Napoleonic Era in Italy
Europe was soon involved in a series of wars that eventually involved Italy. Between 1796, when troops under General Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Italy, and 1814, when they withdrew, the entire peninsula was under French domination.
​Several short-lived republics were proclaimed early in the period. After two decades of Napoleon’s modern but harsh rule, profound changes took place in Italy; many Italians began to see the possibilities of forging a united country, free of foreign control. Following the restoration of European peace in 1815, Italy consisted of the Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont, Sardinia, Savoy, and Genoa); the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (including Naples and Sicily); the Papal States; and Tuscany and a series of smaller duchies in north central Italy. Lombardy and Venetia were now controlled by the Austrians.