Austria's Control Over Italy: Was It Real?

The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia was a constituent land of the Austrian Empire from 1815 to 1866. It was created by the Congress of Vienna, which combined the former Duchy of Milan and the former Republic of Venice into a single kingdom ruled by the Habsburg Emperor of Austria. This kingdom was first ruled by Emperor Francis I and was predominantly Italian in language and staff. However, the highest governorships were reserved for Austrian aristocrats, and the German language was used by the military and top police officials. The Austrian authorities in the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia had to contend with the Italian unification movement, which sought to drive out Austrian forces. Despite this, Austria maintained control of northern Italy until the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia was dissolved in 1866, with its remaining territory being incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy.

The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia was a constituent land of the Austrian Empire from 1815 to 1866

The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia was first ruled by Emperor Francis I from 1815 until his death in 1835. His son, Ferdinand I, ruled from 1835 to 1848. The kingdom was administered as two separate units: Lombardy, governed from Milan, and Venetia, governed from Venice. The local administration was Italian in language and staff, but the Austrian authorities faced opposition from the Italian unification (Risorgimento) movement. After a popular revolution in March 1848, known as the "Five Days of Milan", the Austrians fled from Milan, and a provisional government was established. Venice also rose against Austrian rule, and the Austrian forces, led by Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky, had to intervene to restore Austrian rule.

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. After the Second Italian War of Independence and the defeat at 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. Maximilian, Franz Joseph's younger brother, served as governor-general in Milan from 1857 to 1859.

The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia was formally dissolved in 1866 when its remaining territory, Venetia, was incorporated into the recently proclaimed Kingdom of Italy following the kingdom's victory against Austria in the Third Italian War of Independence. The territory of Venetia was formally transferred from Austria to France and then handed over to Italy in October 1866, marking the end of Austrian rule in the region.

The Austrian emperor was represented by viceroys appointed by the Imperial Court in Vienna

The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia was a constituent land of the Austrian Empire from 1815 to 1866. It was created in 1815 by resolution of 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, who was represented by viceroys appointed by the Imperial Court in Vienna and resident in both Milan and Venice.

The Austrian emperor's viceroys were resident in Milan and Venice, the two largest cities in the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia. The Austrian emperor appointed viceroys to represent him in the kingdom, and these viceroys were responsible for the day-to-day governance of the kingdom. The viceroys were appointed by the Imperial Court in Vienna, which was the power centre of the Austrian Empire.

The first viceroy of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia was Heinrich von Bellegarde, who served from 1814 to 1816. He was followed by Anton Victor of Austria (1816-1818) and Rainer Joseph of Austria (1818-1848). After the popular revolution of 1848, known as the "Five Days of Milan", the Austrians fled from Milan, and the office of the viceroy was temporarily abolished. It was replaced by a governor-general, initially assumed by Field Marshal Radetzky, who defeated the Sardinian troops at the Battle of Custoza in 1848. After Radetzky's retirement in 1857, the office of governor-general passed to Franz Joseph's younger brother, Maximilian, who served until 1859.

The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia was ruled by Emperor Francis I from 1815 until his death in 1835. His son, Ferdinand I, ruled from 1835 until he abdicated in 1848 due to the revolutions of that year. After the office of viceroy was abolished and replaced by a governor-general, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria ruled over the kingdom for the rest of its existence.

The Austrian authorities had to cope with the Italian unification (Risorgimento) movement

The creation of Italy was spurred by the Kingdom of Piedmont and its Prime Minister Camillo Cavour. He garnered international support for independence and triggered a series of wars and uprisings that would ultimately make it a reality in 1861 and in 1870. The unification of Italy gained momentum in 1859, when Cavour provoked Austria with military maneuvers. The Austrians responded with an ultimatum, demanding military demobilization and the disbandment of the Italian National Society. However, Cavour's rejection of these stipulations led to the Second Italian War of Independence, in which Piedmont fought alongside France against Austria.

The Austrian Empire had controlled parts of Italy since the 18th century. After the fall of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna in 1814–1815 restored the pre-Napoleonic patchwork of independent governments. Italy was again controlled largely by the Austrian Empire, as they directly controlled the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia and indirectly the duchies of Parma, Modena, and Tuscany. The Austrian Emperor was represented day-to-day by viceroys appointed by the Imperial Court in Vienna and resident in Milan and Venice.

The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia was ruled by the Austrian Emperor in personal union with the Austrian Empire. It was created in 1815 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 only survived for fifty years—the region of Lombardy was ceded to France in 1859 after the Second Italian War of Independence, which then immediately ceded it to the Kingdom of Sardinia.

The Austrian authorities had to cope with the Italian unification movement, which aimed to end foreign domination and create a unified Italian state. The movement was characterized by secret societies, such as the Carbonari, and revolutionary groups, such as Young Italy, founded by Giuseppe Mazzini. These groups organized revolts and uprisings against Austrian rule, which were often violently suppressed. The Austrians responded to the uprisings with increasing severity, imposing stiff penalties and stricter censorship.

In 1848, there were widespread revolts across Italy, but none were successful. Lombardy approved a unification with Piedmont, but both were defeated by the Austrians. King Charles Albert of Piedmont abdicated in favor of his son Victor Emmanuel II, who reverted to absolutism with Austrian support. Led by Daniele Manin, Venice sought independence with the support of Piedmont and Hungarian rebels, but ultimately failed. In Rome, Pope Pius IX retreated from liberal policies to authoritarianism, which made the revolutionaries turn against him and establish the Roman Republic. However, Austria and France intervened to restore papal power.

In the second phase of the Risorgimento, Giuseppe Garibaldi moved to gain control over Southern Italy. He assembled a corps of volunteers called the "Red Shirts" and sailed to the island of Sicily in the Expedition of the Thousand. His goal was to implement a republic there, but he did not want to provoke a social revolution. Instead, he established a dictatorial regime, in which peasants were oppressed and instability was a constant factor. Then, he decided to attack Naples, the continental part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and move towards Rome.

His actions were adamantly opposed by Cavour, who wanted to avoid the possibility of a French intervention in the Italian Peninsula so as to preserve the Church's authority over the Papal States. The Piedmontese government orchestrated an occupation of Central Italy with French consent, as long as its troops did not pose a threat to the Pope in Rome. Thanks to this, Piedmont acquired both the territories of Central Italy and of the Two Sicilies.

By March 1861, Victor Emmanuel II declared the formation of the independent Kingdom of Italy, but Rome and Venice remained outside its control. The country was a constitutional monarchy under the influence of Cavour, who strived to prevent the extremism of revolutionaries such as Garibaldi. However, the prime minister died in June 1861, thus before the end of the Risorgimento.

The Austrian army entered Milan and Venice in 1848, restoring Austrian rule

The Austrian army's entry into Milan and Venice in 1848, and the subsequent restoration of Austrian rule, was the culmination of a series of events that began with the French Revolution in 1789. The subsequent French Revolutionary Wars led to the invasion of Italy by a young general, Napoleon Bonaparte, in 1796. He moved against Austria, entering Venice in April 1797 and forcing the Venetian Senate to abdicate in favour of a transitional government of Jacobins. This marked the end of the Republic of Venice, which had endured for approximately 1,100 years.

In 1805, Napoleon proclaimed the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, but this collapsed in 1814, and the following year, the Congress of Vienna determined that the Austrian House of Habsburg-Lorraine held rights to the former Duchy of Milan and the former Republic of Venice. Thus, the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia was created, ruled by the Habsburg Emperor of Austria in personal union.

However, anti-Austrian sentiment simmered in the Habsburg-controlled regions of Italy, and in March 1848, a popular revolution occurred in Milan, known as the "Five Days of Milan". The Austrians, led by the elderly Count Josef Radetzky von Radetz, were forced to withdraw from the city, and Milan became the capital of a provisional government. Inspired by these events, Venice also rose against Austrian rule, establishing an independent Venetian Republic.

Radetzky and his troops defeated the Sardinian forces at the Battle of Custoza in July 1848 and subsequently entered Milan and Venice in August, restoring Austrian rule in these cities. However, this was not the end of the matter, as Lombardy was ceded to France in 1859, and the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia was finally dissolved in 1866, with its remaining territory incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy.

Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary in 1915, entering World War I on the side of the Allies

Italy's decision to enter World War I on the side of the Allies was influenced by several factors, including the country's historical enmity with Austria-Hungary and the desire to "'liberate' Italian-speaking populations under Austro-Hungarian rule. Italy had been a member of the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary since 1882, but when World War I broke out in 1914, it chose to remain neutral. However, public sentiment and political factions within Italy favoured going to war against Austria-Hungary.

In the pre-war years, Italy began aligning itself with the Entente powers, France and Great Britain, seeking military and economic support. On April 26, 1915, Italy negotiated the secret Pact of London, where Britain and France promised to support Italy's annexation of territory along the frontier with Austria-Hungary in exchange for entering the war on the Entente side. This territory included the Italian-populated regions of Trentino and Trieste, as well as South Tyrol, Gorizia, Istria, and northern Dalmatia.

On May 3, 1915, Italy officially resigned from the Triple Alliance, and on May 23, it declared war on Austria-Hungary, opening up a new front in World War I along its 600-kilometre border with Austria-Hungary. The Italian army faced significant challenges due to the mountainous terrain and their lack of preparation for large-scale warfare. Despite mobilizing 1.2 million men, they were ill-equipped, and the Italian advance into the South Tyrol region and the Isonzo River met stiff resistance from Austro-Hungarian troops.

The Italian commander, General Luigi Cadorna, adopted a strategy of persistent offensives, known as the Battles of the Isonzo. However, these initial attacks achieved little, and both sides suffered heavy losses. By late 1917, German intervention resulted in a significant defeat for the Italians at the Battle of Caporetto, leading to a crisis in Italy and a change in military leadership. The entry of Italian forces into the war against Austria-Hungary marked a significant shift in the conflict and contributed to the complex dynamics of World War I.

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