Munsey's Magazine, October 1915

About this issue

"Her Struggle for Unity and Her Rise as a Great Power," by Frederic Austin Ogg, traces Italy's path to nationhood. The article surveys Italian history from Greek colonization through Roman dominance and the peninsula's fragmentation under medieval Germanic invasions and papal authority. It describes the Renaissance's flowering and subsequent decline into foreign domination by French, Spanish, and Austrian powers through the eighteenth century. Ogg emphasizes how Napoleon's 1796 invasion catalyzed Italian consciousness of unity, introducing modern political institutions and constitutional reforms despite French exploitation. The narrative covers Napoleon's reshaping of Italian territories—establishing republics, kingdoms, and annexations—and the subsequent Risorgimento that would culminate in unified Italian statehood. The article is richly illustrated with photographs of Venetian landmarks, monuments to national figures like Victor Emmanuel II, and Italian architectural sites. The text examines nationalism and democracy's influence on Italian political development.