Kingdom of Sardinia
On 17 March 1861, law no. 4671 of the Sardinian Parliament proclaimed the Kingdom of Italy, so ratifying the annexations of all other Apennine states, plus Sicily, to the Kingdom of Sardinia. The institutions and laws of the Kingdom were quickly extended to all of Italy, abolishing the administrations of the other regions. Piedmont became the most dominant and wealthiest region in Italy and the capital of Piedmont, Turin, remained the Italian capital until 1865, when the capital was moved to Florence. But many revolts exploded throughout the peninsula, especially in southern Italy, and on the island of Sicily, because of the perceived unfair treatment of the south by the Piedmontese ruling class. The House of Savoy ruled Italy until 1946 when Italy was declared a republic by referendum. In this referendum the southern regions, including Sardinia, voted overwhelmingly in favor of the House of Savoy, with the results being 63.8% in favor of maintaining the monarchy.
Sicilian Independence Movement
The movement was founded in September 1942 as Committee for the Independence of Sicily ("Comitato per l'Indipendenza della Sicilia", "CIS") finding inspiration in the Sicilian Vespers, with Andrea Finocchiaro Aprile serving as its first president. The movement included members of very different political views, such as revolutionary socialist Antonio Canepa, social-democrat Giovanni Guarino Amella, right-wing people, most of them aristocrats, such as baron Lucio Tasca and duke Guglielmo Paternò, and members with close ties to the Mafia, as well as outright Mafiosi such as Calogero Vizzini.
The movement gained presence and support following the Armistice of Cassibile of September 8, 1943, which forced Italy to abandon the island, while the U.S. troops still were on the verge of completing the military occupation of Sicily. In October 1943, Finocchiaro Aprile asked the King of Italy Victor Emmanuel III to abdicate, and successively gained support to his cause from about ten Sicilian deputies. In the spring of 1944, the CIS was disbanded and the Movement for the Independence of Sicily (MIS) was founded. During those days, the Allies prohibited any kind of political activity, but tolerated the existence of the MIS. Several politicians with strong ties with the Mafia, such as Calogero Vizzini and Calogero Volpe, joined the MIS; however, all of them soon later left the MIS in order to join the newborn Italian parties, such as the Christian Democracy.