(i) Like Germany, Italy too had a long history of political fragmentation. (ii) Italians were scattered over several dynastic states as well as the multinational, Habsburg Empire. (iii) During the middle of the nineteenth century, Italy was divided into seven states, of which only one, Sardinia-Piedmont, was ruled by an Italian princely house. (iv) The north was under Austrian Habsburgs, the centre was ruled by the Pope and the southern regions were under the domination of the Bourbon kings of Spain. (v) Even the Italian language had not acquired one common form, and it still had many regional and local variations.