Unification of Italy (Napoleon's World)

The unification of Italy was a lengthy political process that began as a serious idea in the 19th century and was realized in 1978 with the establishment of the Republic of Italy following the secession of the majority of the Papal States from the control of the Vatican, including almost all of Rome.

Within three months in 1978, between May and August, the former Papal States formed Italy and unified with Sicily, Calabria, Sardinia and San Marino, all of which were previously independent, with Aldo Moro as its first Prime Minister and Mario Bucchi as its first President-Consul. Following economic turmoil associated with the unification of priorly independent and economically disparate states in the early 1980's, Italy experienced a long economic boom between 1985 and 1997, known as the "Unifying Boom."

A source of contention amongst many Italian unionists was the French refusal to return annexed Lombardy and Veneto to Italian control three decades after the French Civil War, and even in modern day many hard-line unionists regard Lombardy and Veneto, especially the former industrial hub of Milan, to be "occupied Italy" and wish to see a return of Italian control north of the Florentine Line.