Revolutions of 1848 in the Italian states
The 1848 Revolutions in the Italian states, part of the wider Revolutions of 1848 in Europe, were organized revolts in the states of the Italian peninsula and Sicily, led by intellectuals and agitators who desired a liberal government. As Italian nationalists they sought to eliminate reactionary Austrian control. During this time, Italy was not a unified country, and was divided into many states, which, in Northern Italy, were ruled directly or indirectly by the Austrian Empire. A desire to be independent from foreign rule, and the conservative leadership of the Austrians, led Italian revolutionaries to stage revolution in order to drive out the Austrians. The revolution was led by the state of the Kingdom of Sardinia. Some uprisings in the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, particularly in Milan, forced the Austrian General Radetzky to retreat to the Quadrilateral fortresses.
Episode from the Five Days of Milan, painting by Baldassare Verazzi
Daniele Manin and Niccolo Tommaseo are freed from prison, 18 March 1848
Clashes between rebels and Austrians in Bologna.
Giuseppe Garibaldi in Rome.
The Papal States, officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Apennine Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the Pope from 756 until 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th century until the Unification of Italy, between 1859 and 1870.
The Quirinal Palace, 1777
Pope Gregory XVI
The Roman States
Roman States army