The unification of Italy: everything you wanted to know

Welcome to the History Extra podcast, fascinating historical conversations from the makers of BBC History Magazine. In 1861, the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed, unifying the various Italian states under one national banner. But what did it mean to be Italian in the mid-19th century? How did the Pope react to the concept of a united Italy? And why did so many British women fall in love with Garibaldi?

Here in conversation with Spencer Mizen, David Lavin answers your questions on the Risorgimento, the campaign to unify Italy. Hi David, we're here today to talk about the unification of Italy, the Risorgimento. I wonder if you could start by giving us a really brief introduction to the Risorgimento. What was it? When did it happen?

And why is it so important? Okay, so the Risorgimento is the term that we generally use to describe the processes leading up to and including the unification of Italy. Italy, of course, had been divided since the fall of the Roman Empire, but really we're talking about a process that most people would date from about the time of the French Revolution, some people might date it back to the 18th century Enlightenment. There's always this sort of case of when does s somet something begin as a historical phenomenon. But really the key process I would have thought would be after the end of the Napoleonic Wars through to the final and complete unification of Italy in 1870.

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