Italian irredentism

Italian irredentism was a nationalist movement seeking to incorporate Italian-speaking or historically Italian territories outside Italy into the Italian state, especially from the nineteenth century through World War II.

Italian unification: The nineteenth-century political process that united most Italian states into the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. The new kingdom left Italian-speaking populations beyond its borders, giving irredentism its central grievance.
Trentino: A mountainous region in northern Italy that was part of Austria-Hungary until its transfer to Italy after World War I. Its Italian-speaking population made it a prominent target of prewar irredentist campaigns.
Giuseppe Mazzini: An Italian nationalist and republican who helped shape the movement for national unity in the nineteenth century. His vision of a unified Italian nation influenced later arguments for completing unification.
Treaty of London: The 1915 secret agreement in which Italy joined the Allies in exchange for promised territorial gains after the war. Its promises shaped Italian expectations for acquiring Habsburg territories.
Pan-Slavism: A movement promoting cultural or political solidarity among Slavic peoples. Slavic national movements in the Adriatic borderlands advanced rival claims to some of the same territories.
Risorgimento: The nineteenth-century movement for Italian national revival and political unification. Its nationalist ideals supplied irredentism with a language of unfinished national liberation.
Trieste: A port city at the northern end of the Adriatic Sea, transferred from Austria-Hungary to Italy after World War I. Its Italian-speaking majority and strategic harbor made it a central irredentist claim.
Matteo Renato Imbriani: An Italian politician and prominent advocate of territorial irredentism in the late nineteenth century. He helped popularize the term and organize support for annexing Italian-speaking lands.
Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye: The 1919 treaty that formalized the dissolution of Austria-Hungary and set Austria's postwar borders. It transferred South Tyrol, Trentino, and other territories to Italy.
Yugoslavism: A movement advocating political unity among South Slavic peoples, realized in several Yugoslav states. Its state-building project competed with Italian claims in the eastern Adriatic.

Linked from 12 pages