HAPPENED TODAY – Breccia di Porta Pia: 150 years ago Rome became Italian

Decisive moment of the Risorgimento, final act of the unification of Italy and turning point in the relations between Church and State. All this was there Breccia of Porta Pia, historical episode which marked the annexation of Rome to the Kingdom of Italy, putting an end to the existence of the Papal State, and whose 150th anniversary is celebrated today.

It was on September 20, 1870 when the Bersaglieri – under orders from General Cadorna – they entered the Eternal City by opening a passage of about 30 meters in the Aurelian Wallsbetween Porta Pia and Porta Salaria. The papal troops surrendered after an infantry assault. At that point Pope Pius IX manifested the protest of the Holy See and opened negotiations for the surrender.

Later, it was announced a referendum in Rome to sanction the successful reunification of the city with the Kingdom of Italy. The consultation took place on XNUMX October and ended with a plebiscite in favor of Italy, also favored by the massive abstention of Catholics.

Deprived of temporal power, on XNUMX November of the same year the Pontiff issued an encyclical in which he defined the occupation of the territory of the Holy See as "unjust, violent, null and void". Thus a dispute was opened which would only be resolved with i Lateran Pacts signed in 1929 by Benito Mussolini and Pietro Gasparri, secretary of state of Pope Benedict XV. The establishment of Vatican City as an independent state and the reopening of relations between the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy See after their interruption in 1870 are due to the concordat.

The anniversary of September 20 was a national holiday until 1930, when it was abolished following the signing of the Lateran Pacts between the Vatican and the fascist regime.

The capital of Italy was transferred from Florence to Rome in 1871. In memory of the beginning of the modern State of Italy, the XX Settembre is reported in the toponymy of many Italian cities. Starting from Rome, where "via XX Settembre" begins right at Porta Pia.