The short story of Italian Unification

In 18th century Italy was not united as we know it today, but divided into many small states: the United Lombardo-Veneto, the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Papal States and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the duchies of Modena, Massa and Carrara , Lucca and Parma, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
All these states, with the exception of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was ruled by King Vittorio Emanuele I, were subjected to Austria. This situation made Italy an undeveloped peninsula and economically backward in comparison to other European countries.

The Risorgimento and secret societiesIn this climate began the Risorgimento, which is the period in which the inhabitants of the Peninsula created initiatives for its reunification. The people who pledged themselves to pursue the idea of ​​Unity of Italy were called patriots. They carried out their activities in secret to prevent the Austrians arrested them.One of the patriots Silvio Pellico, the writer of "My imprisonment", the story of the time when he was a prisoner of the Austria and Giuseppe Mazzini, who founded the Young Italy in exile in Spain.  

The revolutionary movements and the three Wars of IndependenceThe unification was not a peaceful process because of many revolutions and battles against the enemy. But the spontaneous movements were not enough and three Independence Wars were necessary to achieve the unification of Italy.

The first war of independence broke out in 1848. The King of Sardinia, Carlo Alberto, at the request of Lombard patriots declared war on Austria. The war, initially victorious, was later defeated and the king had to give the kingdom to his son Vittorio Emanuele II.

The Second War of Independence broke out in 1859 and led to the liberation of Lombardy and Sicily. The liberation of Sicily took place with the action of Giuseppe Garibaldi, who had an army of a thousand men. This action is remembered as the "Expedition of the Thousand". 

In 1861 it was declared the kingdom of Italy with Torino as a capital.

But Italy was not yet fully liberated.  The regions of Veneto and Lazio were lacking.

During the Third War of Independence, Veneto was incorporated to the Kingdom and remained only Lazio. In 1871 the briganti (Italian soldiers) arrived in Rome and opened a breach in the walls of the city liberating Rome. The unification of Italy was completed.