It’s 1860, and Italians from all walks of life are really excited about the idea of having their own country.
You live in southern Italy, where fighters wearing red shirts have won big victories for the future Italian nation. You want to help, but how? Your mother says you should pick up a needle and thread, and start sewing. You can help her and her friends make red shirts for those brave troops.
In the 1830s, Italy was not one country. It was a group of independent states and kingdoms. The Catholic Church ruled Rome and the areas around it. Italian nobles and foreign royals (like Austrians) ruled other states. Many Italians wanted to unite these states and kingdoms into one nation. In 1831, Giuseppe Mazzini formed a nationalist group called Young Italy. Its goal was to make Italy a democratic republic ruled by its own people.
