This new Seminar Study will be welcomed by anyone studying the complexities of the Italian Risorgimento for the first time. The aim is to provide students unfamiliar with the subject with an up-to-date account of what happened and why, in as brief a span as possible. Throughout, the broader European context is emphasised and the subject is related to today's issues. The author argues that, despite appearances, the Risorgimento was not a national insurrection and that any 'national' sentiment was limited to a small, educated urban minority.