Milano! Che Bello!
The most important part of the trip first:A truly lovely time reconnecting with childhood friends and family-friends I haven't seen in 18 years! Sharing old memories with Francesco and Giovanni Riva, refreshing others (as Franz puts it, his brother has "an elephant's memory" - his memories of details was shocking!), and picking up where we had left
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A STORY OF POLITICS, WAR, CORRUPTTON AND BETRAYAL (not suitable for children under age of 10)
It is a strory with some very heroic parts, and also some treachureous and shadowy ones; if you want more information - I will provide it to you.
1848-1849 - First independence war - Volunteers and troops from the kingdom of Sardinia (house of Savoy) attack the Austrians in Lombardy, but after initial successes, are repelled.
1859 - Second Independence war - The house of Savoy provokes the Austrian empire into declaring war and, with the help of France, wins numerous battles and obtains a favorable peace treaty: Lombardy, Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna are added to the kingdom of Sardinia. The king of Savoy is Vittorio Emanuele II (the king that gave the name to the Galleria).
1860 - Garibaldi's Expedition - Giuseppe Garibaldi (which had taken part as a leader of a specialized volunteer corps in the previous two wars) lands in Sicily with an arnìmy of 1000 men and fights his way through the southern part of the peninsula until he reaches Naples. His military victories and the insurrections that sprang up in his wake topple the Borbon kingdom. Meanwhile Vittorio Emanuele marches his troops into the papal states and conquers Marche and Umbria. By (probably rigged) popular vote the southern part of Italy becomes also part of the kingdom of Sardinia, and, in 1861 the kingdom of Italy is officially born; Vittorio Emanuele II is the first king.
1866 - Third Independence war - The house of Savoy, now ruling house of Italy, joins forces with Prussia and attacks the Austrian empire. The Italians do not fare particularly well, but the Prussians triumph, and Veneto is conquered and added to the kingdom of Italy.
1870 - After previous tries by Garibaldi, the Italian army invades the papal states and conquers Rome, driving the Pope into Vatican city. The region of Lazio is annexed and Italy's capital is moved to Rome.
1914 - 1918 - First World War - Italy fights against Austria and Germany in the war - Austria is forced to hand over to Italy the regions of Trentino Alto Adige and Friuli Venezia Giulia. Italy is unified.
So, as you see, Garibaldi did play a greta role in the unification, especially as a military commander, but Vittorio Emanuele II was the first king of unified Italy and a key figure from 1859 to 1870.
After the second world war the Italians were asked to choose between monarchy and republic, and the majority voted for the latter. The king and his family were exiled and the males of the family could not set foot on Italian soil , but that ban has been lifted no more than 2 years ago.
Unfortunately the last descendants of this house that played such a part in the fate of Italy are not exactly exemplary characters. The current head of the house has been involved in scandals, corruption cases, and other despicable activities both in Italy and abroad - he also killed a person after an altercation, or so it seems. The rest of the house is not much better than him, but they provide excellent subjects for paparazzi and scandalistic magazines (it appears people have a lot of curiosity about how royals, or former royals, live).
So, I personally think it is better to be a republic than a kingdom, because monarchies are only as good as the king at their head, and the descendants of the house of Savoy would now not be the best of kings; there are people (a small but noisy and bothersome number) that think otherwise though, and would love the house of Savoy to rule again. Most are nobles or descendants of noble families that have not given completely up on their "noble blood" pretensions; the same could be said for house Savoy, that stills dream of climbing back to the heights they once knew.
LAST NOTE: after having being executed, the bodies of the Duce and Claretta Petacci (his lover) were hung upside down in Piazzale Loreto, from a gas station sign; I think this episode is not particularly honorable or commendable, even if the Duce was a criminal. You should have seen this piazza on your way back from our house to Bellinzona, even if the gas station isn't there any more and a lot has changed.
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