AH Challenge: United Italy under the Papacy

Could the Italian peninsula have been united under the Papacy rather than Piedmont-Sardinia? The Papal States were one of the larger Italian kingdoms, after all, and they did hold Rome for a long time...
 
I doubt it very much. The Italians of that time (in my opinion) all sought to elevate themselves to a higher prosperity. To this, of course, they would have to subdue the other states. There would definitely be cohesion issues between the states UNLESS there was a much larger threat at hand.

They saw this when the Lombards formed in opposition to the Holy Roman Empire. That didn't exactly go anywhere and certainly didn't encompass ALL Italians.

So yeah, verdict; no.
 

Susano

Banned
Could the Italian peninsula have been united under the Papacy rather than Piedmont-Sardinia? The Papal States were one of the larger Italian kingdoms, after all, and they did hold Rome for a long time...

Instead of Sardinia? So the 19th century? Impossible. The Papacy would not be able to balance Italian nationlism (which would be requried) with its international function.
 
Top