For as long as I can remember, I have always known March 17 as St. Patrick’s Day. I’m not the least bit Irish; nor do I believe that everybody has a “lil’ bit o’ Irish in them” on St. Paddy’s.

I was never really a fan of watching the green-dyed bagels, green beers and belligerent dressed-up leprechauns. I had no real reason to be. Sure, it’s all good and well that there are no more snakes in Ireland—but is that really what fuels the high intoxication levels and seas of nauesating green?

And so, as March 17 quickly approached, I still saw no need to acknowledge it –I’m in Italy, not Ireland. However, I soon came to find out that March 17, 2011 marks the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy. This is relevent. This is a reason to celebrate.

In 1815, after the defeat of Napoleonic France, the Congress of Vienna convened to redraw the European continent. During this, Italy was put back to the pre-Napoleonic workings and subsequently ruled by independent governments.

During his rule, Pope Pius IX feared that a unification of Italy would result in a loss of his power in the region and thus the possible persecution of Italian Catholics. While I’m not entirely sure how true the Pope’s intentions were, I admit they seem moderately admirable. (I’ll admit to saying only in hopes that the current Pope will read this article and complete one of my goals for my stay in Italy: a picture the Pope and I captioned “Papa e Papa.”)

But I digress. While there were many who feared and opposed the unification of Italy, there were also many who adamantly believed in the necessity of uniting Italy. Some radical figures of the unification movement were Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi. During the uneasy times of an ununited Italy, there were many insurrections. The Carbonari was a radical group that sought the unification of Italy, and often used more extreme measures to express this desire.  

After a multitude of insurrections, expeditions, and revolutions, Garibaldi made his way to Naples. He stated his intent to proclaim a “Kingdom of Italy” from Rome, which was the capital city of Pope Pius IX. Catholics all over the world took this as a call to action and sent money and volunteers for the Papal Army.

Despite their best efforts, the Papal troops were defeated, and Victor Emmanuel II arrived on Oct. 9, 1860 taking command. In February of 1861, Victor Emmanuel called for an assembly of the deputites of the first Italian Parliament, and on March 17, 1861, Parliament proclaimed Victor Emmanuel II the King of Italy.

So, we celebrate. I wandered out of my apartment to find a variety of booths outside the baptistry. Various artisans were selling their crafts and sharing the process behind them. While I watched a woodcarver with fascination for longer than most wood have, I soon became drawn to the sound of distant music.

Rushing to the source I soon found a marching band making their way towards the duomo, a type of Italian cathedral.

I ended up literally marching with the band, due both to my bizarre love of marching bands and my need to photograph. The “Soundstreet Band” marched their way to outfront the duomo where a giant crowd of proud Italians gathered.

This celebration brought to mind the words of a true Italian, Martha Reeves. “Calling out around the world, are you ready for a brand new beat?…They’re dancin’ in the street. This is an invitation across the nation.” Everybody was dancing in the streets. It was actually difficult not to swing and sway.

The band formed a small semi-circle, and various people took center stage and to shake out. As a person who has always hoped of being caught up in a flash-mob (though, I think that craze has passed), I loved this.

People were dancing just to dance. They were celebrating their nation and the things that unite them. Be it a love of pizza, love of PDA, or love of Italy—the people of Florence were brought together in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the unification of the country.

The drunken masses of shamrocks, drunks and people pinching me for not wearing green were a distant thought. While the color green was still prevalent on March 17, it was mixed with red and white and didn’t feel so contrived. This March 17 had a much different feel than any other. It was nice to see people singing and dancing without their blood-alcohol contents coinciding with the date.