The men who unified Italy, notably Camillo Cavour, Giuseppe Garibaldi (pictured) and Giuseppe Mazzini, as well as Azeglio, were patriots (at least for Piedmont), but by no means heroes.

ECONOMIST: Italy

Although the evidence for any spiriting away of the body may sound decidedly thin, the Giuseppe Garibaldi Foundation believed it had managed to persuade the Italian government to allow an inspection of the tomb.

BBC: Garibaldi: Is his body still in its tomb?

Exploiting wars between France and Austria to acquire the rich northern part of the country, the Piedmontese king was faced with a startling fait accompli when the revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi, initially leading an expedition of only a thousand men, quite unexpectedly conquered the whole of Sicily and southern Italy.

NEWYORKER: Booted