September 20, 1870: The Unification of Italy

Giuseppe Garibaldi

September 20, 1870, 150 years ago: Pope Pius IX ends the Siege of Rome by surrendering the Papal States, ending his temporal control over the city. This is the final step of the Unification of Italy, like many countries an old civilization, but a young nation.

In 1859, Emperor Napoleon III of France met with Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, and negotiated an end to the war between them. In exchange for peace -- Napoleon III was not nearly as good at war as his great-uncle and namesake, Napoleon I Bonaparte -- the French monarch was willing to transfer control of the province of Lombardy, including Milan, to the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Later in the year, Tuscany (including Florence), Parma and Modena asked to join Sardinia. In 1860, Sardinia made a deal with France for those provinces, giving up Nice and Savoy. King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia, of the House of Savoy-Carignano -- Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di Savoia -- then proclaimed himself the King of Italy (Re d'Italia).

King Victor Emmanuel II

In May, Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed from Genoa, and conquered Sicily, bringing the island into the Kingdom of Italy. In September, he brought Naples into the Kingdom. The Kingdom of Italy was officially proclaimed on March 17, 1861. That left only Austrian-controlled Veneto, including Venice and Verona, and the Papal States, including Rome, among traditionally Italian-speaking lands not under Italian control.

Getting Rome, the Eternal City, seat of the greatest empire the ancient world, and the largest city on the Italian peninsula, in proved more difficult. In 1862, Garibaldi was captured at Aspromonte, and was only released when he gave an order to disband his army. In 1864, Victor Emmanuel II convinced Napoleon III to withdraw French troops from the Papal States within 2 years.

In June 1866, Italy entered the Austro-Prussian War on Prussia's side, with King Wilhelm I (later Kaiser Wilhelm I of a united Germany) promising them control of Veneto if he won. But the war didn't go well for Italy. Nevertheless, in August, Austria and Prussia signed an armistice, and in October, Franz Joseph ceded Veneto to France, as a reward for not entering the war. Napoleon III immediately ceded Veneto to Italy. That left only the Papal States.

Italy's chance came in 1870, with the Franco-Prussian War. Again losing, Napoleon III needed troops, and, in July, he called back the ones he had in Rome. That gave General Raffaele Cadorna, in command of the Italian Army, a chance. On September 11, he began his advance toward Rome. After a siege, the Pope surrendered, and Cardona entered Rome, which was annexed by the Kingdom of Italy. The following June, the capital of Italy was moved from Florence to Rome.

Raffaele Cadorna

This period of Italian history became known as Il Risorgimento, The Resurgence.

For the 1st time since the fall of the Western Roman Empire, 1,400 or so years earlier, Italy was united. Except for 1943 to 1945 during World War II, it has remained so -- at least, as a nation. That nation has often been internally divided, but it remains one nation.

Napoleon III was dethroned after losing the Franco-Prussian War, and died in exile in 1873. Victor Emmanuel II remained King of Italy until his death in 1878. Garibaldi served in the Chamber of Deputies until his death in 1882. Cadorna lived until 1897.

A red shirt, or camicia rossa, became a powerful symbol of Italian nationalism, freedom, and revolutionary spirit. In particular, it became a popular women's fashion item in Europe and the U.S. In 1865, a soccer team in Nottingham, England, was founded: Nottingham Forest Football Club. It wore red shirts, which their fans still call "The Garibaldi that we wear with pride." Former Forest players would later donate red shirts to newly-founded teams that would resound through the history of not just English, but European soccer: The club founded in London in 1886 that would become Arsenal F.C., and Liverpool F.C. in 1892.

And yet, the national team of Italy wear blue shirts, the color of the House of Savoy, and are known as the Azzurri, much like their arch-rivals, France (Les Bleus).