Obstacles to Union.
The chief obstacles to a union of the various states of Italy afford a proper introduction to the story. The most important of these was undoubtedly the presence of the foreigner. Italy had long been “a geographical expression,” controlled in the interest of an extra-Italian power. Dismemberment was its normal condition. A series of maps might be prepared to illustrate this fact, using a vivid color to indicate the territory controlled, first by Spain, then by Austria, then by France, and again by Austria, according to the arrangements made at Vienna. The following subjects are suggested:
(1) The Spanish Hegemony; (2) Beginning of Austria’s power in Italy (1715); (3) Restoration of Spain’s power in Italy, including the Austrian possessions in the peninsula (1735); (4) Italy in the time of Napoleon (1810); and (5) Power of Austria in Italy after the Congress of Vienna, showing the Sardinian territories (1815). These maps will serve the purpose best if not over three colors are used in their construction. The atlases of Dow and Putzger, and such text-books as Robinson and West will supply the necessary details. The constant reappearance on each of these maps of a black band stretching across the peninsula will serve to emphasize the importance of another hindrance to Italian unity, namely, the temporal power of the papacy.