Roman Republic (19th century)
| Roman Republic | ||||||||||
| Repubblica Romana | ||||||||||
| Unrecognized state | ||||||||||
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Motto DIO E POPOLO (English: God and People) |
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Anthem Il Canto degli Italiani (Italian) "The Song of the Italians" |
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| Capital | Rome | |||||||||
| Languages | Italian (Romanesco) | |||||||||
| Religion |
Roman Catholicism Judaism |
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| Government | Directorial parliamentary republic | |||||||||
| Triumvirate | ||||||||||
| • | 1849 | |||||||||
| History | ||||||||||
| • | Established | February 9, 1849 | ||||||||
| • | Election | January 21, 1849 | ||||||||
| • | Disestablished | July 2, 1849 | ||||||||
| • | Invasion | April 25, 1849 | ||||||||
| Area | ||||||||||
| • | 1849 | 12,100 km² (4,672 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | ||||||||||
| • | 1849 est. | 3,000,000 | ||||||||
| Density | 247.9 /km² (642.1 /sq mi) | |||||||||
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| Today part of |
 Italy
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The Roman Republic was a state declared on February 9, 1849, when the government of Papal States was temporarily replaced by a republican government due to Pope Pius IX's flight to Gaeta. The republic was led by Carlo Armellini, Giuseppe Mazzini, and Aurelio Saffi. Together they formed a triumvirate, a reflection of a form of government seen in the ancient Roman Republic.
One of the major innovations the Republic hoped to achieve was enshrined in its constitution: all religions could be practiced freely and the pope was guaranteed the right to govern the Catholic Church. These religious freedoms were quite different from the situation under the preceding government, which allowed only Catholicism and Judaism to be practiced by citizens. The Constitution of the Roman Republic was the first in the world to abolish capital punishment in its constitutional law.
On November 15, 1848, Pellegrino Rossi, the Minister of Justice of the Papal government, was assassinated. The following day, the liberals of Rome filled the streets, where various groups demanded a democratic government, social reforms and a declaration of war against the Empire of Austria. On the night of November 24, Pope Pius IX left Rome disguised as an ordinary priest, and went out of the state to Gaeta, a fortress in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Before leaving he had allowed the formation of a government led by Archbishop Carlo Emanuele Muzzarelli, to whom he wrote a note before leaving:
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Wikipedia