Count Camillo Benso Di Cavour

One of the most influential political figures in Europe during this time was Count Camillo Benso di Cavour, a politician from Piedmont-Sardinia who had very small and realistic goals for Italy (Hearder 40). To him, there was no hope for a democratic revolution across Italy, and he viewed the settlement from the Congress of Vienna as “arbitrary [and] defective” (Doc. 4). He only

Whoever ignores this love of the individual regions of Italy will always build on sand.” (DOC 2) People believed the diverse social classes and power would not make for a unified country. Count Camillo Benso di Cavour, a politician from Piedmont-Sardinia, said, “Active power resides almost exclusively in the middle class and part of the upper class, both of which have ultraconservative interests to defend.” (DOC 4) Daniele Manin, a politician from Venice, wrote, “Peoples who have different origins and customs should not be forced together, because otherwise civil war will follow the war of independence.” (DOC 6) People against unification felt that bringing the diverse states together would cause more problems and do more harm than good. There were obvious pros and cons to the unification if Italy, but some civilians were on the fence.

“I’ll be out of here and away from all you knaves for one time anyway, as not a month will pass before you’ll see whether I’m nobody or a somebody.” The story of Bianco Alfani reflected the nature of 14th century Florentine society where, as Alfani remarked, the election to public office could make or destroy a person. In late 14th century and early 15th century Florence, decreased population and expanding commerce provided a favorable environment for ambitious individuals. The real life examples of Buonaccorso Pitti and Gregorio Dati demonstrated the positive role of ambition in Florence. Pitti, a nobleman had an extremely successful career, partaking in military campaigns, holding public office in Florence and being an ambassador to

* Cosimo’s grandson, Lorenzo the Magnificent, ruled Florence in a totalitarian fashion during the last quarter century of the fifteenth century

Cosimo traditionally has been accused of destroying Florentine liberties, these ancient liberties are more of an illusion than a reality, he only had to make the formula of those he was evicting. To not be taken by surprise like the Albizzi, he perfected the system by not changing in the law’s actual administration, but in the spirit of law he changed everything, it was a rule to fill high official positions by drawing lots. The process was manipulated so that only the names of the men who could be depended upon were drawn. The independent mood of the two municipal assemblies neutralized by making an exceptional procedure the rule by dictatorial powers were now granted for a fixed term that

Benito Mussolini and his creation of Fascism was the glue that held Italy together. Fascism promised national unity and condemned the Socialist party. To understand how Fascism became powerful within Italy, it is imperative to acknowledge the driving force behind this regime. To put it bluntly, violence played an essential role in the development of the Fascist party. Mussolini’s practice of fierceness was able to create a formidable system of government that did not tolerate weakness. In 1919, Benito Mussolini give an Afternoon speech, where he stressed the difference between Socialism and Fascism. Here, he states, “We declare war, against socialism, not because it is socialism, but because it opposes nationalism” (Stone 2013, 38).

War is inevitable, as it is simply the manifestation of the strength and vigour of the Italian people that wishes to expand itself, never looking back. Peace was considered as merely a “mask to surrender and cowardice.” Mussolini stressed that Italians required “forces, duty, and sacrifice” in order to rise again to their former greatness, that of the Roman Empire. This is also Mussolini’s rationale for harsh and severe actions against any who would resist or try and undermine fascism.

“It is much safer to be feared than loved.” This quotation was just a specimen of the harsh and very practical political annotation of the legendary historian, Niccolò Machiavelli – philosopher, patriot, diplomat, advisor and statesman. He was born as the son of a poor lawyer in 1498, but he never let boundaries restrict him. He still received an excellent humanist education from the University of Florence and was soon after appointed as the Second Chancellor of the Republic of Florence.2 His political importance to Florence would soon give him the opportunity to write what is disputed as one of the most significant works in history, The Prince.

In 1296 Ardingo de Medici elected as Gonfaloniere was the first person from the Medici family who held a high public officer rank. In the next 30 years two more members of the family held the rank again. Salvestro de Medici was the person who returned the Medici’s to prominence after the family went through a decline for a short time period afterward. In 1370 and 1378 he held the office rank of Gonfaloniere. The “Ciompi” was a popular mob which was the reason on the basis of which Salvestro rose to power. Salvestro lost his political fortunes simultaneously with the fall of Ciompi. The family's economic status increased and the family became an economic power due to Giovanni which was indeed equivalent to a political power in the Florentine

Giuseppe Mazzini was instrumental in unifying the Italian nation as his ideals spread throughout Italy’s intellectual community. Although many of his attempts at rallying the common people to a revolution failed, he circulated and popularized the idea of a fully unified Italy for the first time since the fall of the Roman Empire. In his work “The Duties of Man,” Mazzini establishes that he is largely a romantic nationalist, since he draws heavily on history; however, he utilizes the power of certain liberal nationalist sentiments such as individuals’ rights in his own work.

A post Middle Age Italy was afflicted by medieval wars and the bubonic plague. A change was needed to restore the vision of what Italy could become. This change was found within one family: the Medici’s, who helped to return the glory and influence to Florence. The Medici’s saw the value in contributing to the advancement of the greatest minds of the period. This was evident in their patronage of leading Artists such as Michelangelo and of renowned Teachers such as Galileo. The sphere of influence the Medici’s enjoyed also extended to the political arena, which happened to be heavily influenced by the Catholic Church at the time. The Medici’s were able to capitalize on the power of the Church and through this influence and the use of

Niccolo Machiavelli is a very pragmatic political theorist. His political theories are directly related to the current bad state of affairs in Italy that is in dire need of a new ruler to help bring order to the country. Some of his philosophies may sound extreme and many people may call him evil, but the truth is that Niccolo Machiavelli’s writings are only aimed at fixing the current corruptions and cruelties that filled the Italian community, and has written what he believed to be the most practical and efficient way to deal with it. Three points that Machiavelli illustrates in his book The Prince is first, that “it is better to be feared then loved,”# the second

Author’s Identity: Unlike many other previous writers on military thought, Machiavelli was not from pure or noble blood, although he was of enough social status to become literate. Instead, Machiavelli used his intellect to climb the social ladder the highest legs of Italian social order. From 1501 to 1521, Machiavelli worked as an influencer, author, and military leader. Rather than conceal his intellect to avoid prosecution or death, such as within a monastery, Machiavelli balanced a thin line between critical thought and appeasement in his allegorical experiences with Caesar Borgia.

However, it was not just the power of Austria and it’s army which contributed to the failures of the revolutions, but the revolutionaries also contributed to their own downfall. Despite wanting change in Italy, there were numerous divisions between the revolutionaries such as the liberals and nationalists having different aims and incompetence in the face of Austria. Such divisions not only affected morale but had physical impacts such as in the battle of Custoza where the Papal States and Naples withdrew their troops in favour of their own interests.

Obviously, the newly united Italian state was greeted with much celebration. Unfortunately, it was also only a start. In truth, fundamental problems still plagued the country and had to be addressed if complete hegemony was to be achieved: firstly, the new Kingdom of Italy suffered from extreme backwardness and secondly, it was still deeply divided. The new Italy was split between north and south, between cities and countryside, between regions, between cities and localities,