As a result of the Emancipation of 1848, Jews began a new life: they could practice any profession or commercial activity and could participate actively in political life, which they did with great determination and success. The building of the Mole Antonelliana, later the symbol of Turin, was originally commissioned by Turin Jewry as a celebration of their emancipation when the city became the capital of Italy in 1861. However, the Mole was never used as a synagogue, and the project was soon sold to the City of Turin in order to facilitate the purchase of another piece of land and start again with a slightly smaller project. Between 1848 and 1861, the rights given to the Jews of Piedmont were extended to the rest of the Jewish Communities of Italy – not including Rome and Papal territories – as each territory of the peninsula joined the kings of Savoy in the Unification of Italy.