To understand an event as large as the Italian Unification one must draw an analysis from the causes of that event. Many small case-specific causes can be found, but the key is to find general causes that can explain the whole unification. When looking at the time frame 1815-1870, one can find three general causes that mostly, but not always, worked towards Italian Unification. The complete Italian unification in 1870 occurred because of the actions of significant personalities, more specifically: Cavour, Mazzini and Garibaldi, it also came about because of the role of foreign players and lastly because of the not always successful, but reoccurring peoples movement.
After Napoleon’s adventure into Europe had been extinguished, the parties at the Congress of Vienna in 1814/1815 were determined to re-establish old conservative order. Prussia, Russia, Great Britain and Austria-Hungary were the “Big Four” throughout the meetings, all of them, except Great Britain, being interested in highly conservative monarchical rule. New concepts such as liberalism were thwarted (Murphy, et al. 2000) and laid aside; the “old way” should provide peace, which was the ultimate aim of the Congress, for the next centuries. A Congress System was established; hereby the aforementioned Powers would meet in a regular basis to negotiate and solve problems by peaceful means.
Besides reintroducing old hierarchies, the Vienna Congress also brought territorial changes. They were mostly supposed to create buffer states to be able to repel another French attack, and restore conservative stability. Countries such as Belgium, Savoy, Lombardy and Venetia were thus annexed into their more powerful neighbours (Murphy, et al. 2000) in order to provide future stability. Lombardy and Venetia were placed under direct Austrian control, and power in other states such as Parma, Modena, Lucca and Tuscany was