The breach of Porta Pia, on the right, in a contemporary photograph.

The Capture of Rome (September 20, 1870) was the final event of the long process known as unification of Italy, which led to the unification of the Italian peninsula under the House of Savoy arms in the 19th century. September 20 is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years). ... 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Italian unification, also known as Risorgimento (resurrection), was a historical process by which the Kingdom of Sardinia (ruled by the Savoy dynasty with Turin as its capital) gradually conquered the Italian peninsula, including the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the Duchy of Modena, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Duchy... The House of Savoy or in Italian, La Casa di Savoia, or simply Casa Savoia, (or Savoie, French) is a dynasty of nobles who traditionally had their domain in Savoy, a region that includes present-day Piemonte, other parts of Northern Italy, and a smaller region in France. ...

During the Third Italian War of Independence, much of the Papal States had been conquered by the Piedmontese Army, a new unified Kingdom of Italy being declared in 1861. The last part of the Italian peninsula still missing was the area of Rome, which had defended by French troops and which, mostly diplomatic reasons, King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy refrained to attack. The Third Italian War of Independence was a conflict which paralleled the Austro-Prussian War, and was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire. ... Map of the Papal States. ... There have been several entities known as the Kingdom of Italy. ... 1861 (MDCCCLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar) // January 1 - Benito Juárez captures Mexico City January 2 - Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia dies and is succeeded by... Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban... King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy Victor Emmanuel II (Italian: Vittorio Emanuele II; March 14, 1820—January 9, 1878) was the King of Piedmont, Savoy and Sardinia from 1849–1861, and King of Italy from 1861 until his death in 1878. ...

The occasion presented with the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in July 1870, which led the French government to call back home the garrison defending Rome. The Italian troops, under Raffaele Cadorna, crossed the Papal frontier in the night between September 11 and 12. the Papal garrisons had retreated from Orvieto, Viterbo, Alatri, Frosinone and other strongholds in the Lazio, Pius IX himself being convinced of the inevitability of a surrender^[1]. when the Italians approached the Aurelian Walls that defended the city, he could indeed oppose them a feeble force led by General Kanzler, and composed by the Swiss Guards and a few "zouaves" volunteers from France, Austria, the Netherlands, Spain and other countries, for a total of 14,000 men against the c. 50,000 Italians. Combatants Second French Empire North German Confederation allied with south German states (later German Empire) Commanders Napoleon III # Otto Von Bismarck Helmuth von Moltke the Elder Strength 400,000[] 1,200,000[] Casualties 150,000 dead or wounded 284,000 captured 350,000 civilian [] 70,000 dead or wounded 200... Raffaele Cadorna (1815-1897) was an Piedmontese general who served as one of the major Italian leaders responsible for the unification of Italy during the mid-19th century. ... The site of Orvieto is an Etruscan acropolis. ... Country Italy Region Lazio Province Viterbo (VT) Mayor Giampiero Gabbianelli Elevation 326 m Area 406,28 km² Population  - Total 60,537  - Density 148. ... Alatri is a town and comune of Italian region of the Lazio, 41°44N 13°21E, at 502 m (1647 ft) above sea-level, with 27,200 inhabitants as of the 2003 census. ... Frosinone is the capital of Frosinone Province in Italy. ... Lazio (Latium in Latin) is a regione of central Italy, bordered by Tuscany, Umbria, Abruzzo, Marche, Molise, Campania and the Tyrrhenian Sea. ... South section of the walls The Aurelian Walls were city walls built between 270 and 273 in Rome during the reign of the Roman Emperor Aurelian. ... Swiss Guards have been Swiss who fought for various European powers from the 15th century until the 19th century, called up from the separate Swiss cantons and placed at the disposal of various foreign powers by treaties (the capitulations), in return for money payments. ... A zouave from 1886. ...

Any proposal of surrender issued by Cadorna was rejected by the Pope. The Italian troops lied the siege on September 16. The final attack began with a heavy artillery barrage against three sectors of the walls. A breach was created around Porta Pia, in the northern sector of the walls. 49 Italian and 19 papal soldiers died. The Italians could subsequently enter the city without opposition, white flags appearing on the main churches of Rome. The famous charge of Bersaglieri troops into the breach, a popular theme of Italy's patriotic history, is instead a fake, photographed only after September 20^[2]. The internal face of Porta Pia Porta Pia, new gate in the Aurelian Walls. ... The Bersaglieri are a corps of the Italian army created by General Alessandro Lamarmora in 1836. ...

The Leonine City in the Vatican, seat of the Pope, was occupied on September 21. The Leonine City is that part of the city of Rome around which Pope Leo IV commissioned the construction of a wall for military defense during the 9th century. ...

Trivia

• According to the tradition, the first member of the Italian army to enter the breach at Porta Pia was a dog, called Pio IX in disdain of the Pope. It carried a cart with some Protestant Bibles.
• The Via Pia, the road departing from Porta Pia, was rechristened Via XX Settembre (September 20). Subsequently, in numerous Italian cities the same name was given to the main road leading to the local Cathedral.
• Writer Edmondo De Amicis took part in the capture of Rome as an officer in the Italian army.

The internal face of Porta Pia Porta Pia, new gate in the Aurelian Walls. ... Edmondo De Amicis (Oneglia (Imperia), October 21, 1846 - Bordighera, 1908), is a notable Italian childrens writer. ...

See also

• Unification of Italy
• Roman Question
• Italian Wars of Independence
• History of Rome

Italian unification, also known as Risorgimento (resurrection), was a historical process by which the Kingdom of Sardinia (ruled by the Savoy dynasty with Turin as its capital) gradually conquered the Italian peninsula, including the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the Duchy of Modena, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Duchy... The Roman Question was a political dispute between the Italian Government and the Papacy from 1861 to 1929. ... The evolution of the process that would finally have brought to the Italian Unification (Risorgimento), the Italian Independence wars were three wars fought against Austria between 1848 and 1866 and ended with the conquest of the whole Italian territory. ... A simplified plan of the city of Rome from the 15th-century illuminated manuscript Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. ...

References

• Rendina, Claudio (2000). Enciclopedia di Roma. Rome: Newton Compton. 

Footnotes

External links

• Article by Angela Pellicciari (Italian)
• Historical summary at cronologia.leonardo.it (Italian)

See also

• Unification of Italy
• Italian Wars of Independence
• History of Rome