It is officially 150 years since Italian unification. (Il Risorgimento, or 'the Resurgence', from the Italian word risorgare meaning to 'rise again'.) The Resurgence describes the political and social movement that united the different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy in 1861.
Today, March 17th, is a holiday in Italy; the date corresponding to when the ‘kingdom of Italy’ was declared by the first national parliament that met in Turin on March 17th, 1861. Turin became Italy's first capital, and King Vittorio Emanuele II was named the first King.
Florence was Italy's second capital, from 1865 to 1871. Rome, at this point, was still under the control of the Papal states, and only became the capital in 1871 when the Italian Kingdom finally occupied Rome.
In addition to the obligatory parties, fireworks and celebrations being held around the country, others have commemorated unification in different ways.
Google, of course didn't pass up the opportunity to create a special 'Doodle' for the day...
...and why not celebrate with an Italian-themed dish? Such as this three-colour Panna Cotta from www.manusmenu.com.
Italian car designers are getting in on the act too, with the Gallardo Tricolore from Lamborghini (below), the 150° Italia from Ferrari (once they could decide on what they were allowed to call it), and the Gucci / Fiat 500 collaboration.
My personal favourite commemoration has to be this giant 'chocolate Italy', currently on display in Turin. Visit www.cioccola-to.it for more information.
This huge chocolate installation, the work of a team led by sculptor Andrea Gaspari, is 13 metres long and weighs 14 tons. Made from dark chocolate, the model depicts some of Italy's most famous landscapes including the Colosseum in Rome, Milan's Dome and the the Campanile of San Marco in Venice.
What better way to celebrate your 150th birthday than with a giant chocolate version of yourself.
So...Auguri!
Read more about Italian Unification on Wikipedia, and if you're planning a visit to Turin, pop into the unification museum.
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