Page 149 - Il Risorgimento e l'Europa - Attori e protagonisti dell’Unità d’Italia nel 150° anniversario - Atti 9-10 novembre 2010

AustriA And the unificAtion of itAly 149

its influence in Northern Italy and it is impossible to separate the changing
strategic position of Austria in Europe.
The duchies like Tuscany and Modena were relatives of the Habsburg
families („Sekundogenituren“) were in power were also lost in a matter of
weeks.
The provinces Marche and Umbria were already in rebellion against Papal
rule. So, Piemontese troops easily conquered the eastern parts of the Papal
States and so they secured their position in the south. In November 1860,
Bologna, Ferrara, Umbria, the Marches, Benevento and Pontecorvo were
annexed and the way for the unified Kingdom of Italy was open at last. The
Papal reign was reduced to the Latium region surrounding Rome. Regarding
the foreign policy of Austria,
Austria simply had no political-strategic chance to influence the political
and military situation on the Italian peninsula in the subsequent two years.
In consequence the creation of the Kingdom of Italy (without the province
of Venetia, which remained under Austrian control until the end of the war of
the year 1866, and Rome) went on without any real disturbance or interfer-
ence from Austria, were the foreign minister Johann Bernhard von Rechberg
tried to restore the Austrian position in Europe until 1864, a task in which his
successor Alexander Graf Mensdorff-Pouilly also failed.
The liberal Austrian newspaper “Die Presse” wrote on the 19 February
th
1861:
“Italy is united”.
The successor of Carlo Alberto (who had sacrified his life in his eagerness
to unite Italy) has met his luck to obtain the highest aims of his proceedings
as a Italian prince. What the world as long as in our days had considered an
absurd dream of an ambitious man,
Victor Emanuel has succeded in this. The convening of the parliament in
Turin, in which – excluding Rome and the surrounding aeras – all parts of
Italy from the Mincio to the most southern part of Sicily are represented by
elected deputies is a first manifestation of the Italian Unity, which signifi-
cance someone can not deny.
What ever has been said about the difficulties to weld together – in spite
of the provincialities, the differences of the mentalities of the various region-
al groups of the population and through their dialects very in homogenic parts
of the Apennin peninsula - all parts to a common state, it is only a question
of time and the administration. Up from now, if there is no risky policy, which
will risk the results of this development, after the assembly of the first Italian