A doctor's son from the northern city of Genoa named Giuseppe Mazzini led the campaign to unite the various kingdoms of the peninsula into just one country, Italy. And Mazzini believed there could only be one capital. "Rome," he said, "was the national centre of Italian unity, the dream of my young years, the religion of my soul." If Mazzini succeeded, he would end papal rule forever. Not surprisingly, the Pope denounced the new Italian nationalism and called on all Catholics to reject it. War was looming. In 1849, the Republican troops, led by the swashbuckling warlord Giuseppe Garibaldi, descended on Rome. This time, the Pope had a surprising ally in his opposition to Italian republicanism. France, now ruled by Emperor Napoleon III, nephew of the great Napoleon Bonaparte. And when Rome fell to Garibaldi and the Republicans, Napoleon sent an army to get it back.


来自热那亚北部城市的一个叫做杰赛普马兹尼的人是医生的儿子，他指挥战役要将亚平宁半岛上的这些王国统一为一个国家——意大利。并且马兹尼坚信只能有一个首都，他说，“罗马城成为意大利联邦的国家中心，这是我年轻时代的梦想，是我灵魂的寄托。”如果马兹尼成功了，他将会永远终结教皇统治。不出所料，教皇严厉抨击这一新意大利民族主义，并且呼吁所有的天主教徒抵制。战争即将来临。1849年，由恃强凌弱的军阀杰赛普加里巴蒂率领的共和军袭击了罗马。这一次，教皇令人吃惊地有同盟国帮他抵御意大利共和主义。法国当时由伟大的拿破仑波拿巴的侄子法国皇帝拿破仑三世执政。当罗马城屈服于加里巴蒂和共和主义者之时，拿破仑派出了一支军队要把罗马城打回来。