Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)

Kingdom of Italy
*Regno d'Italia*
Kingdom of Italy Regno d'Italia
1861–1946
	Flag Greater coat of arms (1890–1927; 1944–1946) Greater coat of arms (1929–1944)
	Motto: FERT; (Motto for the House of Savoy)
	Anthem: (1861–1943; 1944–1946) "Marcia Reale d'Ordinanza" ("Royal March of Ordinance") ; (1924–1943) "Giovinezza" ("Youth") ; (1943–1944) "La Leggenda del Piave" ("The Legend of Piave") ;
	The Italian empire at greatest extent during WWII.
Status	Sovereign state
Capital	Turin (1861–1865); Florence (1865–1871); Rome (1871–1946); Brindisi (1943–1944; de facto);
Largest city	Rome
Official languages	Italian
Religion	96% Catholicism (state religion from 1929)
Demonym(s)	Italian
Government	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy under a fascist dictatorship (1925–1943);
King
• 1861–1878	Victor Emmanuel II
• 1878–1900	Umberto I
• 1900–1946	Victor Emmanuel III
• 1946	Umberto II
Prime Minister
• 1861 (first)	Count of Cavour
• 1922–1943	Benito Mussolini
• 1945–1946 (last)	Alcide De Gasperi
Legislature	Parliament (1861–1943); National Council (1945–1946);
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	Chamber of Deputies (1861–1939); Chamber of Fasces and Corporations (1939–1943);
History
• Proclamation	17 March 1861
• Third Italian War of Independence	20 June 1866
• Capture of Rome	20 September 1870
• Triple Alliance	20 May 1882
• Treaty of London	26 April 1915
• World War I	23 May 1915
• March on Rome	28 October 1922
• Lateran Treaty	7 June 1929
• Pact of Steel	22 May 1939
• World War II	10 June 1940
• Fall of Fascism	24–25 July 1943
• Monarchy abolished	18 June 1946
Area
1861	250,320 km2 (96,650 sq mi)
1936	310,190 km2 (119,770 sq mi)
Population
• 1861	21,777,334
• 1936	42,993,602
GDP (PPP)	1939 estimate
• Total	151 billion; (2.82 trillion in 2019)
Currency	Lira (₤)
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	1861:; Kingdom of Sardinia
	Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
	1866:; Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia
	1870:; Papal States
	1918:; Austria-Hungary
	1945:; Italian Social Republic
1922:; Fascist Italy
1929:; Vatican City
1943:; Italian Social Republic
1946:; Italian Republic
	↑ Formally called as the President of Council of Ministers; ↑ As Head of Government, Prime Minister, Secretary of State in 1925; ↑ While the Kingdom of Italy ended in 1946, De Gasperi continued as Prime Minister of the Republic until 1953.;

The Kingdom of Italy was a country that started in 1861 after the Italian unification and ended with the dissolution of the monarchy in 1946. In 1922, it became Fascist Italy. After defeat in World War II, the people voted in 1946 to change it into the modern day Italian Republic.

History

Unification

Before 1861, Italy was not one country. Instead, there were many kingdoms and duchies (places ruled by dukes) in the Italian Peninsula. In 1861, the King Victor Emmanuel II, who was the king of the Kingdom of Sardinia wanted to unite Italy, and he invaded the countries. Later, they all became one country and King Victor Emmanuel II became the King of Italy.

Colonies

Italy began their colonial empire in the 1880s, when they conquered Eritrea and Somalia. In 1912, they took Libya from the Ottoman Empire. In 1936, Italy also conquered Ethiopia, creating Italian East Africa. When they lost WW2, their colonies were lost to the British Empire and the French Empire.

Fascism

Before World War I, Italy was friends with the German Empire and Austria-Hungary. But Italy wanted parts of Austria-Hungary. In 1915, the United Kingdom promised the lands of South Tyrol, Istria and Dalmatia, and Italy joined the Triple Entente. After Italy won WW1, Italy did not get all of those places. After the Blackshirts' March on Rome of 1922, Benito Mussolini became Prime Minister. He was the leader of the National Fascist Party and did not like Italy not getting all their promised land in WWI. He made Italy into a dictatorship without much liberty.

When World War II began, Mussolini led Italy into alliance with Hitler and the Axis powers. In 1943 the Allies of World War II invaded and began conquering Italy. Mussolini's leadership ended and he was killed in 1945. Nazi Germany controlled Italy at that time, but Germany also eventually was invaded by the Allies. Hitler killed himself and Nazi Germany surrendered. Italy was independent again.

Aftermath of World War II

After WWII, Italy was left in huge debt, causing Italy to be poor. Many people from Italy emigrated to the United States to escape being poor. In 1946, the people voted to get rid of the monarchy (kings and queens) and establish the new Italian Republic. Slowly, the new government helped Italy get back up again into its current state. Also, dramatically, people stopped emigrating because life in Italy was becoming better.

List of monarchs

Victor Emmanuel II (1861–1878)
Umberto I (1878–1900)
Victor Emmanuel III (1900–1946)
Umberto II (1946)
This is the flag of Italian fascism, a symbol of Benito Mussolini's ideology.

1 2 3 4 "Italy in 150 years – summary of historical statistics 1861–2011" (PDF) (in Italian). Istat. p. 135. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.

[1] Formally called as the President of Council of Ministers

[2] As Head of Government, Prime Minister, Secretary of State in 1925

[3] While the Kingdom of Italy ended in 1946, De Gasperi continued as Prime Minister of the Republic until 1953.

[Italy_in_150_years-4] 1 2 3 4 "Italy in 150 years – summary of historical statistics 1861–2011" (PDF) (in Italian). Istat. p. 135. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.

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