The Chaos of the 1848 Italian Revolution

The Italian revolution was so chaotic that their word for forty-eight is still slang for a total disaster.

Back in 1848, the peninsula exploded. The Pope accidentally became a liberal icon,

Milan threw up barricades against the Austrians, and King Charles Albert finally declared a massive crusade

for independence. It felt like Italy was finally uniting. But then, the King choked.

He was more afraid of democracy than the enemy, so he hesitated and tried to cut

a deal. The coalition fell apart, Austria crushed them,

and the dream died hard. It was a brutal loss, but Cavour was already

plotting the comeback.