2. How was Italy unified?
Italy finally became a unified country in 1870 when Rome was handed over from the Pope. The unification movement is known by Italians as the Risorgimento ('rebirth' or 'resurgence'); however, as you will see there was no clear plan from 1815 as to how unification would happen and indeed unification was never an inevitable outcome of events 1815 to 1870.
1. Why was Italy not unified in 1848 - 49?
The start of a nationalist movement aimed at unifying Italy started in the years after 1815. Napoleon's rule of Italy was important for triggering this. Nevertheless, as you will see from the pages below,...
2. Did Cavour help or hinder the unification of Italy?
The failures of 1848 - 49 shifted the focus of nationalists and liberals to the state of Piedmont Sardinia.
3. How important was Garibaldi’s contribution to unifying Italy?
In May 1860 a new phase in Italian unification began when Giuseppe Garibaldi took over Sicily and Naples. As you have read on the previous page, Cavour had been successful in uniting northern and central...
4. How important for other European countries were moves towards Italian unification?
The international situation also played a key role in helping the cause of Italian Unification; each European country had reasons for supporting Italy or allowing unification to take place.Britain