In the middle of the nineteenth century a movement for Italian unity arose in Sardinia. It was called risorgimento — rebirth. It aimed at the overthrow of all alien powers in Italy and the unity of the whole peninsula in a modern Italian nation. This revolutionary spirit could not tolerate the continuation of the Papal States, a medieval state in the heart of Italy governed by strict absolutist principles. After 1849 the Papal States were so hated they could be defended only by French bayonets.
[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, history, Risorgimento[/tags]
