Italy is a comparatively young nation. Most of the Italian territory was unified in 1861 under the rule of the House of Savoy, although the full process took decades to complete. From south to north, the new-born nation, impoverished by the war, was a cultural patchwork of people who spoke different languages, had a different lifestyle, and ate different foods.

Massimo D'Azeglio, prominent figure of the Italian Risorgimento, the set of events that led to the creation of a unified State, famously said 'pur troppo, s'è fatta l'Italia, ma non si fanno gli italiani': Italy might have been "made", but "making" Italians was quite a different business. A language had to be chosen, a culture made, a whole new nation must be educated to think themselves as Italians.