Italian irredentism in Nice was the political movement supporting the annexation of the County of Nice to the Kingdom of Italy.
According to some Italian nationalists and fascists like Ermanno Amicucci, Italian- and Ligurian-speaking populations of the County of Nice (Italian: Nizza) formed the majority of the county's population until the mid-19th century.[1] However, French nationalists and linguists argue that both Occitan and Ligurian languages were spoken in the County of Nice.
During the Italian unification, in 1860, the House of Savoy allowed the Second French Empire to annex Nice from the Kingdom of Sardinia in exchange for French support of its quest to unify Italy. Consequently, the Niçois were excluded from the Italian unification movement and the region has since become primarily French-speaking.
- ^ Amicucci, Ermanno. Nizza e l’Italia. p 64