Italian unification
creation of the politically and administratively integrated nation of Italy / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Italian unification (Italian: Unità d'Italia), also known as the Risorgimento (meaning "the Resurgence"), refers to the Italian movement that united the Italian states in the 19th century.
Native name | Unità d'Italia |
---|---|
Date | 1815–1871 |
Location | Italy |
Also known as | Risorgimento |
Napoléon Bonaparte invaded Italy in 1796 and later controlled it. When he was defeated in 1815, at the Battle of Waterloo, the free states could now join together. The Congress of Vienna (1814–1815) restored the prewar ancien régime. The Austrian Empire, ruled by the Habsburgs, controlled most of Italy.[1] The movement began in 1815 with the Congress of Vienna.
It ended in 1871, when Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy by the efforts of Count of Cavour, the prime minister of Piedmont, and Giuseppe Garibaldi, an Italian national hero who united southern Italy.[2][3] That allowed King Victor Emmanuel II to become the first king of Italy.