Editing Unification of Italy (section)

===Carbonari===
[[File:Italian-unification.gif|thumb|Animated map of the Italian unification from 1829 to 1871]]
One of the most influential revolutionary groups was the [[Carbonari]], a secret political discussion group formed in [[southern Italy]] early in the 19th century. After 1815, [[Freemasonry]] in Italy was repressed and discredited due to its French connections. A void was left that the Carbonari filled with a movement that closely resembled Freemasonry but with a commitment to [[Italian nationalism]] and no association with Napoleon and his government. The response came from middle-class professionals and businessmen and some intellectuals. The Carbonari disowned Napoleon but nevertheless were inspired by the principles of the [[French Revolution]] regarding liberty, equality and fraternity. They developed their own rituals and were strongly anticlerical. The Carbonari movement spread across Italy.<ref>{{Cite journal |jstor = 1844987|title = The Carbonari: Their Origins, Initiation Rites, and Aims|journal = The American Historical Review|volume = 69|issue = 2|pages = 353–370|last1 = Rath|first1 = R. John|year = 1964|doi = 10.2307/1844987}}</ref>

Conservative governments feared the Carbonari, imposing stiff penalties on men discovered to be members. Nevertheless, the movement survived and continued to be a source of political turmoil in Italy from 1820 until after unification. The Carbonari condemned [[Napoleon III]] (who, as a young man, had fought on their side) to death for [[Napoleon III#Italian Campaign|failing]] to unite Italy, and the group almost succeeded in assassinating him in 1858, when [[Felice Orsini]], [[Giovanni Andrea Pieri]], [[Charles DeRudio|Carlo Di Rudio]] and [[Andrea Gomez (revolutionary)|Andrea Gomez]] threw three bombs at him. Many leaders of the unification movement were at one time or other members of this organization. The chief purpose was to defeat tyranny and to establish constitutional government. Although contributing some service to the cause of Italian unity, historians such as Cornelia Shiver doubt that their achievements were proportional to their pretensions.<ref>{{Cite journal |jstor = 41885047|title = The Carbonari|journal = Social Science|volume = 39|issue = 4|pages = 234–241|last1 = Shiver|first1 = Cornelia|year = 1964}}</ref>