 The new Kingdom of Italy, established in 1861, quickly modernized and built a large colonial empire, colonizing parts of Africa, and countries along the Mediterranean.However, the southern regions of the young nation remained rural and poor, originating the Italian diaspora.In World War I, Italy joined the Entente with France and Britain, despite having been a member of the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary, and gave a fundamental contribution to the victory of the conflict as one of the principal allied powers.