Italian Wars 1494–1559
Since the 13th century, as armies became primarily composed of mercenaries, prosperous city-states could field considerable forces. In the course of the 15th century, the most powerful city-states annexed their smaller neighbors. Florence took Pisa, Venice captured Padua and Verona, while the Duchy of Milan annexed a number of nearby areas including Pavia and Parma.
Lombardy Wars 1423-1454
During the Lombardy Wars (1423-1454, a series of conflicts between the Republic of Venice and the Duchy of Milan and
their respective allies), the
political structure of Italy was transformed: out of a competitive congeries of city-states emerged the five major territorial powers
that would make up the map of Italy for the remainder of the 15th century, viz.
Venice, Milan, Florence, the Papal States and Naples.
After the Lombardy War, there was a
balance of power resulting in a period of stability lasting for 40 years.
During this time, there was a mutual pledge of non-aggression between the five Italian
powers, sometimes known as the Italic League.
Even there was frequent tension between Milan and Naples, the peace held remarkably well until the outbreak of the Italian Wars in 1494. Ludovico Sforza of Milan, seeking an ally against the Republic of Venice, encouraged Charles VIII of France to invade Italy, using the Angevin claim to the throne of Naples as a pretext.
The Italian Wars involved, at various times, most of the city-states of Italy, the Papal States, most of the major states of Western Europe. The wars rapidly became a general struggle for power and territory among their various participants, and were marked with an increasing number of alliances, counter-alliances, and betrayals.
Even there was frequent tension between Milan and Naples, the peace held remarkably well until the outbreak of the Italian Wars in 1494. Ludovico Sforza of Milan, seeking an ally against the Republic of Venice, encouraged Charles VIII of France to invade Italy, using the Angevin claim to the throne of Naples as a pretext.
The Italian Wars involved, at various times, most of the city-states of Italy, the Papal States, most of the major states of Western Europe. The wars rapidly became a general struggle for power and territory among their various participants, and were marked with an increasing number of alliances, counter-alliances, and betrayals.
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| Italy in 1494 |
First Italian War 1494–1498
When Aargon Ferdinand I of Naples died in 1494, Charles VIII invaded the peninsula,
possibly hoping to use Naples as a base for a crusade against the Ottoman Turks. For several months, French forces moved through Italy virtually
unopposed, since the Condottieri armies
of the Italian city-states were unable to resist them. Charles VIII
made triumphant entries into Pisa, Florence and entered Rome on December 31, 1494. News of the French Army's sack of Naples on February 1495 provoked a reaction among
the city-states of Northern Italy and the League of Venice was formed on March 31, 1495.
As a result of Charles VIII's
expedition, the regional states of Italy were shown once and for all to be both
rich and comparatively weak, which sowed the seeds of the wars to come. In fact,
the individual Italian states could not field armies comparable to those of the
great feudal monarchies of Europe in numbers and equipment.
Ferdinand II, King of Naples, with the able assistance of the Spanish general Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, eventually reduced the French garrison in the Kingdom of Naples. Charles VIII lost all that he conquered in Italy and he died on April 7, 1498, while all the French Army was expelled by 1498.
Ferdinand II, King of Naples, with the able assistance of the Spanish general Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, eventually reduced the French garrison in the Kingdom of Naples. Charles VIII lost all that he conquered in Italy and he died on April 7, 1498, while all the French Army was expelled by 1498.
Second Italian War 1499–1504
Ludovico Sforza retained his
throne in Milan until 1499, when Charles's successor (his cousin, Louis II, (Duke of Orléans), Louis XII of France, invaded Lombardy and seized Milan on September 1499. Louis XII justified his claim by right of
his paternal grandfather, Louis duc d'Orléans having married Valentina Visconti in 1387.
Valentina Visconti was the heir
to the Duchy of Milan; their marriage contract guaranteed that in failure
of male heirs, Orléans would inherit the Visconti dominions. However, when the Visconti dynasty died out in 1447, the Milanese
ignored the Orleans claim and re-established Milan as a republic. Bitter factionalism arose under the new republic which set the stage for Francesco Sforza to seize control of Milan in 1450.
Louis was also entertaining an ambition to stake a claim to the Kingdom of Naples. The claim to the Kingdom of Naples was really King Charles VIII's claim. However, Louis demanded recognition of the claim solely because he, Louis, was the successor to Charles VIII. Louis XII opened discussions with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.
By 1500, a combined French and Spanish force had seized control of the Kingdom of Naples. However, this leading to a war between Louis and Ferdinand. By 1503 Louis, having been defeated at the Battle of Cerignola on April 1503 and Battle of Garigliano on December 1503, was forced to withdraw from Naples, which was left under the control of a Spanish viceroy.
Louis was also entertaining an ambition to stake a claim to the Kingdom of Naples. The claim to the Kingdom of Naples was really King Charles VIII's claim. However, Louis demanded recognition of the claim solely because he, Louis, was the successor to Charles VIII. Louis XII opened discussions with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.
By 1500, a combined French and Spanish force had seized control of the Kingdom of Naples. However, this leading to a war between Louis and Ferdinand. By 1503 Louis, having been defeated at the Battle of Cerignola on April 1503 and Battle of Garigliano on December 1503, was forced to withdraw from Naples, which was left under the control of a Spanish viceroy.
Italian War of 1521–1526
After years of relative peace,
the elevation of Charles I of Spain to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V on June 28, 1519 led to a collapse
of relations between France and the Habsburgs.
Charles was the heir of three
of Europe's leading dynasties: Valois of Burgundy, Habsburg of Austria, and Trastámara of Spain. As heir of the House of Burgundy, he inherited areas in the Netherlands and around the eastern border of France.
As a grandson of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, from the Spanish House of Trastámara he inherited the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon, which included a Mediterranean empire extending
to southern Italy.
Charles was the first king to rule Castile
and Aragon simultaneously in his own right (as a unified Spain) in 1516. As a Habsburg, he inherited Austria and other lands in central Europe, and was a candidate to succeed his grandfather, Maximilian
I, as Holy Roman Emperor.
Louis XII died in 1515
and was succeeded by his nephew,
Francis I of France. Francis I himself had been a candidate for election as Holy Roman Emperor
before Charles V was chosen. Francis' candidacy for Emperor had been supported by
Pope Leo X. This led to a personal
rivalry between Francis I and Charles V that was to become one of the fundamental
conflicts of the sixteenth century.
The deterioration of relations between the Habsburgs and Francis I provided Francis I with a pretext for war with Charles. However, just when Francis I began to count on the support of Pope Leo in a war against Charles V, Pope Leo suddenly made peace with the Emperor and sided with the Holy Roman Empire against France. Soon Francis faced war from the east (Holy Roman Empire) and the west (Spain).
Charles V took Milan from the French in 1521 and returned it to Francesco II Sforza (son of Ludovico Sforza) in 1522. With Milan in Imperial hands, Francis personally led a French army into Lombardy in 1525, only to be utterly defeated and captured at the battle of Pavia on February 24, 1525.
With Francis imprisoned in Spain, a series of diplomatic maneuvers centered around his release ensued, including a special French mission sent by Francis' mother Louise of Savoy to the court of Suleiman the Magnificent that would result in an Ottoman ultimatum to Charles – an unprecedented alliance between Christian and Muslim monarchs that would cause a scandal in the Christian world.
Suleiman later used the opportunity to invade Hungary in the summer of 1526, defeating Charles' allies at the Battle of Mohács in August, 1526. Despite all these efforts, Francis was required to sign the Treaty of Madrid in January 1526, in which he surrendered his claims to Italy, Flanders, and Burgundy in order to be released from prison.
The deterioration of relations between the Habsburgs and Francis I provided Francis I with a pretext for war with Charles. However, just when Francis I began to count on the support of Pope Leo in a war against Charles V, Pope Leo suddenly made peace with the Emperor and sided with the Holy Roman Empire against France. Soon Francis faced war from the east (Holy Roman Empire) and the west (Spain).
Charles V took Milan from the French in 1521 and returned it to Francesco II Sforza (son of Ludovico Sforza) in 1522. With Milan in Imperial hands, Francis personally led a French army into Lombardy in 1525, only to be utterly defeated and captured at the battle of Pavia on February 24, 1525.
With Francis imprisoned in Spain, a series of diplomatic maneuvers centered around his release ensued, including a special French mission sent by Francis' mother Louise of Savoy to the court of Suleiman the Magnificent that would result in an Ottoman ultimatum to Charles – an unprecedented alliance between Christian and Muslim monarchs that would cause a scandal in the Christian world.
Suleiman later used the opportunity to invade Hungary in the summer of 1526, defeating Charles' allies at the Battle of Mohács in August, 1526. Despite all these efforts, Francis was required to sign the Treaty of Madrid in January 1526, in which he surrendered his claims to Italy, Flanders, and Burgundy in order to be released from prison.
Sack of Rome 1527
In 1526, Pope Clement VII, alarmed at the growing power of Charles V, formed the League of Cognac (an alliance including France, Pope Clement VII, the Republic of Venice, the Kingdom of England, the Duchy of Milan and Republic of Florence) to drive Charles V from Italy.
The League planned a war against
the Empire to begin in early 1526. The Imperial troops in Italy were extremely discontented
because they were owed so much back pay that was not forthcoming. The League quickly seized Lodi
on June 24, 1526.
Another revolt broke out in
the city of Milan against the rule of Francesco Sforza II, Duke
of Milan. The uprising in Milan in the summer of 1526
was coordinated with the defenders of the "Castello" in Milan. Realizing
that their goal of reconquering Milan was no longer on the table, the French army
left Lombardy and headed back to France.
With the withdrawal of French
forces from Lombardy, Charles V proceeded to subdue Florence, and, in 1527, Rome itself was sacked by mutinous Imperial forces. Clement was
imprisoned by Imperial troops and offered no further resistance to Charles V. With
the conclusion of the Treaty of Cambrai in 1529, which formally removed Francis from the war, the League
collapsed; Venice made peace with Charles V, while Florence was placed again under
the Medici.
Italian War of 1536–1538
The third war between Charles
V and King Francis I of France began with
the death of Francesco Maria Sforza, on November, 1535. Upon
his death, he left no heirs and the representatives of Emperor Charles
V took charge of the Duchy of Milan. There were no protests or uprisings among the
people of Milan. Nor were there any objections
from any other Italian states. There were, however, objections from France. Francis
I, king of France, firmly believed that Genoa and the Duchy of Milan were
all rightfully his. Thus recovering Milan
for France remained the primary goal for Francis I.
So when Charles bequeathed the
Duchy of Milan to his son Philip, King Francis I of France invaded Italy. In late March 1536, a French
army advanced into Piedmont with 24,000 infantry and 3,000 horse. The French Army
captured and entered Turin in early April 1536, but failed to take Milan. In response to
the capture of Turin by the French, Charles V invaded Provence, advancing to Aix-en-Provence. Charles took Aix in August 1536, but could
go no further.
The Truce of Nice, signed on June 18, 1538, ended the war,
leaving Turin in French hands but effecting no significant changes to the map of
Italy.
Ending of the War 1551-1559
Subsequent wars between Charles V and Francis I continued in 1542–1546 until the death of
King Francis I in 1547. Francis I was succeeded by his son, Henry II of France.
Emperor Charles V of Habsburg
was able to establish his dominance in Italy to a greater extent than
any German Emperor since Frederick II. During the Italian Wars, he drove
the French from Milan, prevented an attempt by the Italian princes, to reassert
their independence in the League of Cognac, sacked Rome and brought the Medici pope
Clement VII to submission, conquered Florence where he reinstalled the Medici as Dukes
of Florence.
In 1551, Henry II declared
war against Emperor Charles V. In 1556, at the end of the war, Emperor Charles V abdicated the Imperial throne as well as the throne
of Spain, to his younger brother, who became Ferdinand I of the Holy Roman
Empire, and the throne of Spain went to Charles' son who became
King Philip II of Spain. The abdication of Charles
V split the Habsburg Empire that had surrounded France.
This new Imperial dominance, however, did not remain with the Holy
Roman Empire, in which Charles was succeeded by his brother Ferdinand, but rather
was transferred to his son King Philip II of Spain.
After the
wars, the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis was signed between Elizabeth I of England and Henry II of France on 2 April and between
Henry II and Philip II of Spain on 3 April 1559, at Le Cateau-Cambrésis.
Under its terms, France restored Piedmont and Savoy to the Duke of Savoy, and Corsica to the Republic of Genoa, but retained the Three Bishoprics: Metz,
Toul,
and Verdun. More importantly,
the treaty confirmed Spanish direct control of Milan, Naples, Sicily, Sardinia,
and the State of Presidi,
and indirectly (through dominance of the rulers of Tuscany, Genoa, and other minor
states) of northern Italy. The Pope was also their natural ally. The only truly
independent entities on Italian soil were the Duchy of Savoy and the Republic of
Venice.
After the wars (1559)
Papal States, Kingdom of Naples,
Kingdom of Sicily (under Habsburg Spain),
Kingdom of Sardinia, Duchy of Milan (under Habsburg Spain),
Duchy of Savoy,
Duchy of Mantua, Duchy of Parma and Piacenza,
Duchy of Modena and Reggio (in personal union with Ferrara),
Duchy of Florence (raised to Grand Duchy of Tuscany in 1569),
Republic of Venice, Republic of Genoa,
Republic of Lucca, Republic of Ragusa,
Republic of San Marino, Republic of Noli,
Republic of Senarica, Republic of Cospaia
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Italy in 1559
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Habsburg Monarchy 1559-1796
The history of Italy in the Early Modern period was characterized by foreign domination and economic decline. Nonetheless, following the Italian Wars (1494 to 1559), Italy saw a long period of relative peace, first under Habsburg Spain (1559 to 1713) and then under Habsburg Austria (1713 to 1796) in which some important cultural and scientific achievements were made.
Habsburg Spain 1559–1714
Following the Italian Wars (1494–1559), the Mezzogiorno and the Duchy of Milan were under control of Habsburg Spain, while the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Florence, the Papal States and the Republic of Genoa remained independent.
Piedmont gained independence from France at the Peace of Cateau Cambrésis due to the role played by the duke Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy in the battle of St Quentin during the Italian War of 1551–1559. The House of Savoy was "Italianized" at the end of the Italian wars, as Emmanuel Philibert made Turin the capital of the Savoyard state and Italian the official language.
The House of Medici kept ruling Florence, thanks to an agreement signed between the Pope and Charles V in 1530, and was later recognized as the ruling family of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany by Pope Pius V. The same Pope arranged the Holy League, a coalition of Venice and other maritime states that defeated the invading Ottoman forces at the naval battle of Lepanto (1571).
The Papal States launched the Counter-Reformation, which lasted from the Council of Trent (1545–1563) to the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. This period coincides with the European wars of religion and saw numerous Italians active in other catholic nations, including de factorulers of France and military generals serving under the auspices of the Holy Roman Empire or Spain.
Despite important artistic and scientific achievements, such as the discoveries of Galileo in the field of astronomy and physics and the flourishing of the Baroque style in architecture and painting, Italy experienced overall economic decline. The discovery of the New World by Italian explorers such as Christopher Columbus and Giovanni da Verrazzano undermined the importance of Venice and other Italian ports as commercial hubs by shifting Europe's center of gravity westward towards the Atlantic.
In addition, Spain’s involvement in the Thirty Years' War (1618–48), financed in part by taxes on its Italian possessions, heavily drained Italian commerce and agriculture; so, as Spain declined, it dragged its Italian domains down with it, spreading conflicts and revolts.
The Black Death returned to haunt Italy throughout the century. The plague of 1630 that ravaged northern Italy, (notably Milan and Venice) claimed possibly one million lives, or about 25% of the population. The plague of 1656 killed up to 43% of the population of the Kingdom of Naples.
Piedmont gained independence from France at the Peace of Cateau Cambrésis due to the role played by the duke Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy in the battle of St Quentin during the Italian War of 1551–1559. The House of Savoy was "Italianized" at the end of the Italian wars, as Emmanuel Philibert made Turin the capital of the Savoyard state and Italian the official language.
The House of Medici kept ruling Florence, thanks to an agreement signed between the Pope and Charles V in 1530, and was later recognized as the ruling family of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany by Pope Pius V. The same Pope arranged the Holy League, a coalition of Venice and other maritime states that defeated the invading Ottoman forces at the naval battle of Lepanto (1571).
The Papal States launched the Counter-Reformation, which lasted from the Council of Trent (1545–1563) to the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. This period coincides with the European wars of religion and saw numerous Italians active in other catholic nations, including de factorulers of France and military generals serving under the auspices of the Holy Roman Empire or Spain.
Despite important artistic and scientific achievements, such as the discoveries of Galileo in the field of astronomy and physics and the flourishing of the Baroque style in architecture and painting, Italy experienced overall economic decline. The discovery of the New World by Italian explorers such as Christopher Columbus and Giovanni da Verrazzano undermined the importance of Venice and other Italian ports as commercial hubs by shifting Europe's center of gravity westward towards the Atlantic.
In addition, Spain’s involvement in the Thirty Years' War (1618–48), financed in part by taxes on its Italian possessions, heavily drained Italian commerce and agriculture; so, as Spain declined, it dragged its Italian domains down with it, spreading conflicts and revolts.
The Black Death returned to haunt Italy throughout the century. The plague of 1630 that ravaged northern Italy, (notably Milan and Venice) claimed possibly one million lives, or about 25% of the population. The plague of 1656 killed up to 43% of the population of the Kingdom of Naples.
Habsburg Austria 1714–1796
The War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14) was triggered by the death without issue of the last
Habsburg king of Spain, Charles
II in November 1700, who fixed the entire
Spanish inheritance on Philip,
Duke of Anjou, the second
grandson of King Louis XIV of France.
In face of the threat of a French hegemony over much of Europe, a Grand Alliance between Austria, England, the Dutch Republic and Duchy of Savoy was signed in The Hague.
Disputes over separation of the Spanish and French crowns and commercial rights led to war in 1701 between the Bourbons of France and Spain and the Grand Alliance, whose candidate was Archduke Charles, younger son of Habsburg Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor.
The Alliance successfully fought and defeated the Franco-Spanish "Party of the Two Crowns", and the subsequent Treaty of Utrecht (1713) and Rastatt (1714) pass control of much of Italy (Milan, Naples and Sardinia) from Spain to Habsburg Austria, while Sicily was ceded to the Duchy of Savoy.
In face of the threat of a French hegemony over much of Europe, a Grand Alliance between Austria, England, the Dutch Republic and Duchy of Savoy was signed in The Hague.
Disputes over separation of the Spanish and French crowns and commercial rights led to war in 1701 between the Bourbons of France and Spain and the Grand Alliance, whose candidate was Archduke Charles, younger son of Habsburg Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor.
The Alliance successfully fought and defeated the Franco-Spanish "Party of the Two Crowns", and the subsequent Treaty of Utrecht (1713) and Rastatt (1714) pass control of much of Italy (Milan, Naples and Sardinia) from Spain to Habsburg Austria, while Sicily was ceded to the Duchy of Savoy.
These treaties allowed Philip,
Duke of Anjou to take the
Spanish throne as Philip V in return for permanently renouncing his claim to the
French throne, along with other necessary guarantees that would ensure that France
and Spain should not merge, thus preserving the balance of power in Europe.
The War of the Spanish succession (1701–1714) and the later War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718–1720) established Habsburg Austria as the dominant power in Northern and Southern Italy. The House of Habsburg-Lorraine succeeded the Medici of Florence rule in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in 1737.
As at 1789, the Italian states were as below:
The War of the Spanish succession (1701–1714) and the later War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718–1720) established Habsburg Austria as the dominant power in Northern and Southern Italy. The House of Habsburg-Lorraine succeeded the Medici of Florence rule in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in 1737.
As at 1789, the Italian states were as below:
Papal States,
Kingdom of Naples (under Habsburg Monarchy up to 1734),
Kingdom of Sicily (under Savoy from 1714 to 1720; under Habsburg Monarchy from 1720 to 1734; in personal union with Naples thereafter),
Kingdom of Sardinia (under Habsburg Monarchy from 1714 to 1720; in personal union with Savoy thereafter),
Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Duchy of Savoy,
Duchy of Milan, Duchy of Mantua (under Habsburg Monarchy),
Duchy of Parma and Piacenza (under Habsburg Monarchy from 1734 to 1748),
Duchy of Guastalla (in personal union with Parma from 1748),
Duchy of Modena and Reggio,
Republic of Venice, Republic of Genoa,
Republic of Lucca, Republic of San Marino, Republic of Ragusa,
Republic of Noli, Republic of Senarica,
Republic of Cospaia, Corsican Republic
Kingdom of Naples (under Habsburg Monarchy up to 1734),
Kingdom of Sicily (under Savoy from 1714 to 1720; under Habsburg Monarchy from 1720 to 1734; in personal union with Naples thereafter),
Kingdom of Sardinia (under Habsburg Monarchy from 1714 to 1720; in personal union with Savoy thereafter),
Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Duchy of Savoy,
Duchy of Milan, Duchy of Mantua (under Habsburg Monarchy),
Duchy of Parma and Piacenza (under Habsburg Monarchy from 1734 to 1748),
Duchy of Guastalla (in personal union with Parma from 1748),
Duchy of Modena and Reggio,
Republic of Venice, Republic of Genoa,
Republic of Lucca, Republic of San Marino, Republic of Ragusa,
Republic of Noli, Republic of Senarica,
Republic of Cospaia, Corsican Republic
Savoy Kingdom of Sardinia 1720-1796
Bourbon King Philip V of Spain tried again to retake territories in Italy and to claim the French
throne in the War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718–1720), but was again defeated.
As a result of the Treaty of The Hague, Spain agreed to abandon its Italian claims, while Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy agreed to exchange Sicily with Austria Habsburgs, for the island of Sardinia, after which he was known as the King of Sardinia.
The Savoyards united the island of Sardinia with their historical possessions on the Italian mainland, came to be progressively identified with the Mainland states, which included, besides Savoy and Aosta, dynastic possessions like the Principality of Piedmont and the County of Nice (over both of which the Savoyards had been exercising their control since the 13th century and 1388, respectively).
This newly formed Kingdom of Sardinia was also referenced to as either Savoy-Sardinia, Piedmont-Sardinia, or even the Kingdom of Piedmont to emphasise that the island of Sardinia had always been of secondary importance to the monarchy.
While in theory the traditional capital of the island of Sardinia and the seat of its viceroys had always been Cagliari, it was the Piedmontese city of Turin, the capital of Savoy since the mid 16th century, the de facto chosen seat of power under Savoyard rule, until they were conquered by the Napoleon French force in 1796.
Age of Napoleon 1796–1815
At the end of the 18th century, Italy was almost in the same political conditions since 1714 (after the War of the Spanish Succession). This situation was shaken in 1792, when the French Army of Italy under Napoleon invaded Italy, with the aims of forcing the Austrians to withdraw from Italy.
The Kingdom of Sardinia and the
other states of the Savoy Crown joined the First Coalition against the French First Republic, but was beaten in 1796 by Napoleon and forced to conclude
the disadvantageous Treaty of Paris, giving the French army free passage through Piedmont.
On 15 May the French general then entered Milan, where he was welcomed as
a liberator. On 6 December 1798 Joubert occupied Turin and forced Charles Emmanuel IV to abdicate and leave for the island of Sardinia.
Napoleon conquered most
of Italy in 1797-99. He consolidated old units
and split up Austria's holdings. He set up a series of new republics, complete with
new codes of law and abolition of old feudal privileges. Napoleon's Cisalpine Republic was centered on Milan. Genoa the city became a republic
while its hinterland became the Ligurian
Republic. The Roman Republic was formed out of the papal holdings while the pope himself
was sent to France.
In 1805, after the French victory
over the Third Coalition and the Peace of Pressburg, Napoleon recovered Veneto and Dalmatia, annexing them to the Italian Republic and renaming it
the Kingdom of Italy. He was crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy at the Milan Cathedral.
The next year, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II of Habsburg abdicated
his imperial title.
In 1809, Bonaparte occupied Rome, for contrasts with the pope, who had excommunicated him, and to maintain his own state efficiently, exiling the Pope first to Savona and then to France.
Name
|
Life
|
Coronation
|
Ceased to be
King
|
Napoleon
I, King of Italy
|
15 Aug 1769 – 5 May 1821
|
17 March 1805
|
11 April 1814
|
The conquest and occupation of Italy by Napoleon (who was himself of Italian-Corsican descent) propelled the unification of Italy some decades after, and pushed the Italian language into a lingua franca used among clerks, nobility and functionaries in the Italian courts but also by the bourgeoisie.
After Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812, the other states of Europe re-allied themselves and defeated
Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813, after which his Italian allied states abandoned him to
ally with Austria. By the following March of 1814, Paris
had been captured and Napoleon was compelled
to renounce his throne and sent into exile on Elba.
Congress of Vienna 1814-1815
The resulting Congress of Vienna (1814) restored a situation close to that of 1795, with many pre-Napoleonic
sovereigns returned to their thrones. Piedmont, Genoa and Nice
came to be united, as did Sardinia (which went on to create the State of Savoy),
while Lombardy, Veneto, Istria and Dalmatia were re-annexed to Austria. The dukedoms
of Parma and Modena re-formed, and the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples returned
to the Bourbons.
Italy was divided between
Austria (in the north-east and Lombardy), the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies(in the south), and Tuscany, the Papal States and other minor states in the center. However, old republics
such as Venice
and Genoa were not recreated, Venice went to Austria, and Genoa went
to the Kingdom of Sardinia.
The political and social events in the restoration
period of Italy (1815–1835) led to popular uprisings throughout the peninsula and
greatly shaped what would become the Italian Wars of Independence.
Papal States,
Kingdom of Sardinia,
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies,
Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia (under Austrian Empire),
Kingdom of Illyria (under Austrian Empire),
Grand Duchy of Tuscany,
Duchy of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla
From the deposition of Napoleon I (1814) until the Italian Unification (1861), there was no Italian monarch claiming the overarching title.
Papal States,
Kingdom of Sardinia,
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies,
Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia (under Austrian Empire),
Kingdom of Illyria (under Austrian Empire),
Grand Duchy of Tuscany,
Duchy of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla
From the deposition of Napoleon I (1814) until the Italian Unification (1861), there was no Italian monarch claiming the overarching title.
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| Italy 1815 |
Unification of Italy 1814 - 1871
The Risorgimento was the political and social movement that consolidated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of the Kingdom of Italy in the 19th century. The process began in 1815 with the Congress of Vienna.
The Peace of
Westphalia in 1648 formally ended the rule of the Holy Roman Emperors in Italy. However,
the Spanish and Austrian branches of the Habsburg dynasty continued to rule most of Italy.
The Habsburg rule
in Italy came to an end with the campaigns of the French Revolutionaries in 1792–97,
when a series of client republics were set up. The Napoleon
conquest of Italy in 1797-99 destroyed the old structures
of feudalism in Italy and introduced modern ideas and efficient legal authority;
it provided much of the intellectual force and social capital that fueled unification
movements for decades.
After Napoleon
fell, the Congress
of Vienna (1814–15) restored the pre-Napoleonic patchwork of independent governments.
Italy was again controlled largely by the Austrian Empire and the Habsburgs.
The King of Sardinia (House of Savoy) was restored in Piedmont,
Nice, and Savoy, and was given control of Genoa (often called Piedmont-Sardinia
in this period), with Turin
as its capital.
Savoy Piedmont-Sardinia 1814-1861
The Kingdom of Sardinia industrialized from 1830 onward. In 1848 revolutionary
riots broke out in numerous places of Italy, as well in many other parts of Europe.
King Charles
Albert of Sardinia-Piedmont and Leopold II in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany had been
forced to make concessions to the democrats. With Vienna itself in revolt, both
Milan and Venice, the main cities of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, revolted in March 1848.
King Charles Albert of Sardinia-Piedmont decided to exploit the apparently favorable moment, and declared war on Austria, in alliance with the Papal States and the Kingdom of the Two Sicily and attacked the weakened Austria in her Italian possessions. After initial success the war took a turn for the worse and Charles Albert was defeated by Marshal Radetzky at the Battle of Custozza in July 1848. The war marked the failure of Sardinia to defeat Austria singlehandedly.
Meanwhile, a Roman Republic was declared, and the Pope Pius IX had to flee the city. The revolution was suppressed with French help in 1850 and Pius IX switched to a conservative line of government.
After a disastrous renewal of the war with Austria in 1849, Charles Albert abdicated in favor of his son Victor Emmanuel II. In 1852, a liberal ministry under Count Camillo Benso di Cavour was installed and the Kingdom of Sardinia became the engine driving Italian unification.
Victor Emmanuel II saw a great vision of a unified Italy. He wanted Piedmont-Sardinia to be a model for the unification of Italy. He started public works, projects, and political reforms. Piedmont-Sardinia was soon recognized as an emerging power and the next step was to get Austria out of the Italian Peninsula.
With the Crimean War breaking out in 1853 between France and Britain on one side, and Russia on the other, Piedmont-Sardinia saw a chance to earn some respect and make a name for it. Britain and France proved victorious, and Piedmont-Sardinia was able to attend the peace conference. As a result of this, it gained the support of French Emperor Napoleon III.
Meanwhile, many leading revolutionaries wanted a republic, two of the most prominent being Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi. Mazzini's activity in revolutionary movements caused him to be imprisoned. While in prison, he formulated a program for establishing a free, independent, and republican nation with Rome as its capital. Following his release in 1831, he went to Marseille in France, where he organized a new political society called La Giovine Italia (Young Italy), which sought the unification of Italy.
Garibaldi, a native of Nice (then part of Piedmont), participated in an uprising in Piedmont in 1834 and was sentenced to death. He escaped to South America, though, spending fourteen years in exile, taking part in several wars, and learning the art of guerrilla warfare before his return to Italy in 1848.
King Charles Albert of Sardinia-Piedmont decided to exploit the apparently favorable moment, and declared war on Austria, in alliance with the Papal States and the Kingdom of the Two Sicily and attacked the weakened Austria in her Italian possessions. After initial success the war took a turn for the worse and Charles Albert was defeated by Marshal Radetzky at the Battle of Custozza in July 1848. The war marked the failure of Sardinia to defeat Austria singlehandedly.
Meanwhile, a Roman Republic was declared, and the Pope Pius IX had to flee the city. The revolution was suppressed with French help in 1850 and Pius IX switched to a conservative line of government.
After a disastrous renewal of the war with Austria in 1849, Charles Albert abdicated in favor of his son Victor Emmanuel II. In 1852, a liberal ministry under Count Camillo Benso di Cavour was installed and the Kingdom of Sardinia became the engine driving Italian unification.
Victor Emmanuel II saw a great vision of a unified Italy. He wanted Piedmont-Sardinia to be a model for the unification of Italy. He started public works, projects, and political reforms. Piedmont-Sardinia was soon recognized as an emerging power and the next step was to get Austria out of the Italian Peninsula.
With the Crimean War breaking out in 1853 between France and Britain on one side, and Russia on the other, Piedmont-Sardinia saw a chance to earn some respect and make a name for it. Britain and France proved victorious, and Piedmont-Sardinia was able to attend the peace conference. As a result of this, it gained the support of French Emperor Napoleon III.
Meanwhile, many leading revolutionaries wanted a republic, two of the most prominent being Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi. Mazzini's activity in revolutionary movements caused him to be imprisoned. While in prison, he formulated a program for establishing a free, independent, and republican nation with Rome as its capital. Following his release in 1831, he went to Marseille in France, where he organized a new political society called La Giovine Italia (Young Italy), which sought the unification of Italy.
Garibaldi, a native of Nice (then part of Piedmont), participated in an uprising in Piedmont in 1834 and was sentenced to death. He escaped to South America, though, spending fourteen years in exile, taking part in several wars, and learning the art of guerrilla warfare before his return to Italy in 1848.
Italian
Wars of Independence 1859-1866
In 1859, the Second Italian War of Independence (also known as the Austro-Sardinian
War) between the Second French Empire allied with the Kingdom of Sardinia against the Austrian Empire. It was a
key event in the process of Italian unification. The central Italian states, Duchies
of Parma and Modena, Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Papal Legations, were annexed
by the Kingdom of Sardinia. France would take its deferred reward, Savoy and Nice.
At the same
time, Garibaldi was
appointed major general by Kingdom
of Sardinia, and
formed a volunteer unit named the Hunters
of the Alps. Thenceforth, Garibaldi abandoned Mazzini's republican ideal of the liberation
of Italy, assuming that only the Piedmontese monarchy could effectively achieve
it. He and his volunteers won victories over the Austrians at Varese, Como, and other places.
In 1860 they successfully conquered the Kingdom of the Two Sicily, and incorporated the
territory into the new Kingdom of Italy. Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia
had been crowned King of Italy on March 17, 1861.
In 1866
Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck offered
Victor Emmanuel II an alliance with the Kingdom of Prussia in the Austro-Prussian War. In exchange Prussia would allow Italy to annex Austrian-controlled
Venice.
King Emmanuel agreed to the alliance and the Third Italian War of Independence
began, resulted in
annexation of Venice from the Austrians.
Hence the major obstacle to Italian unity remained Rome.
Capture
of Rome 1870
The Italian government could not take its seat in Rome
because the French garrison was maintained in the city by Napoleon III in support
of Pope Pius IX.
In July 1870,
the Franco-Prussian
War began.
In early August, the French Emperor Napoleon III recalled his garrison from Rome,
thus no longer providing protection to the Papal State. Widespread public demonstrations
illustrated the demand that the Italian government take Rome.
The Italian government
took no direct action until the collapse of the Second
French Empire at the Battle of Sedan. King Victor Emmanuel II sent
Count Gustavo Ponza di San Martino to Pius IX with a personal letter offering
a proposal that would have allowed the peaceful entry of the Italian
Army into Rome.
Under the guise of offering
protection to the pope, Italian troops entered Rome in September 1870 and more than 1,000 years of Papal temporal power came to the end.
Italy became a nation-state belatedly on 17 March 1861, when most of the states of the peninsula were united and King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy. The architects of Italian unification were the Chief Minister of Victor Emmanuel, and Giuseppe Garibaldi, a general and a national hero. Italian was adopted as national language.
In 1870, France started the Franco-Prussian War and brought home its soldiers in Rome, where they had kept the pope in power. Italian troops entered Rome to take over the Papal State. Italian unification was completed, and the capital was moved from Florence to Rome.
Name
|
Life
|
Became
King
|
Until
|
Note
|
March 1820 –
Jan 1878
|
17 Mar 1861
|
9 Jan 1878
|
Last King of Sardinia and first king
of united Italy
|
|
March 1844 –
July 1900
|
9 Jan 1878
|
29 July 1900
|
Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary,
assassinated
in 1900
|
|
Nov 1869 –
Dec 1947
|
29 July 1900
|
9 May 1946
|
King of Italy during the
First World War and during
the Fascist regime of Benito Mussolini
|
|
Sept 1904 –
March 1983
|
9 May 1946
|
12 June 1946
|
Last King of Italy who was pressured to call a referendum on
whether Italy would retain the monarchy
|
The Kingdom of Italy was theoretically a
constitutional monarchy. Executive power belonged to
the monarch, as executed through appointed ministers. Two chambers of parliament restricted the monarch's power—an
appointive Senate and an elective Chamber of Deputies.
A major challenge for the prime ministers
of the new Kingdom of Italy was integrating the political and administrative systems
of the seven different major components into a unified set of policies. The different
regions were proud of their own historic patterns and could not easily be fitted
into the Sardinian model. Cavour started the planning, but died before it was fully
developed. They practically followed the Napoleonic precedent.
In 1860, Italy lacked a single national language: toscano
(Tuscan), which is what we now know as Italian, was only
used as a literary language and in Tuscany, while outside
other languages were dominant. Even the kingdom's first king, Victor Emmanuel II, was known to speak almost entirely
in Piedmontese and French,
even to his cabinet ministers. Illiteracy was high, and no national popular press was possible due to the multiplicity
of regional languages.
Liberal Period 1870–1914
Italy had very few public schools upon unification, so the
Italian government in the Liberal Period (1870–1914)
attempted to increase literacy by
establishing state-funded schools to teach the official Italian language. Italian society throughout most of the Liberal Period was
sharply divided along class, linguistic, regional and social lines.
The North-South divide is still present to
this day. In Northern Italy,
industrialization and modernization began in the last part of the 19th century.
The south,
at the same time, was overpopulated, forcing millions of people to search for a
better life abroad. It is estimated that around one million Italian people moved
to other European countries such as France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg.
State of the Vatican City 1929
The papacy rejected any substantial accommodation
with the Italian Kingdom, especially any proposal which required the pope to become
an Italian subject. Instead the papacy confined itself (see Prisoner in the Vatican) to the Apostolic Palace and adjacent buildings in the
loop of the ancient fortifications known as the Leonine City, on Vatican Hill. From there it maintained a number of features
pertaining to sovereignty, such as diplomatic relations, since in canon law these
were inherent in the papacy.
In the 1920s, the papacy – then under Pius XI—renounced the bulk of the Papal States,
and the Lateran Treaty with Italy (then ruled by the National Fascist Party under Benito Mussolini) was signed on February 11, 1929,
creating the State of the Vatican City, forming the sovereign territory
of the Holy See, which was also indemnified to
some degree for loss of territory.
World War I 1914–1918
The First World War
(1914–1918) was an unexpected development that forced the decision whether to honor
the alliance with Germany. At first Italy remained neutral, saying that the Triple Alliance was only for defensive purposes. Public opinion in Italy was sharply
divided, with Catholics and socialists recommending peace. However, extreme nationalists
saw their opportunity to gain their "irredenta" – that is, the border
regions that were controlled by Austria.
The Treaty
of St. Germain awarded the victorious Italian
nation the Southern half of the County of Tyrol, Trieste, Istria, and the city
of Zadar.
Fascist Italy 1922–1946
The Biennio Rosso took place in the two
years following the first world war in a context of economic crisis, high unemployment
and political instability. The 1919–1920 was characterized by mass strikes, worker manifestations
as well as self-management experiments through land and factories occupations. In
Turin and Milan, workers
councils were formed and many factory occupations took place under the leadership
of anarcho-syndicalists. The agitations also extended
to the agricultural areas of the Padan plain
and were accompanied by peasant strikes, rural unrests and guerilla conflicts between
left-wing and right-wing militias.
Thenceforth,
the National Fascist Party of Benito
Mussolini successfully exploited the claims of Italian nationalists and the
quest for order and normalization of the middle class. In 1920, old Prime Minister
Giolitti was reappointed in a desperate attempt to solve Italy's deadlock, but his cabinet was weak and threatened
by a growing socialist opposition.
In Oct
1922, Benito Mussolini took advantage of a general strike
to announce his demands to the Italian government to give the Fascist Party political
power or face a coup. Although the Italian Army was far better armed than the Fascist
militias, the liberal system and King Victor Emmanuel III were facing a deeper political
crisis. The King was forced to choose which of the two rival movements in Italy
would form the government: Mussolini's Fascists, or the marxist Italian Socialist Party. He selected the Fascists.
Upon taking
power, Mussolini formed a coalition with nationalists and liberals. In 1923, Mussolini's
coalition passed the electoral Acerbo Law,
which assigned two thirds of the seats to the party that achieved at least 25% of
the vote. The Fascist Party used violence and intimidation to achieve the threshold
in the 1924 election, thus obtaining control of Parliament.
Socialist deputy Giacomo Matteotti was
assassinated after calling for a nullification of the vote because of the irregularities.
When Germany
invaded Poland on 1 September 1939 beginning
World
War II, Mussolini chose to stay non-belligerent,
although he declared his support for Hitler. In drawing out war plans, Mussolini
and the Fascist regime decided that Italy would aim to annex large portions of Africa
and the Middle East to be included in its colonial empire.
As France's
defeat was obviously inevitable, Italy entered the war on 10 June 1940, fulfilling
its obligations towards the Pact of Steel. Mussolini hoped to quickly capture Savoy, Nice, Corsica,
and the African colonies of Tunisia and Algeria from the French.
Continuing
indications of Italy's increasing subordination to Germany arose during the disastrous
Greco-Italian War. Mussolini had intended the invasion
of Greece to prove Italy's strategic autonomy, but the Greeks humiliatingly
put Italian forces on the defensive.
By 1943,
Italy was losing on every front. By January of the year, half of the Italian forces
fighting in the Soviet Union had been destroyed,
the African campaign had failed, the Balkans remained unstable, and Italians wanted
an end to the war.
Mussolini
was captured on 27 April 1945, by communist Italian
partisans near the Swiss border as he tried to escape Italy. On the next day,
he was executed for high treason, as sentenced in absentia by a tribunal of the
National
Liberation Committee (Comitato di Liberazione
Nazionale, CLN). Finally, De Gasperi supervised the transition to a Republic following
the abdication of King Victor
Emmanuel III on 9 May 1946.
Umberto II, son of Victor
Emmanuel III, was
pressured to call a referendum on whether Italy would retain the monarchy. The one-month-long reign of Umberto II and the Constitutional Referendum that
abolished the monarchy.
Italian Republic (1946 to present)
The aftermath
of World War II left Italy with a destroyed economy and a divided society. Following
Victor Emmanuel III's abdication, his son, the new king Umberto II, was pressured by the threat of another civil war to call a Constitutional
Referendum to decide whether Italy should
remain a monarchy or become a republic. On 2 June 1946, the republican side won
54% of the vote and Italy officially became a republic. All male members of the
House of Savoy were
barred from entering Italy, a ban which was only repealed in 2002. Under the Treaty of Peace
with Italy, 1947, the eastern border area was annexed by Yugoslavia causing the Istrian exodus,
while Italy lost all its overseas possessions.
The General Elections of 1946, elected 556 members
of a Constituent Assembly, of which 207 were Christian Democrats, 115 Socialists and 104 Communists. A new constitution was approved, setting up a parliamentary democracy. In 1947, under American
pressure, the communist were expelled from the government. The Italian general election in 1948 saw a landslide victory for Christian Democrats
that dominated the system for the following forty years. Italy joined the Marshall Plan
and NATO.
By 1950, the economy had largely stabilized and started booming. In 1957 Italy was
a founding member of the European Economic Community, which later transformed
into the European Union (EU).
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