Who was Victor Emmanuel II and why is he important in Italian history?
Victor Emmanuel II was King of Sardinia from 1849 and became the first King of a unified Italy on the 17th of March 1861. He is important because he presided over the Risorgimento, the unification movement that brought together the disparate kingdoms of the Italian peninsula into a single nation for the first time since the 6th century. He earned the epithet "Father of the Fatherland" (Padre della Patria) from the Italian people.
What was Victor Emmanuel II's role in the Expedition of the Thousand?
Victor Emmanuel II supported Giuseppe Garibaldi's Expedition of the Thousand in 1860-1861, which resulted in the rapid fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. However, Victor Emmanuel halted Garibaldi when he appeared ready to attack Rome, which was under French protection. The two men met at Teano, where Garibaldi handed control of southern Italy to the king.
When did Victor Emmanuel II become King of Italy?
Victor Emmanuel II became the first King of Italy on the 17th of March 1861, when the Parliament of unified Italy proclaimed him king following a series of plebiscites in the newly acquired territories. He kept his title as Victor Emmanuel II rather than renumbering himself Victor Emmanuel I of Italy.
Why was Victor Emmanuel II excommunicated from the Catholic Church?
Victor Emmanuel II was excommunicated because he attacked and defeated the Papal army at the Battle of Castelfidardo in 1860, driving the Pope into Vatican City. He also conquered the Papal States in 1870 when he entered Rome on the 20th of September of that year. The excommunication was lifted by Pope Pius IX shortly before Victor Emmanuel's death in 1878.
What was the secret deal made at Plombières-les-Bains and how did it affect Italian unification?
In 1858, Cavour and Napoleon III of France met at Plombières-les-Bains in Lorraine and agreed that France would help Piedmont fight Austria in exchange for receiving Nice and Savoy. The resulting campaign in 1859 won Lombardy for Piedmont, though Napoleon III broke the full terms of the deal by secretly making peace at Villafranca, leaving Venetia with Austria. Nice and Savoy eventually passed to France under the Treaty of Turin in March 1860.
Who succeeded Victor Emmanuel II as King of Italy?
Victor Emmanuel II was succeeded by his son Umberto I, who was born in 1844. Victor Emmanuel died in Rome in 1878 and was buried in the Pantheon. The Victor Emmanuel II Monument in Rome, containing the Altare della Patria, was built in his honor after his death.