went well for Cavour. French and Piedmontese forces crushed the Austrians and liberated Lombardy. It was then that Napolean stabbed Cavour in the back. He brokered a separate truce with Austria in July that left Venetia in Austria's control. The Piedmontese state, however, extended its control over Northern Italy when nationalists staged popular votes called plebiscities in Modena, Parma, Tuscany, and Romagna

(a Papal State). The people of those territories overwhelmingly voted to join Piedmont. It was now up to Guiseppe Garibaldi