How did Camillo Benso, count di Cavour help bring Sicily and Naples into the Kingdom of Italy?

Camillo Benso, count di Cavour, played a decisive role in incorporating Sicily and Naples into the Kingdom of Italy through a combination of diplomatic maneuvering and military intervention.

Although Cavour initially opposed Giuseppe Garibaldi’s 1860 Expedition of the Thousand to Sicily, he quickly pivoted to support the movement once its success became apparent. To prevent Garibaldi from potentially marching on Rome—which would have provoked Napoleon III and threatened the stability of the unification process—Cavour orchestrated a strategic military response.

Cavour sent an army under Victor Emmanuel II to invade the Papal States, capturing Umbria and the Marches. This move served two purposes: it checked Garibaldi’s revolutionary momentum and allowed the Piedmontese army to enter Neapolitan territory. By positioning himself as a defender of order against revolutionary excess, Cavour successfully pressured Garibaldi to yield his conquests. Following this, plebiscites were held in October 1860, in which the people of Sicily and Naples voted for annexation to Piedmont, ultimately leading to the formal declaration of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.123