Italian Unification

  • Young Italy

    Giuseppe Mazzini, a nationalist leader, founded Young Italy.
  • Italian Nationalist Movement

    The leadership of Risorgimento, the Italian Nationalist Movement, passed to the kingdom of Sardinia, which included Piedmont, Nice, Savoy, and the island of Sardinia.
  • Republic in Rome

    Qiuseooe Mazzini had founded Young Italy. His goal was "to constitute Italy, one, free, independent, repiblican nation." He helped set up a revolutionary republic on Rome, only to have it be toppled by the French.
  • Count Camillo Cavour

    Victor Emmanuel made Count Camillo Cavour the Prime Minister of Sardinia. Cavour was like Bismarck, a monarchist who believed in Realpolitik.
  • Sardinia with England

    Sardinia, lead by Cavour, joined the British and French to fight against Russia in the Cimean War. Although Sardinia didn't recieve any land, they had a voice at the peace conference and they gained the attention of Napolean III.
  • Cavour Negotiates

    Cavour negotiated a secret deal with Napolean III, who promised to aid Sardinia in case it faced war with Austria. Sardinia provoked a war against Austria, and with help from the French, they were able to defeat the Austrians and annex Lombardy.
  • Giuseppe Garibaldi

    Garibaldi, an ally of MAzzini, recruited a force of 1,000 red-shirted volunteers and put them on ships to Sicily. They forcefully took control of Sicily, and started to work north towards Naples. Cavour was scared Sicily would become its own republic and urged Victor Emmanuel to send troops to deal with Garibaldi. Instead, the Sardinian troops overran the Papal states and joined forces with Garibaldi to take control of Naples.
  • Victor Emmanuel II

    Garibaldi patriotically turned over Naples and Sicily to Emmanuel. Eventually, Victor Emmanuel is crowned King of Italy as Victor Emmanuel II.
  • Bismarck Negotiates

    After the Austro-Prussian war, Bismarck negotiates for the Venetian lands.
  • France Leaves

    After the Franco-Prussian War, the French left Rome and Italy United as a nation.
  • Vatican City

    After Italy is united, the Vatican City declares itself an independent nation as the ruling nation of the Roman Catholics.