The Divided Peninsula: Italy Before Unification

The Italian peninsula in the mid-19th century presented a fractured political landscape, caught between reactionary forces and revolutionary aspirations. Following the failed revolutions of 1848, much of Italy fell under what contemporary liberals considered oppressive regimes. The Austrian-controlled Lombardy-Venetia Kingdom remained under martial law until 1856 following multiple uprisings by followers of Giuseppe Mazzini. Austrian troops garrisoned the duchies of Parma and Modena, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, and the northern Papal States.

The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies under Ferdinand II became notorious among European liberals as the most backward regime in the West, its reactionary policies rivaling those of tsarist Russia. Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont emerged as a beacon of constitutional monarchy under Victor Emmanuel II, becoming a refuge for liberals from across Italy. This political contrast between northern progressivism and southern conservatism would define the coming struggle for unification.

Cavour and the Sardinian Exception

The appointment of Count Camillo di Cavour as Prime Minister in November 1852 marked a turning point for Sardinia-Piedmont. A master political strategist, Cavour engineered the “Connubio” (marriage) between center-left and center-right factions, creating a parliamentary majority that transformed the constitutional monarchy into a de facto parliamentary system. His government severed diplomatic relations with Austria in 1853 over Vienna’s harsh policies in Lombardy-Venetia, earning applause from liberals across Europe.

Cavour’s statesmanship became evident during the 1856 Paris Peace Conference following the Crimean War. Though Sardinia-Piedmont gained no territorial concessions, Cavour secured international prestige and positioned his state as the standard-bearer for Italian aspirations. His cultivation of French Emperor Napoleon III would prove crucial in the coming years.

Napoleon III’s Italian Gambit

The French emperor, consolidating his Second Empire through domestic modernization projects like Haussmann’s renovation of Paris, saw opportunity in Italian affairs. The Crimean War had left Austria diplomatically isolated, and Napoleon III – ever mindful of his uncle Bonaparte’s legacy – envisioned French glory in aiding Italian independence. However, his vision differed markedly from Italian patriots: Napoleon favored a loose Italian confederation under papal presidency, not a unified nation-state.

The 1858 Plombières Agreement between Cavour and Napoleon III revealed this tension. Secretly negotiated at a spa town, the deal promised French military support against Austria in exchange for territorial concessions (Nice and Savoy). The agreement also included the politically explosive provision of a marriage between Napoleon’s cousin and Victor Emmanuel’s teenage daughter – a dynastic arrangement that nearly derailed the fragile alliance.

War and Revolution: 1859-1860

The Second Italian War of Independence (1859) began dramatically when Austria, provoked by Sardinian military preparations, issued an ultimatum. French and Piedmontese forces won decisive victories at Magenta and Solferino, the latter battle’s horrific casualties inspiring Henri Dunant to found the Red Cross. Meanwhile, nationalist uprisings toppled conservative regimes across central Italy.

Napoleon III, alarmed by these revolutionary developments that threatened his confederation plan, abruptly negotiated the Villafranca Armistice without consulting Cavour. The compromise left Venetia under Austrian control and proposed restoring Habsburg rulers in Tuscany and Modena – terms that sparked Cavour’s temporary resignation in protest.

Garibaldi and the Southern Question

The unification movement took a radical turn in 1860 when Giuseppe Garibaldi launched his legendary Expedition of the Thousand. Sailing from Genoa with a volunteer army, the republican leader conquered Sicily and Naples, toppling the Bourbon monarchy. Garibaldi’s populist campaign terrified Cavour, who feared both international backlash and the revolutionary potential of mass mobilization.

In a masterstroke of realpolitik, Cavour preempted Garibaldi’s advance on Rome by sending Piedmontese troops into the Papal States. The subsequent meeting at Teano (October 1860), where Garibaldi handed his conquests to Victor Emmanuel, became legendary, though it masked deep political divisions. Plebiscites in southern and central Italy – however limited the suffrage – ratified unification under Piedmontese leadership.

The New Italy: Achievements and Challenges

The proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in March 1861 marked the culmination of decades of struggle, yet profound challenges remained. The new nation faced:
– A stark North-South divide: Industrializing Piedmont contrasted sharply with the feudal South
– Mass illiteracy (78% nationally, exceeding 85% in former Bourbon territories)
– Ongoing “brigandage” wars in the South against state centralization
– The unresolved “Roman Question” with the Papacy
– Limited suffrage (2% of adult males could vote in 1861 elections)

Cavour’s sudden death in June 1861 deprived Italy of its foremost statesman during this fragile transition. His vision of a “free church in a free state” remained unrealized as relations with the Vatican soured. The capital’s move from Turin to Florence (1865) and eventually Rome (1870) symbolized both the incomplete nature of unification and the tensions between regional identities and national unity.

Legacy: Italy’s Unification in European Context

The Italian Risorgimento represented one of the 19th century’s most significant nationalist movements, inspiring liberals across Europe – particularly in Germany, where observers watched Italy’s progress with keen interest. Unlike Germany’s eventual unification “from above” under Prussian dominance, Italy’s nation-building blended elite diplomacy (Cavour) with popular revolution (Garibaldi).

The new Italy embodied contradictions that would shape its modern history: a constitutional monarchy born of revolution, a centralized state imposed on diverse regions, and a nation whose territorial completeness (with Rome and Venetia) would take another decade to achieve. These tensions between unity and diversity, between liberal ideals and political realities, continue to resonate in Italian politics to this day.