This book offers a provocative and readable examination of this defining and controversial moment in modern Italian history.Lucy Riall is an extremely high profile and highly respected historian in this field. She has an international reputation and her latest book on Garibaldi received coverage from all the major newspapers and Radio 4. There is currently no compact and straightforward student guide to the complicated events of the Risorgimento. Riall is at the cutting-edge of scholarship, particularly in relation to debates about national identity and culture, and this will be one of the first books in English to reflect controversial debates and advances in the field.The Risorgimento is considered to be the defining moment in Italy's history, the period where Italy became a nation and entered the modern world. Lucy Riall provides a provocative and pioneering examination of the historical debates surrounding this complex and controversial period, incorporating new research on national identity.