The unification of Italy was one of the most significant events of the period 1850-1870.

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VITTORIO EMANUELE II:MAKER OF HISTORY OR SPECTATOR

The international school of Turin

Jacopo Namari

Candidate number 0016

 

Table of Contents

  1. Plan of investigation: pag. 3
  2. Summary of evidence: pagg. 3-7
  3. Evaluation of sources: pagg. 7-8
  4. Analysis: pagg. 8-10
  5. Conclusion: pag. 10

VITTORIO EMANUELE II

A)

  • Examine two sources learn about:
  • Vittorio Emanuele II’s personality.
  • Vittorio Emanuele II’s policy and relationship with his ministers.
  • The Unity of Italy: Vittorio Emanuele II: maker or spectator?

B)

The unification of Italy was one of the most significant events of the period 1850-1870.

The crucial moments of the conquest of the Italian unification were articulated by the initiative of the Vittorio Emanuele II’s house of Savoy, led until 1861 by the clear political action of Cavour and then by the right-wing historical governments, which succeeded in taking advantage of the favorable international situation.

At first the French were interested in superseding the Austrian hegemony in Italy, which led to a second victorious war of independence.

The Prussian defeated Austria and France. This allowed first the conquer of Veneto and Rome, then the domination of the generous democratic initiative of Mazzini and Garibaldi, who had to sacrifice their democratic principles in the name of national unity.

Who was Vittorio Emanuele II?

His origins are surrounded by mystery; he was born in Turin on 14 March 1820, the son of Carlo Alberto and Maria Theresa of Habsburg- Lorraine. When he was two he moved to Florence with his family.

A legend narrates that one night the future king was sleeping when his nanny, trying to drive away a mosquito with a candle, went too near his cot and set it on fire.

According to the official version the child was only slightly burnt whereas the nanny died. This reconstruction leaves legitimate doubts at least with regard to two circumstances: first the cot was completely destroyed by fire, second the nanny died in the accident whereas the child was almost uninjured.

The news immediately spread that the child was dead and his parents, worried about the dynastic succession, had replaced him with another child.

Legend apart, Vittorio Emanuele was the heir to the throne and as such was educated; but the future king had neither great interest in nor bent for studying; he wasn’t born to be an intellectual.

When he finished his studies he married Adelaide, the daughter of the Duke of Habsburg.

In spite of the formal education he received, Vittorio Emanuele II was “common”: a straightforward and jovial man, who felt himself at home not at court nor in the aristocratic salons but in the company of hunters.

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In connection with this, a gaffe of his at the French court is famous: turning to Empress Eugenia he said: “ I’ve heard that Parisiennes don’t wear knickers. This is paradise to me.”

He was a vain man who loved compliments and applause and often took his ministers’ merits.

The king had an eventful sentimental life, but a woman represented continuity in his life: Rosa Vercellana, the famous “Bela Rusina”.

She was born a woman of the people and had the king marry her with a civil rite in 1877. This love was a difficult problem to manage for ...

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