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Italy Celebrates 150 Years of Unification

Italy never saw so many national flags waving in the air as on March 17, 2011.

Posted across windows and balconies all over the country, thousands of green, white and red flags celebrated the 150th anniversary of the country’s unification.

As a nation-state, Italy is younger than the United States. The home of the ancient Roman empire became a nation as a whole just 150 years ago, on March 17, 1861.

On that day, Victor Emmanuel II became the first king of a unified Italy. It was the culmination of the Risorgimento, the movement for independence that for years struggled to free the country from foreign rule and unite several micro-states....

Read entire article at Discovery News