Austria's Control Over Italy: Was It Real?

The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, commonly called the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom, was a constituent land of the Austrian Empire from 1815 to 1866. It was created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, which recognised the Austrian House of Habsburg-Lorraine's rights to the former Duchy of Milan and the former Republic of Venice. The kingdom was ruled by the Habsburg Emperor of Austria and was distinct from the neighbouring Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, and the Duchy of Parma, which remained independent entities under Habsburg rule. The Austrian emperor was represented by viceroys appointed by the Imperial Court in Vienna and resident in Milan and Venice. The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia was first ruled by Emperor Francis I from 1815 until his death in 1835, followed by his son, Ferdinand I, who ruled from 1835 to 1848. After the Second Italian War of Independence and the defeat in the Battle of Solferino in 1859, Austria was forced to cede Lombardy to the French Emperor Napoleon III, who immediately passed it to the Kingdom of Sardinia. Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria ruled over the kingdom for the rest of its existence until it was dissolved in 1866 when its remaining territory was incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy.

The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia

The Kingdom was first ruled by Emperor Francis I from 1815 until his death in 1835. His son, Ferdinand I, ruled from 1835 until 1848. In 1838, Ferdinand I became the last king to be crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy.

In 1848, the Austrians were forced to flee Milan after a popular revolution known as the "Five Days of Milan". Milan became the capital of the Lombardy Provisional Government, and Venice also rose against Austrian rule, forming its own provisional government. However, Austrian forces under Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky defeated the Sardinian troops and restored Austrian rule in Milan and Venice.

Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria ruled the kingdom for the rest of its existence. The office of viceroy was abolished and replaced by a governor-general, initially assumed by Field Marshal Radetzky.

In 1859, the region of Lombardy was ceded to France after the Second Italian War of Independence, which then ceded it to the Kingdom of Sardinia. The capital was relocated to Venice. Finally, in 1866, the remaining territory of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia was incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy following Italy's victory against Austria in the Third Italian War of Independence.

Administratively, the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia was divided into two independent governments, each further subdivided into several provinces. The kingdom had a population of over 5 million people, consisting of various ethnic groups, including Italians, Friulians, Germans, Slovenians, and Jews.

The local administration of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia used Italian as its official language, and the civil servants employed were predominantly Italian. However, the Austrian authorities had to contend with the Italian unification movement, which sought to establish an independent nation.

Italian unification

The unification of Italy, also known as the Risorgimento, was the 19th-century political and social movement that ended in the Kingdom of Sardinia annexing various states of the Italian Peninsula and its outlying islands in 1861, resulting in the creation of the Kingdom of Italy. The movement was inspired by the rebellions in the 1820s and 1830s against the outcome of the Congress of Vienna, which had restored the pre-Napoleonic patchwork of independent governments, leaving Italy largely controlled by the Austrian Empire.

The unification process was precipitated by the Revolutions of 1848, which saw revolts in Sicily, Naples, Tuscany, Lombardy, and Venice. The Kingdom of Sardinia, ruled by King Victor Emmanuel II, joined the cause and declared war on Austria, but was defeated. However, the Sardinian army later played a crucial role in the capture of Naples and the Papal States.

In 1859, Sardinia allied with France and defeated Austria in the Second Italian War of Independence, annexing Lombardy. In 1860, Giuseppe Garibaldi, a native of Nice, led a group of about a thousand Italian volunteers, called I Mille, and landed in Sicily, where they joined the local rebellions against the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Garibaldi proclaimed himself dictator of Sicily and, after various successful battles, advanced upon the Sicilian capital of Palermo. With the support of the British, Garibaldi's forces defeated the Neapolitan army and took Palermo. Garibaldi's fame spread, and he was considered a national hero.

In 1860, only five states remained in Italy: the Austrians in Venetia, the Papal States, the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and San Marino. Garibaldi's forces continued their march northward, and by the end of August 1860, they had reached Cosenza and Eboli, near Salerno. Garibaldi entered Naples by train and was openly welcomed by the people. However, he needed the help of the Royal Sardinian Army to drive away the remaining Neapolitan troops.

In 1861, Victor Emmanuel II assembled the deputies of the first Italian Parliament in Turin, and on March 17, 1861, the Parliament proclaimed Victor Emmanuel King of Italy, with Rome designated as the capital. The unification of Italy was celebrated every fifty years on March 17.

The Kingdom of Italy continued to expand, and in 1866, during the Third Italian War of Independence, it allied with Prussia and captured Venetia from Austrian rule. In 1871, after the capture of Rome, the unification movement reached completion, and the modern Italian state was formed.

The Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy

Napoleon's stepson, Eugène de Beauharnais, served as viceroy of the kingdom, and its government was structured with seven ministers, including a Minister of War, a Minister of the Interior, a Minister for Foreign Affairs, a Minister of Justice and Great Judge, a Minister of the Treasury, a Minister of Finance, and a Minister of Religion. The kingdom was divided into 14 départements, or provinces, each led by a chief called a prefect who was the state's representative and had executive powers in the territory.

The First World War

The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia was a constituent land of the Austrian Empire from 1815 to 1866. It was created by resolution of the Congress of Vienna in recognition of the Austrian House of Habsburg-Lorraine's rights to the former Duchy of Milan and the former Republic of Venice. The kingdom was ruled in personal union by the Habsburg Emperor of Austria.

During the First World War, Italy entered the conflict on the Allied side, fighting against Austria-Hungary. The Italian front was one of the main theatres of war, with a series of military engagements taking place along the border between the Kingdom of Italy and Austria-Hungary from 1915 to 1918.

Italy's decision to join the war on the side of the Allies was largely influenced by the Treaty of London, signed in April 1915. This treaty promised Italy control over territory on its border with Austria-Hungary, including Trentino, South Tyrol, and Trieste.

The Italian front soon became a stalemate, with trench warfare and extremely cold winters. The difficult terrain, including the snowy and treacherous conditions in the South Tyrol region, made offensive operations challenging. Despite this, there were numerous battles fought along the Isonzo River, resulting in heavy losses on both sides with little progress.

In late 1917, German intervention in favour of Austria-Hungary led to a significant victory over the Italians in the Battle of Caporetto. This defeat sparked a crisis in Italy, leading to changes in military leadership and the formation of a coalition government.

The Italian front saw heavy casualties, with 615,000 Italians killed by the time fighting ended in November 1918. Italy emerged from the war as a victorious power and received some of the promised territorial gains, including control over the Tyrol and a permanent seat on the League of Nations. However, the country's dissatisfaction with the outcome contributed to the rise of Benito Mussolini and his fascist movement.

The Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont

In 1792, the Kingdom of Sardinia joined the First Coalition against the French First Republic but was defeated by Napoleon in 1796. This led to the annexation of Piedmont by France and the occupation of the mainland domains of the House of Savoy. The King of Sardinia temporarily resided on the island of Sardinia for the first time during Savoyard rule. However, the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815 restructured Europe after Napoleon's defeat, returning Savoy's mainland possessions and augmenting them with Liguria, which had previously been part of the Republic of Genoa.

The Kingdom of Sardinia was reconstituted and enlarged, including Genoa, following the Congress of Vienna. During this period, the kingdom also experienced industrialization and economic growth in the 1840s and 1850s. In 1847-1848, through an act of union, the various Savoyard states were unified under one legal system, with Turin as their capital, and granted a constitution known as the Statuto Albertino.

The Kingdom of Sardinia played a significant role in the unification of Italy. In 1859, it formed an alliance with Napoleon III's France and provoked Austria to declare war, leading to the conflict that united the northern Italian states against the Austrian Army. After initial successes, the kingdom suffered defeats at the hands of Marshal Radetzky at the Battle of Custozza in 1848 and the Battle of Custoza in 1849. Following these losses, King Charles Albert abdicated in favour of his son, Victor Emmanuel II, in 1849.

In 1859, the Kingdom of Sardinia annexed Lombardy, and in 1860, it annexed the central Italian states and the Two Sicilies. This was followed by the annexation of Venetia in 1866 and the Papal States in 1870. On March 17, 1861, to reflect its expanded geographic, cultural, and political extent, the Kingdom of Sardinia changed its name to the Kingdom of Italy, with Victor Emmanuel II as its first king. The Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia was thus the legal predecessor of the Kingdom of Italy, which later became the present-day Italian Republic.

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