The Italian Risorgimento: State, Society and National Unification (Historical Connections)

The Risorgimento was a turbulent and decisive period in the history of Italy. Lucy Riall's engaging account is the first book of its kind on the upheavals of the years between 1815 and 1860, when a series of crises destabilised the states of Restoration Italy and led to the creation of a troubled nation state in 1860. Comprehensive, yet original, this textbook:\* Examines the social history of nineteenth century Italy and the social context of political action\* Offers a critical overview of the historiography of the topic\* Takes account of the most recent literature, especially literature in Italian not normally accessible to students\* Adopts a broad thematic approach\* Places the Italian experience in a European context The Italian Risorgimento gives a succinct and original analysis of the period in Italian history (1815-60) known as the Risorgimento (or 'resurgence'). Although Italy's pre-revolutionary rulers were restored in 1825 after the defeat of Napoleon, this restoration was vigorously opposed by a number of liberal nationalist opposition groups. In 1860, following a war between, on the one hand, France and the Northern state of Piedmont and, on the other, the Austrian Empire, the Restoration states collapsed and Italy was unified under Piedmontese leadership. National unification was seen as the culminating event of Italy's 'resurgence' in the 19th century.

In the last two decades, many of the assumptions of Risorgimento historiography have been challenged. The Italian Risorgimento is the first book on the subject to take a thematic rather than narrative approach and place the Italian experience in a broader European context.

The Risorgimento was a turbulent and decisive period in the history of Italy. Lucy Riall's account tells of the upheavals of the years between 1815 and 1860, when a series of crises destabilized the states of Restoration Italy and led to the creation of a troubled nation state in 1860. Comprehensive, this textbook: examines the social history of 19th century Italy and the social context of political action; offers a critical overview of the historiography of the topic; takes account of the most recent literature, especially literature in Italian not normally accessible to students; adopts a broad thematic approach; and places the Italian experience in a European context