Storia Contemporanea Italiana ed Europea: Dalla Restaurazione alla Prima Repubblica
The Restoration and the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815)
The Restoration refers to the historical and political process beginning in October 1814 with the Congress of Vienna. This period served as a "great laboratory of ideas," aiming to restore the socio-political conditions prior to the French Revolution and re-establish absolute monarchs on their European thrones. It was characterized as an effort to create a regime that was both strong and popular, distinct from the old order that had vanished. Following the Napoleonic conquests, Europe sought a lasting peace, leading to a natural return to religion, particularly Catholicism. This "throne-altar alliance" served as a tool for sovereign power, an expedient previously utilized by Napoleon through the 1801 Concordat with Pope Pius VII before his 1804 self-proclamation as Emperor.
Several important considerations preceded the Congress. Poland, which had aspired to an empire modeled on Rome, disappeared from the map, partitioned among Austria, Prussia, and Russia. Galicia, south of Poland, was incorporated by the Austrians, leading to independence movements in the 19th century influenced by Italian models due to cultural and Catholic similarities. The Ottoman Empire, known as the "Sick Man of Europe," remained a major player despite its crisis, controlling the Dardanelles and significant European territory. International stability was guaranteed by the powers that defeated Napoleon: Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Great Britain. In 1830, France also emerged as an interested party in the Mediterranean, conquering Algeria.
The diplomatic work in Vienna, beginning in October 1814, blended high-level negotiations with social vanity. METTERNICH, first as Prime Minister and later as Chancellor, was a central figure who drew inspiration from Enlightenment thinkers. He argued that only through reason could peace be maintained, opposing expansionist aims. This brought him into conflict with Tsar Alexander I, though he found an ally in the British diplomat Castlereagh. The Austrian and British interests compensated for each other: Britain sought maritime control, while Austria focused on continental stability. The resulting "Metternich System" guaranteed three decades of peace as states adhered to common norms.
Geopolitical Restructuring and the Map of 1815
The Congress of Vienna redrew the map of Europe. Poland was partitioned between Austria, Prussia, and Russia. In Germany, the Germanic Confederation was born, consisting of many small states in a free association against the principal of national self-determination. The Kingdom of the Netherlands was created, which would later see Belgium gain independence in 1831 (following the Belgian Revolution of the Catholic elite and bourgeoisie against the Flemish Dutch) with British support at the London Conference. Belgium would declare itself Catholic and neutral, obtaining a liberal constitution. Greece gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1832 through popular mobilization, receiving a Catholic king, Otto of Bavaria, for its Orthodox population.
In Italy, the geopolitical situation was fragmented. The Bourbon dynasty was restored in the Kingdom of Naples, and the Papal States were recomposed. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was led by Leopold III. The northwest formed the Kingdom of Sardinia under Vittorio Emanuele I, including Piedmont, Savoy, Sardinia, Nice, and Genoa. Austria consolidated its power by gaining control of the Padan Plain (), securing its southern border.
The Hundred Days and the Holy Alliance
Napoleonic negotiations were interrupted by Napoleon's escape from Elba and landing in Provence. Relying on speed and popular support, he ousted Louis XVIII, who abandoned the throne without a fight. Napoleon's revival lasted only 100 days until his final defeat at Waterloo by Anglo-Prussian forces in June 1815. Despite his return, Louis XVIII struggled to recover ancient prestige; the French Senate had promised the people a Constitution recognizing the primacy of the Nation over the Throne, alongside rights to liberty, equality, and private property. Meanwhile, the clergy and nobility attempted to recover privileges through new evangelization. The French political landscape became divided between the "Ultras" (favoring the throne-altar alliance), the Constitutionals, and the Independents.
In 1815, Tsar Alexander I proposed the Holy Alliance between Russia, Austria, and Prussia (1815-1833). This was a religious union based on the precepts of "justice, charity, and peace," where sovereigns viewed themselves as "compatriots" in a supranational and trans-confessional framework—the idea of a single "Fatherland, Europe." While it cast the monarch as a father figure to subjects, Great Britain and France did not join. Pope Pius IX did not recognize the alliance, viewing the civil power's appropriation of divine authority without Papal mediation as problematic. Politically, Europe remained balanced by five great powers until 1848: Russia in the east, the British Empire in the west (a liberal-constitutional pole and center of the Industrial Revolution), Prussia and Austria in the center (the conservative pole), and France.
Early Revolutionary Movements and the Cadiz Constitution
In 1812, the Constitution of Cadiz () was granted. It was anti-French and anti-Napoleonic, establishing that the Nation, not the sovereign, was sovereign. Article 1 defined the Spanish nation as the collection of all Spaniards in both hemispheres. Article 2 declared the nation free and independent, not the patrimony of a king. Article 3 placed sovereignty in the nation. This was a confessional constitution, with Article 12 stating that Spain would always be Catholic and prohibiting other faiths. These "octroyé" (granted) constitutions often rinvigorated authoritarian structures despite appearing as concessions.
The revolutionary cycle of 1820-21 hit the Mediterranean: Spain, Portugal, Naples, and Piedmont. Triggered by liberal secret societies, these movements sought constitutions modeled after Cadiz. In Spain, officers initiated a revolt in January. In Italy, the CARBONERIA—an elite society—organized movements. In Naples (July 1820), King Ferdinand I granted a constitution, though it faced Sicilian separatism. In Piedmont (March 1821), Vittorio Emanuele I abdicated for Carlo Alberto, who temporarily accepted liberal demands. However, these movements failed due to narrow social bases, detachment from the masses, divisions between moderates and democrats, and a failure to account for the international context. By 1831, the revolutionary spirit touched France (Louis Philippe, the "Bourgeois King," replaced Charles X), Belgium (independence granted), and Italy (the United Provinces in central Italy against Pope Gregory XVI).
Risorgimento: The Ideological Paths to Unification
The Risorgimento was the process of Italian unification against the fragmentation imposed by Vienna. Two primary paths emerged. The Moderate Path looked to reforms and the courts to achieve unification. Cesare Balbo (1789-1853) advocated for a confederation of states led by the House of Savoy after expelling Austria. Vincenzo Gioberti (1801-1852) proposed a federal Italy under the Papacy (Neo-Guelphism). Massimo D'Azeglio (1789-1866) believed in unification through the reforms of Pius IX.
The Democratic Path sought popular participation and revolution. Giuseppe Mazzini (1805-1872) founded "Young Italy" in July 1831 and later "Young Europe." He envisioned a unitary state based on the mission of "God and the People," where the nation emanates from the people's mobilization. Carlo Cattaneo (1801-1869) advocated for a federal democracy on the Swiss model. Different unitary perspectives persisted: a Federal Italy (Cattaneo/Gioberti), the Internationalization of the national revolution, the "Nation in Arms" (Mazzini), or the "Royal War" (military action by the Savoy). Between 1831 and 1845, various democratic attempts occurred, including Mazzini's Genovese movements and the tragic expedition of the Bandiera Brothers in Calabria (1844).
The 1848 "Spring of Nations" and the First War of Independence
The year 1848 was a political revolution against absolute sovereigns. In 1846, the election of Pope Pius IX sparked the myth of the "Liberal Pope" after he granted amnesty to political prisoners. In 1847, he established a Customs Union () among Sardinia, Tuscany, and the Papal States to facilitate common markets. On January 12, 1848, an insurrection in Palermo against the Bourbons demanded Sicilian autonomy and a constitution. Ferdinand II was forced to grant one on February 11, followed by Leopold II in Tuscany on February 18. In France, King Louis Philippe abdicated in February 1844, and a republic was formed.
In Italy, the Statuto Albertino was promulgated on March 4, 1848. Revolutions hit Venice (Daniele Manin's Republic of St. Mark) and Milan, where the "Five Days of Milan" (March 18-22) saw Radetzky's Austrian troops expelled. Carlo Alberto declared war on Austria on March 23, 1848, starting the First War of Independence. Though he won at Goito (May 30), Radetzky counterattacked, defeating the Piedmontese at Custoza (July 23-25). Following the assassination of Pellegrino Rossi, the Roman Republic was declared by Mazzini, Saffi, and Armellini, forcing the Pope to flee to Gaeta. However, French and Spanish intervention defeated the republic. Carlo Alberto resumed the war but was crushed at Novara (March 23, 1849) and abdicated for Vittorio Emanuele II. The "Moncalieri Proclamation" (November 20, 1849) saw the new King maintain the Statuto while intervening in the election of a pro-monarchy chamber to ratify the Peace of Milan.
Processes of National Unification in France and Germany
In France, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was elected President, then staged a coup in December 1851, declaring himself Emperor NAPOLEON III a year later. He adopted an enlightened despotism and a policy of French power growth, including an alliance with Sardinia and participation in the Crimean War. In Germany, King Wilhelm I and Chancellor OTTO VON BISMARCK sought a Germany excluded from Austrian influence. Following the Austro-Prussian War (1866), the Germanic Confederation was dissolved. The Franco-Prussian War (1870) began after a dispute over the Spanish throne (the Hohenzollern candidacy). France was defeated at Sedan (September 2, 1870), leading to the proclamation of the German Empire at Versailles on January 18, 1871. France lost Alsace and Lorraine and faced heavy reparations, fueling "Revanchism." Bismarck then balanced European power through the Three Emperors' League (Dreikaiserbund, 1873) and the 1878 Congress of Berlin, addressing the Balkan question.
Cavour and the Unification of Italy
Count Camillo Benso di CAVOUR (1810-1861) became the architect of Italian unification. A liberal who favored the English constitutional model and free trade, he formed the "Connubio" (political alliance) with Rattazzi's moderate left to exclude extremists. He modernized Piedmont's infrastructure and secularized the state. Internationally, he involved Piedmont in the Crimean War (1853-1856) to bring the "Italian Question" to the Congress of Paris. In 1858, he formed the secret Plombières Agreements with Napoleon III: France would support Piedmont if attacked by Austria, in exchange for Nice and Savoy and the creation of a North Italian kingdom.
The Second War of Independence (1859) saw victories at San Martino and Solferino. However, Napoleon III signed the Armistice of Villafranca, obtaining only Lombardy for Piedmont while Venice remained Austrian. In 1860, Cavour returned to power, organizing plebiscites to annex Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna. Simultaneously, Garibaldi launched the "Expedition of the Thousand" (May 1860), landing at Marsala and declaring himself Dictator of Sicily in the name of Vittorio Emanuele. After taking Palermo, Milazzo, and Naples, Garibaldi met the King at Teano (November 5, 1860) and surrendered his conquests. On March 17, 1861, the Kingdom of Italy was born, though Cavour died shortly after in June.
The Historical Right and the completion of Unification (1861-1876)
The Historical Right (), led by figures like Ricasoli, Rattazzi, and Minghetti, focused on completing unification and addressing the Southern Question. They faced the debt of pre-unitary states and "Brigandage" in the south—a complex phenomenon of social redemption and Bourbon legitimism. The "September Convention" (1864) with France moved the capital from Turin to Florence and agreed on the withdrawal of French troops from Rome. In 1866, through an alliance with Prussia (Third War of Independence), Italy gained Venice.
The Roman Question remained a priority. Following the defeat of Napoleon III at Sedan, Italian troops entered Rome via the "Breccia di Porta Pia" on September 20, 1870. A plebiscite annexed Rome and Lazio. The "Law of Guarantees" (May 13, 1871) regulated the relationship with the Papacy, offering the Pope sovereignty over the Vatican, Lateran, and Castel Gandolfo. Pope Pius IX refused the law, forbade Catholics from participating in Italian politics via the "Non Expedit" decree, and published the "Syllabus of Errors" (1864) condemning modern ideologies. Catholic political mobilization later evolved through the "Unione Romana" and the election of Leo XIII (1878), who addressed the social question in "Rerum Novarum" (1891).
The Historical Left and the Crispi Era (1876-1896)
In 1876, Agostino DEPRETIS led the Historical Left () to power in a "parliamentary revolution." Depretis utilized "Trasformismo" (building majorities by appealing to moderates regardless of party). Key reforms included the Coppino Law (1877) for compulsory education, the abolition of the grist tax (), and protectionist trade policies. In foreign policy, Italy joined the Triple Alliance (1882) with Austria and Germany and began colonial expansion in the Horn of Africa (occupying Assab and Massaua), which stalled after the defeat at Dogali (1887).
FRANCESCO CRISPI (1818-1901) succeeded Depretis, adopting a Bismarckian "authoritarian democracy." He strengthened the executive, enacted the Zanardelli Code (abolishing the death penalty), and nationalized religious charities via the Law on Opere Pie (1890). His imperialist agenda led to the Treaty of Uccialli (1889) with Menelik of Ethiopia, which was plagued by translational ambiguities. Crispi’s aggressive expansion ended with the disastrous defeat at Adwa in 1896, leading to his resignation. The late 90s saw a deep crisis: the Bava Beccaris massacre in Milan (1898) and the assassination of King Umberto I (1900) by the anarchist Gaetano Bresci.
Giovanni Giolitti and the Early 20th Century (1901-1914)
The Giolittian Era saw Giovanni GIOLITTI seek to make the state a neutral mediator between labor and capital. He promoted laws protecting women and child labor, introduced the first nationalized railways and life insurance (INA), and passed universal male suffrage in 1912. He collaborated with moderate socialists (Turati) and reached the "Gentiloni Pact" (1913) with Catholics to counter the socialist threat. Seeking to satisfy nationalists, he launched the Libyan War in 1911. Despite his successes, he faced a disorganized majority by 1914 and resigned. His "Memories of My Life" (1922) reflected his belief in democratization and dialogue over repression.
The First World War: Causes and Initial Conflict
The First World War (1914-1918) was caused by imperialism, the Eastern Question (Balkans), revanchism, nationalism, and irredentism. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo (June 28, 1914) was the "casus belli." Systems of alliances activated: the Entente (France, Russia, UK) vs. the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary). Italy initially declared neutrality, citing the defensive nature of the Triple Alliance. In 1915, Italy signed the secret Pact of London, promising territorial gains (Trentino, Trieste, Istria, Dalmatia) in exchange for joining the Entente. In May 1915, following the "Radiant Days of May" protests led by D'Annunzio, Italy declared war on Austria. The war became one of position and attrition, characterized by trench warfare and new weapons like chemical gas and automatic arms. Italy suffered a major collapse at Caporetto (October 1917) but restructured under Armando Diaz and won the final victory at Vittorio Veneto in 1918.
The Rise of Fascism and the Interwar Period
Post-war Italy faced the myth of the "Mutilated Victory" () as Dalmatia and Fiume were denied. D'Annunzio occupied Fiume in 1919 (Regency of Carnaro). The "Biennio Rosso" (1919-1920) was a period of intense social strikes and factory occupations. In March 1919, BENITO MUSSOLINI founded the "Fasci di Combattimento," which evolved into the National Fascist Party (PNF) in 1921. After the March on Rome (October 28, 1922), King Vittorio Emanuele III invited Mussolini to form a government.
Mussolini dismantled liberal institutions through "Fascistizzazione." The Acerbo Law (1923) gave the majority party of seats. The 1924 assassination of socialist Giacomo Matteotti led to the "Aventine Secession" by opposition parties. In his January 3, 1925 speech, Mussolini took full responsibility and initiated the regime. The "Fascistissme Laws" (1925-26) centralized power in the "Duce," re-established the death penalty, and banned other parties. In 1929, the Lateran Pacts settled the Roman Question with the Vatican. Economic policy shifted from early liberalism to "Quota 90" (revaluation of the lira), the creation of IMI and IRI (state intervention), and autarchy. Colonial expansion culminated in the 1935-36 Ethiopian War, leading to the 1938 Racial Laws and the alliance with Nazi Germany (Rome-Berlin Axis, 1936; Pact of Steel, 1939).
The Second World War and the Fall of Fascism
World War II began on September 1, 1939, with Germany's invasion of Poland. Italy entered in June 1940, aiming for a "parallel war." However, several military failures occurred in Greece and North Africa. Following the Allied landing in Sicily (July 1943), Mussolini was ousted by the Grand Council on July 25 and arrested. King Vittorio Emanuele III appointed Pietro Badoglio, who signed the Armistice of Cassibile (September 8, 1943). The King and Badoglio fled to Brindisi, leaving the army without instructions. Germany occupied Northern Italy and freed Mussolini, who established the Italian Social Republic (Salò). The Resistance (Partisans) organized under the CLN (Committee of National Liberation). Italy was finally liberated on April 25, 1945; Mussolini was executed in Dongo on April 28.
Post-War Italy and the First Republic
Following the war, Italy held a referendum on June 2, 1946, choosing a Republic over the Monarchy and electing an Assembly to draft a new Constitution (effective January 1, 1948). ALCIDE DE GASPERI (DC) led the reconstruction within the context of the Cold War, aligning Italy with the West through the Marshall Plan and NATO (1949). The political system centered on "Centrism" (1948-1953) and later the "Center-Left" (DC-PSI alliance under Moro and Fanfani in the 60s). The 1970s, the "Years of Lead," were marked by terrorism from both left (Red Brigades) and right (Piazza Fontana, 1969; Bologna Station, 1980). This led to the "Historic Compromise" attempt by Enrico Berlinguer (PCI) and Aldo Moro (DC), which ended with Moro’s kidnapping and murder by the Red Brigades in 1978. The 80s were dominated by the "Pentapartito" coalition, with Bettino Craxi (PSI) becoming the first socialist premier. The First Republic ended in 1992-1994 due to the "Tangentopoli" corruption scandal (Clean Hands investigation), leading to the rise of new forces like Forza Italia and the Lega Nord.