Establishment of the Present Kingdom.—In 1859, after the war of the French and Sardinians against Austria, the latter power was compelled to cede Lombardy to Sardinia, and in the same year Romagna, Modena, Parma, and Piacenza were annexed to that kingdom, which was, however, obliged to cede the provinces of Savoy and Nice to France. In the south the Sicilians revolted, and supported by a thousand volunteers, with whom Garibaldi sailed from Genoa to their aid, overthrew the Bourbon government in Sicily. Garibaldi was proclaimed dictator in the name of Victor Emmanuel. In August Garibaldi crossed to Naples, defeated the royal army there, drove Francis II. to Gaeta, and entered the capital on the 7th September. Sardinia intervened and completed the revolution, when Garibaldi, handing over his conquests to the royal troops, retired to Caprera. A plebiscite confirmed the union with Piedmont, and Victor Emmanuel was proclaimed king of Italy, thus suddenly united almost in Mazzini’s phrase, “from the Alps to the sea.”
Only Venice and the Papal State now remained to be joined to the new kingdom. To obtain Venice, Italy joined Prussia in her war against Austria in 1866; and though the Italians were beaten on land at Custozza and on sea at Lissa, the triumph of Prussia was so complete that, by the peace of Prague, Venice was surrendered to Italy.
Conquest of the Papal States.—Rome was less easy to secure, because of the opposition of Roman Catholic opinion throughout Europe. French soldiers had protected the pope ever since 1849. In 1862 Garibaldi prepared to make a dash on the Papal States, but the government felt obliged to stop him. He was surrounded on Mount Aspromonte and taken prisoner. The withdrawal of the French troops from Rome (1864) was only procured by a promise to respect the Papal States, and by the transference of the capital from Turin to Florence.
In spite of the prohibition of the government, Garibaldi made another attempt on Rome in 1867; but Napoleon sent more French troops, and Garibaldi was defeated at Mentana, and had to withdraw. It was not till the fall of the French Empire in 1871 that the Italian government could act freely. As Pius IX. refused to give up the temporal power, the Italian government took the capital by force, and Pius withdrew to the Vatican, where he remained in voluntary confinement, a course followed by his successor, Leo XIII. (1878-1903), and by the present Pope, Pius X.
Difficulties of Consolidation.—The consolidation of Italy, since the formation of the kingdom, has been slow and difficult owing to the great social differences between northern and southern Italy. The nation, too, has been ambitious to be recognized as one of the great powers of Europe, which involves a vast outlay in expenditure.
MONUMENT TO VICTOR EMMANUEL II., AT ROME. THIS MEMORIAL IS EMBLEMATIC OF ITALIAN UNITY AND WAS ERECTED AT AN EXPENDITURE OF $10,000,000.—THE COSTLIEST MEMORIAL IN THE WORLD, AND POSSIBLY THE MOST MAGNIFICENT
In 1878 Victor Emmanuel died, and was succeeded by Humbert I.; Pius IX. being succeeded by Leo XIII. in the same year. Humbert’s reign was marked by electoral reform and foreign colonization. Somaliland, along the northeast coast of Africa, was acquired between 1880 and 1890, and the dependency of Eritrea was founded in 1882. Italy’s claims to a protectorate over Abyssinia led to war, which ended in an Italian defeat at Adowa, 1896, and the restoration of all land to Abyssinia by the treaty of Adis Abeba.