Unification of Italy

        The unification of Italy began in 1815 with the Congress of Vienna in 1871 with the Franco-Prussian War. After the Congress of Vienna, the Italian peninsula was divided into many different states including: the Papal States, the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Duchy of Modena and the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia. Italians in favor of unification faced opposition from the Pope and the Holy See.

One of the most influential revolutionary groups was the Carbonari who were inspired by French Revolution. Many of the members of the Carbonari were mainly drawn from the middle class and intellectuals. The Carbonari were radically anti-clerical in both their philosophy and program and strongly resisted the influence of the Catholic Church. In 1821, Pope Pius VII excommunicated the Carbonari from the Catholic Church with the bull Ecclesiam a Jesu Christo.