The Italian Unification, known in Italian as Risorgimento (Resurgence), was a pivotal period in History of Italy that saw the consolidation of numerous city-states, kingdoms, and duchies into a single, unified kingdom. This process spanned from approximately 1815 to 1871, involving a series of political and social transformations.
Italy had been fragmented into several entities since the fall of the Western Roman Empire, with regions often under the control of foreign powers like the Austrian Empire, Kingdom of Sardinia, and various other smaller states. The idea of a unified Italy began to gain traction during the Napoleonic Era, when Napoleon Bonaparte unified much of the peninsula under his rule, creating the Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic). However, after Napoleon's defeat in 1815, the Congress of Vienna restored much of the pre-Napoleonic order, leaving Italy divided.
The unification process was not without its challenges. Regional disparities, political instability, and the Roman Question (the issue of the Papacy's temporal power) persisted. However, the creation of the Kingdom of Italy was a monumental step towards national identity and modern statehood. It set the stage for Italy's later involvement in World War I and World War II, and its role in the post-war European landscape.