Question

Look at the figure. Do you think that the people living in any of these regions thought of themselves as Italians?

Answer 1

In 1858, Italy was divided into seven states, with the Austrian Habsburgs ruling the north, the Pope ruling the center, and Spain dominating the south. Only one state, Sardinia-Piedmont, was led by an Italian princely family. The Italian language did not have a standard form and had numerous regional and local variations. People in these territories, with the exception of Sardinia-Piedmont, would not have identified as Italians.