"This is the first major biography of one of the most important and controversial figures in modern Italian history. Francesco Crispi (1818-1901) was among the key figures in the Italian Risorgimento, a close friend and supporter of Mazzini and Garibaldi, and one of the architects of Italy's unification in 1860. Yet, he went on to become an authoritarian Prime Minister and ally and admirer of Bismarck, whose ambitions for Italy brought Europe close, on several occasions, to a major conflagration. Crispi was celebrated by the fascist regime as the 'precursor' of Mussolini, and in exploring Crispi's evolution from revolutionary democrat to bellicose authoritarian and his attempt to turn Italy from a 'geographical expression' into a nation, this book aims to shed light on the roots of fascism and the problems of Italian liberalism in the nineteenth century."--Jacket.