The Unification of Italy

The signing of the Final Act of the Congress of Vienna
The ‘Final Act’ of the Congress of Vienna was signed on the 9th June 1815, nine days before Napoleon’s final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.

The origins of Italian unification: 1815-1847
This revision podcast presents the background of Italian unification. Beginning with an overview of changes on the peninsula up to the late 18th Century, it firstly examines the impact of French rule under Napoleon. The Congress of Vienna of 1815 ‘reset’ Italy, and so the podcast goes on to explore the differing opinions of how nationalism should be achieved. There is some discussion of the failed revolutions of the 1820s and 1830s, as well as an introduction to the views of key personalities including Mazzini, Cavour and Pope Pius IX.
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The election Pope Pius IX: a brief overview (podcast episode)
Born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, Pius IX’s election by the Papal conclave of 1846 came at a time of significant political unrest across Europe.

The Italian Revolutions of 1848-49
This IB and A Level History revision podcast looks at the causes and events of the revolutions of 1848-49 in the Italian states. Beginning with the impact of Pope Pius IX’s liberal experiment of 1846-47, it explores the development of the revolutions that followed, and which swept across the Italian states. The rise and fall of the Roman Republic is explained, before going on to assess the reasons for the ultimate failure of the revolutions.
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Italy 1849-58: The emergence of Piedmont
This IB and A Level History revision podcast explores Piedmont before and after Cavour’s appointment as Prime Minister. Political aspects covered include the Statuto, the Siccardi Laws and the Connubio. Piedmont’s involvement in the Crimean War is also addressed, as well as Cavour’s relationship with Napoleon III. The podcast ends with a summary of the Plombieres agreement.
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Garibaldi hands southern Italy to Victor Emanuel II
On the 26th October 1860 Giuseppe Garibaldi met with Victor Emanuel II, the King of Sardinia, at Teano and handed him control of southern Italy.