Italia, războiul ruso-turc și România independentă

The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 was part of the secular conflict between the Tsarist and Ottoman Empires in the modern era. Issues of political and religious influence in the Balkans, Pan-Slavism, the horizon of Orthodoxy, and Russia’s pressure on the Black Sea were early sources of conflict that would eventually lead to the outbreak of the Great War. The causes of the war of 1877 are rooted in the desire of the Balkan peoples to free themselves from Ottoman rule and in Russia's interest in expanding its influence in the region by supporting the cause of the Orthodox Slavs. Italy was not directly affected by the conflict, but it felt deeply involved in it due to its Adriatic and Balkan policies, which reluctantly favored an expansion of the power of the Austro Hungarian Empire, especially in the Bosnian region, a prospect it sought to avoid at all costs. As is known, the great issue of Romanian independence was expressed internationally during the conflict and was closely followed by Italian diplomacy.