Notes 3/16- Realism

Realism

• Basically just shows reality. Paintings and things became more realistic.
• Paintings did not depict things dealing with religion or mythology. 
• Things developed during the realistic period: 
• Development of modern nation-states as we know them today
• Alliances
• Italy
• Had still been a bunch of principalities, loosely connected, while other countries formed nations.
• Mazzini had tried to unify Italy. 
• Before unification, Italy was cut up into about a dozen different areas, each one politically independent from each other. 
• Victor Emmanuel 
• Rules Piedmont-Sardinia
• Elected Camillo di Cavour as prime minister in 1852
• He puts a plan into action
• He sees that the Italian economy has to change, and so he tries to have the government and the banks supply more credit to investors and entrepreneurs
• So, he goes around looking for people to become investors in the Italian market
• He also builds railroads 
• He makes taxes against church property
• He sets limits on the income of Italian bishops
• Wants to modernize northern Italy and sees lots of opportunity for economic growth
• Meanwhile, there was the influence of Mazzini
• The people in the south really latched on to his message
• He advocated things like the right to have a job, the right to vote, etc
• He preached democracy
• He appealed to the poor and working classes in southern Italy, and also to the Croats and the Slavs and all of the people struggling to make a living
• Cavour and Mazzini are basically opposites
• Cavour negotiates trade agreements with Britain in France. In exchange for the agreement with France, Piedmont itself fought within the alliance in the Crimean war
• Piedmont was concerned that Russia was going to invade
• So they make a deal with France that they will give certain territories in Northern Italy in exchange for France negotiating with Russia to stay out. 
• The treaty of Villa Franca
• Garibaldi became kind of the next Mazzini
• He was a revolutionary
• He was exiled after fighting in Lombardi with Mazzini
• Cavour brings Garibaldi back from his exile and finances his operations
• He comes to southern italy, and the people, especially the poor and working people, love him
• His organization becomes known as the 'red shirts' 
• He takes them around
• and he claims Sicily in the name of Victor Emmanuel