It’s 1860, and Italians from all classes and areas are excitedly rallying behind the idea of having a country of their own.
In southern Italy, where you live, fighters proudly wearing red shirts have won big victories for the future Italian nation. You want to help the struggle, but what can you do? Your mother suggests you 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 but a group of independent states and kingdoms. The Catholic Church ruled Rome and the areas around it. Other states were ruled by Italian nobles and royals from elsewhere, like Austria. Many Italians wanted to unite these different states and kingdoms into one nation. In 1831, Giuseppe Mazzini formed Young Italy, a nationalist group that aimed to make Italy a democratic republic ruled by its own people.
