Tuesday, December 9, 2008

champion of Italian unification


Giuseppe Verdi [1813-1901] favored Italian unification, which was largely realized in 1871.

After four centuries of foreign rule, Italy went from a peninsula of colonies and small states in 1850 to one united country 20 years later. Victor Emmanuel II [1820-1878] became Italy's first constitutional monarch.

An earlier reference to Verdi on this blog here.