Pope Pius IX was elected for papacy in 1846, and differed from the previous pope by being a liberal and eager for reforms: a man of the people. Through him, the Italians found a leader who would sympathize with their discontent, and regardless of the failures in the 1820s revolutions, more insurrections arose in 1848. The pope had an important impact on Garibaldi, who became famous as a result of the revolutions.
The kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia was the focal point for unification of the Italian Nation. After 1848, Piedmont maintained its independence, constitution and freedom of the press – which led to it becoming fertile ground for the revolutionary outburst and gave seed to ideas such as removing Metternich. After 1952, the Piedmontese Prime Minister was the Count Benso di Cavour – who held the expansion of Piedmontese territory and expulsion of Austrian influence from Italy as his top priorities.
Cavour remains as one of the main leaders responsible for the Italian unification regardless of his intent not being done in the spirit of nationalism. Cavour played a crucial role in the unification – by following in the footsteps of previous revolutionaries and taking drastic and immediate actions towards the creation of a nation. Cavour sent the Sardinian army to the aid of France and England in the Crimea, which raised Italy’s prestige from the point of view of the western powers. In the Congress of Paris, Cavour attacked Austria diplomatically and broke the Alliance between Austria and Britain, gaining British support for the unification. He was responsible for Napoleon III’s entry into Italy, which broke the power of Austria and kept Italy free from interference while Garibaldi won the kingdom of Naples for Italy. According to the historian AJ Whyte, Cavour remained “uninfluenced by the squabbles and jealousies of the various Italian states, and viewed Italy and the Italian question as a single problem”. Additionally, he broke Italy free of Austrian interference which had been a great barrier to unification. Italy undoubtedly benefited from Cavour’s exceptional leadership skills. Although it may be claimed that Cavour acted solely on the pretext of expanding Piedmont’s territory, his intentions seem insignificant as by chance or by destiny, they led to the unification of Italy – confirming the statement that Italy united itself.
Giuseppe Garibaldi had made appearances during the Risorgimento, and in 1860 he seized southern Italy from the Bourbons and in a gesture of pure patriotism made it a gift to King Victor Emmanuel in order to create the united kingdom of Italy. Garibaldi made a practical contribution to Italian independence by fighting against Austria in 1859 and against the armies of Francis II in Naples and Sicily in 1860. Unlike Cavour, Garibaldi had a dream of national unity, and according to the historian Lucy Riall, “Garibaldi acquired a unique position as the personification of a national ideal. The scale of his military successes is attributable, in part, to his capacity to inspire personal devotion among his followers.” Cavour did not hold the power to stop Garibaldi’s expedition to Sicily and plans of unification, and thus the latter became the man responsible for the final unification of Italy.
On the other hand, the creation of Italy did have foreign support. Napoleon I was responsible, even if unwittingly, for encouraging the idea of a unified Italy. He reduced the number of states from eleven to three and thus abolishing barriers and encouraging trade. The implementation of the French civil code – which was created by Napoleon - in all of Italy contributed to unification in the sense that the laws in every state would remain the same. Napoleon’s actions were destroyed at the Congress of Vienna with the restoration of the monarchy – which in turn restored the use of heavy taxations and despotism. Napoleon I also served as an influence and inspiration to Napoleon III, who may have been tempted with the Napoleonic legend that his name carried when restoring alliances with Italy.
The actions of Napoleon III and the contact that Cavour made with him during the Paris Peace Conference were vital for the unification as they provided the foreign force that was needed to defeat Austria and remove its’ influence from Italy. Napoleon III did not want unification but influence over Europe – and had stood in the way of unification as he helped re-install the pope in 1849. Napoleon III was torn between his support of the French Catholics and willingness to side with the pope and his dream of expansion of French influence. Accoring to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "In this way the difficulties of the future emperor reveal themselves from the beginning; he wished to spare the religious susceptibilities of French Catholics" and yet to support "the national susceptibilities of the Italian revolutionists -- a double aim which explains many an inconsistency" in his policy. Regardless of his inconsistencies, Napoleon III was of great influence in the unification of Italy – especially as he was responsible for the elimination of the greatest obstacle for Cavour: Austrian influence on the Italian states and Piedmont.
Prussia’s wars with Austria in 1866 and with France in 1870-71 helped with the unification of Rome and Venetia to Italy. During the Franco-Prussian war, Bismark is able to get Napoleon III to remain neutral and in turn gives Venetia to Italy. The war forces Napoleon III to remove troops from Rome, which in turn made the unification of Rome to the rest of Italy possible.
In virtue of the facts mentioned above, it becomes evident that foreign support did influence the creation of Italy. However, Charles Albert’s affirmation that Italy would unite itself isn’t entirely incorrect. Cavour worked on the assumption that Austria was the main obstacle in the expansion of Piedmont and thus sought foreign help to expel the foreigner. It was Garibaldi, however, who extended the process of unification well beyond Cavour’s original projection of an enlarged Piedmont, and in this sense it can be argued that Italy completed itself. The foreign interventions were side effects of other Wars or events and had no specific intention to unite Italy for the sake of patriotism.