The decisive battle marking the concession of Pope Pius IX and the unification of the Italian peninsula 
with the capture of Rome and the dissolution of the Papal States, in existence since 756, donations of various Frankish rulers to the Church over the centuries occurring a couple of weeks prior, the Italian prime minister organised a plebiscite to legitimise the annexation of Rome as the newly formed kingdom’s capital on this day in 1870. An overwhelming majority of eligible voters assented to being incorporated, with the pontiff left jurisdiction to the area surrounded by the ninth century enclosures built on the orders of Pope Leo IV to protect St Peter’s Basilica, but Pius protested, calling himself captivus vaticani. His predecessors took on the mantle until the matter—whether the pope was a subject of the Kingdom of Italy or whether the Holy See was an independent body without territory—was resolved by the Lateran Treaty of 1929, with no diplomatic relations existing between Italy and the Vatican prior and Italian royals and supporters of the Risorgimento summarily excommunicated.
one year ago: assorted links to revisit, more on snail compasses plus Gulf War II (2001)
two years ago: Peanuts remixed, more on US exceptionalism plus a classic from Musical Youth
three years ago: Colonialism and Abstract Art (1936), more musical mashup annuals from Hood Internet, Trump contracts the COVID-19 virus plus the caretaker presidency of Edith Wilson
four years ago: more links worth revisiting
five years ago: the fight to save a remnant of ancient forest in Germany plus thumbnails of terrain
