Kingdom of Italy

The Kingdom of Italy (Italian: Regno d'Italia, pronounced [ˈreɲɲo diˈtaːlja]) was a state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 2 June 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and form the modern Italian Republic. The kingdom was established through the unification of several states over a decades-long process, called the Risorgimento. That process was influenced by the Savoy-led Kingdom of Sardinia, which can be considered Italy's legal predecessor state.

Quick facts: Kingdom of ItalyRegno d'Italia (Italian)... ▼

Kingdom of Italy Regno d'Italia (Italian)
1861–1946
Top: State flag Bottom: Civil flag Greater coat of arms (1890–1929; 1943–1946)
Motto: FERT (Motto for the House of Savoy)
Anthem:  (1861–1943; 1944–1946) Marcia Reale d'Ordinanza ("Royal March of Ordinance")
The Kingdom of Italy in 1936 The Kingdom of Italy in 1861
Capital	Turin (1861–1865) Florence (1865–1871) Rome (1871–1946) Brindisi (de facto) (1943–1944)
Largest city	Rome
Common languages	Italian
Religion	96% Roman Catholicism (state religion)
Demonym(s)	Italian
Government	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy under a fascist one-party totalitarian dictatorship (1922–1943) under military occupation (1943–1945)
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[lower-alpha 1]
• 1945–1946 (last)	Alcide De Gasperi[lower-alpha 2]
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	Chamber of Deputies (1861–1939) Chamber of Fasces and Corporations (1939–1943)
History
• Unification	17 March 1861
• Treaty of Vienna	3 October 1866
• Capture of Rome	20 September 1870
• Triple Alliance	20 May 1882
• Treaty of London	26 April 1915
• March on Rome	28 October 1922
• Pact of Steel	22 May 1939
• Tripartite Pact	27 September 1940
• Fall of Fascism	25 July 1943
• Republic	2 June 1946
Area
1861[1]	250,320 km2 (96,650 sq mi)
1936[1]	310,190 km2 (119,770 sq mi)
Population
• 1861[1]	21,777,334
• 1936[1]	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 1866: Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia 1870: Papal States 1924: Free State of Fiume 1945: Italian Social Republic 1929: Vatican City 1943: Italian Social Republic 1946: Italian Republic Free Territory of Trieste SFR Yugoslavia Greece
Il Duce from 1925. While the Kingdom of Italy ended in 1946, de Gasperi continued as Prime Minister of the Republic until 1953.

In 1866, Italy declared war on Austria in alliance with Prussia and, upon its victory, received the region of Veneto. Italian troops entered Rome in 1870, ending more than one thousand years of Papal temporal power. In 1882 Italy entered into a Triple Alliance with the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, following strong disagreements with France about their respective colonial expansions. Although relations with Berlin became very friendly, the alliance with Vienna remained purely formal, due in part to Italy's desire to acquire Trentino and Trieste from Austria-Hungary. As a result, Italy accepted the British invitation to join the Allied Powers during World War I, as the western powers promised territorial compensation (at the expense of Austria-Hungary) for participation that was more generous than Vienna's offer in exchange for Italian neutrality. Victory in the war gave Italy a permanent seat in the Council of the League of Nations.

In 1922, Benito Mussolini became prime minister of Italy, ushering in an era of National Fascist Party government known as "Fascist Italy". The Italian Fascists imposed totalitarian rule and crushed the political and intellectual opposition. They promoted economic modernization and traditional social values. They delivered a rapprochement with the Roman Catholic Church through the Lateran Treaties which created the Vatican City as a sovereign state. In the late 1930s, the Fascist government began a more aggressive foreign policy. This included war against Ethiopia, launched from Italian Eritrea and Italian Somaliland, which resulted in its annexation;[2] confrontations with the League of Nations, leading to sanctions; growing economic autarky; and the signing of the Pact of Steel.

Fascist Italy became a member of the Axis powers in World War II. By 1943, the German-Italian defeat on multiple fronts and the subsequent Allied landings in Sicily led to the fall of the Fascist regime. Mussolini was placed under arrest by order of the King Victor Emmanuel III. The new government signed an armistice with the Allies on September 1943. German forces occupied northern and central Italy, setting up the Italian Social Republic, a collaborationist puppet state still led by Mussolini and his Fascist loyalists. As a consequence, the country descended into civil war, with the Italian Co-belligerent Army and the resistance movement contending with the Social Republic's forces and its German allies.

Shortly after the war and the country's liberation, civil discontent led to the institutional referendum on whether Italy would remain a monarchy or become a republic. Italians decided to abandon the monarchy and establish the Italian Republic, the present-day Italian state.