Italy is a southwestern European country on the Mediterranean. It shares borders with France, Spain, and Austria. Rome, the country's capital, was the center of the Roman Empire, which extended into Britain at its height. The country was unified in the mid-nineteenth century during the Risorgimento, with prominent figures of Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi leading the charge. During World War II, Benito Mussolini and the Fascist Party rose to power, though he was deposed by the Allied Forces in 1943. Italy became a republic on 2 June 1946. Italy has long been a major hub for architecture, art, literature, and music.