The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia (), commonly called the "Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom" (; ), was a constituent land (

crown land Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...

) of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

from 1815 to 1866. It was created in 1815 by resolution of the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

in recognition of the Austrian

House of Habsburg-Lorraine The House of Habsburg-Lorraine () originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Habsburg monarchy, Austria, later successively List of Bohemian monarchs, Queen ...

's rights to the former

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan (; ) was a state in Northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti of Milan, Visconti family, which had been ruling the city since 1277. At that time, ...

and the former

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

after the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed in 1805, had collapsed. The kingdom only survived for fifty years—the region of

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

was ceded to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1859 after the

Second Italian War of Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Sardinian War, the Austro-Sardinian War, the Franco-Austrian War, or the Italian War of 1859 (Italian: ''Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana''; German: ''Sardinischer Krieg''; French: ...

, which then immediately ceded it to the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...

. Lombardy-Venetia was finally dissolved in 1866 when its remaining territory was incorporated into the recently proclaimed

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

following the kingdom's victory against Austria in the Third Italian War of Independence.

History

Creation

In the Treaty of Paris in 1814, the Austrians had confirmed their claims to the territories of the former Lombard

, which had been ruled by the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

since 1714 and together with the adjacent

Duchy of Mantua The Duchy of Mantua (; ) was a duchy in Lombardy, northern Italy. Its first duke was Federico II Gonzaga, member of the House of Gonzaga that ruled Mantua since 1328. In 1531, the duchy also acquired the March of Montferrat, thanks to the marr ...

by the Austrian branch of the dynasty from 1708 to 1796, and of the former

, which had been under Austrian rule intermittently upon the 1797

Treaty of Campo Formio The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The trea ...

. The Congress of Vienna combined these lands into a single kingdom, ruled in

personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...

by the Habsburg

Emperor of Austria The emperor of Austria (, ) was the ruler of the Austrian Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The hereditary imperial title and office was proclaimed in 1804 by Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorr ...

; as distinct from the neighbouring

Grand Duchy of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (; ) was an Italian monarchy located in Central Italy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1860, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In the 19th century the population ...

, the

Duchy of Modena and Reggio The Duchy of Modena and Reggio (; ; ) was an Italian state created in 1452 located in Northern Italy, Northwestern Italy, in the present day region of Emilia-Romagna. It was ruled since its establishment by the noble House of Este, and from 1814 ...

as well as the Duchy of Parma, which remained independent entities under Habsburg rule. The Austrian emperor was represented day-to-day by

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

s appointed by the Imperial Court in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and resident in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

and

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

Years of the Kingdom

Vincenzo Chilone - The Return of the Horses of San Marco - WGA04820

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. In Milan on 6 September 1838, he became the last king to be crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy. The crown was subsequently brought to Vienna after the loss of Lombardy in 1859 but was restored to Italy after the loss of Venetia in 1866. Though the local administration was Italian in language and staff, the Austrian authorities had to cope with the

Italian unification The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...

(''Risorgimento'') movement. After a popular revolution on 22 March 1848, known as the "

Five Days of Milan The Five Days of Milan ( ) was an insurrection and a major event in the Revolutions of 1848, Revolutionary Year of 1848 that started the First Italian War of Independence. On 18 March, a rebellion arose in the city of Milan which in five day ...

", the Austrians fled from

, which became the capital city of a ''Governo Provvisorio della Lombardia'' (Lombardy Provisional Government). The next day,

also rose against the Austrian rule, forming the '' Governo Provvisorio di Venezia'' (Venice Provisional Government). The Austrian forces under Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky, after defeating the Sardinian troops at the Battle of Custoza (24–25 July 1848), entered Milan (6 August) and Venice (24 August 1849), and once again restored Austrian rule. Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

ruled over the kingdom for the rest of its existence. The office of viceroy was abolished and replaced by a

governor-general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

. The office was initially assumed by Field Marshal Radetzky - upon his retirement in 1857, it passed to Franz Joseph's younger brother Maximilian (who later became

emperor of Mexico The Emperor of Mexico () was the head of state and head of government of Mexico on two non-consecutive occasions during the 19th century. With the Mexican Declaration of Independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico briefly became an independent mon ...

), who served as governor-general in Milan from 1857 to 1859. OeLVK0c

End of the Kingdom

After the

and the defeat in the

Battle of Solferino The Battle of Solferino (referred to in Italy as the Battle of Solferino and San Martino) on 24 June 1859 resulted in the victory of the allied Second French Empire, French army under Napoleon III and the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, Piedmont- ...

in 1859, Austria by the Treaty of Zurich had to cede Lombardy up to the Mincio River, except for the fortresses of

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

and Peschiera, to the French Emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

, who immediately passed it to the

and the embryonic

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

state. Maximilian retired to

Miramare Castle Miramare Castle (; ; ; ) is a 19th-century castle direct on the Gulf of Trieste between Barcola and Grignano (Trieste), Grignano in Trieste, northeastern Italy. It was built from 1856 to 1860 for Austrian Empire, Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Max ...

near

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

, while the capital was relocated to

. However, remaining Venetia and Mantua likewise fell to the Kingdom of Italy in the aftermath of the Third Italian War of Independence, by the 1866 Peace of Prague. The territory of Venetia and Mantua was formally transferred from Austria to France, and then handed over to Italy on 19 October 1866, for diplomatic reasons; a

plebiscite A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or adv ...

marked the Italian annexation on 21–22 October 1866.

Administration

Administratively the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia comprised two independent governments (''Gubernien'') in its two parts, which officially were declared separate crown lands in 1851. Each part was further subdivided into several provinces, roughly corresponding with the '' départements'' of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. Lombardy included the provinces of Milan, Como, Bergamo, Brescia, Pavia, Cremona, Mantua, Lodi-Crema, and Sondrio. Venetia included the provinces of Venice, Verona, Padua, Vicenza, Treviso, Rovigo, Belluno, and Udine. According to the Ethnographic map of Karl von Czoernig-Czernhausen, issued by the

Imperial and Royal The phrase Imperial and Royal (, ) refers to the court/government of the Habsburgs in a broader historical perspective. Some modern authors restrict its use to the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. During that period, it in ...

Administration of Statistics in 1855, the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia then had a population of 5,024,117 people, consisting of the following ethnic groups: 4,625,746 Italians (Lombard-Venetians); 351,805

Friuli Friuli (; ; or ; ; ) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autono ...

ans; 12,084 Germans ( Cimbrians in Venetia); 26,676

Slovenians The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( ), are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, Slovenian culture, culture, and History of Slove ...

; and 7,806

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. For the first time since 1428, Lombardy reappeared as an entity, the first time in history that the term "

" was officially used to call specifically that entity and not for the whole of

Northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

. The administration used Italian as its language in its internal and external communications and documents, and the language's dominant position in politics, finance or jurisdiction was not questioned by the Austrian officials. The Italian-language was the

official newspaper A government gazette (also known as an official gazette, official journal, official newspaper, official monitor or official bulletin) is a periodical publication that has been authorised to publish public or legal notices. It is usually establish ...

of the kingdom. Civil servants employed in the administration were predominantly Italian, with only about 10% of them being recruited from other regions of the Austrian Empire. Some bilingual Italian-German-speaking civil servants came from the neighbouring

County of Tyrol The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an Imperial State, estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with th ...

. The German language, however, was the command language of the military, and top police officials were native German-speakers from other parts of the empire. The highest governorships were also reserved for Austrian aristocrats. Austrian General Karl von Schönhals wrote in his memoirs that the Austrian administration enjoyed the support of the rural population and the middle class educated at the universities of

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

and

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, who were able to pursue careers in the administration. Von Schönhals further noted that the Austrians mistrusted and refused the local aristocrats from high government offices, as they traditionally had rejected university education and had been able to gain leadership positions because of their family background. Consequently, the aristocrats saw themselves deprived of the possibility of establishing themselves in the management of society and supported the wars of independence against the Austrians. File:Province lombardovenete.png, Provinces of Lombardy–Venetia File:Ethnographic map of austrian monarchy czoernig 1855.jpg, Ethnographic map of the Austrian Empire (1855) by

Kings

Governors of Lombardy

* Heinrich Johann Bellegarde 1814–1816 *Franz Josef Graf Sauru 1816–1818 *Giulio Strassoldo di Sotto 1818–1830 * Franz von Hartig 1830–1840 * Robert von Salm-Reifferscheidt-Raitz 1840–1841 * Johann Baptist Spaur 1841–1848 *

Maximilian Karl Lamoral O'Donnell Maximilian Karl Lamoral Graf O'Donnell von Tyrconnell (29 October 1812 — 14 July 1895) was an Austrian officer and civil servant who became famous when he helped save the life of Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria. O'Donnell was a descendant of ...

1848 (acting) * Felix von Schwarzenberg 1848 * Franz Wimpffen 1848 (acting) * Alberto Montecuccoli-Laderchi 1848–1849 (acting) * Karl Borromäus Philipp zu Schwarzenberg 1849–1850 (acting) * Michele Strassoldo-Grafenberg 1851–1857 (with the title of Lieutenant of Lombardy) * Friedrich von Burger 1857–1859

Governors of Venetia

* Peter Goëss 1815–1819 * Ferdinand Ernst Maria von Bissingen-Nippenburg 1819–1820 * Carlo d'Inzaghi 1820–1826 * Johann Baptist Spaur 1826–1840 * Aloys Pálffy de Erdöd 1840–1848 * Ferdinand Zichy zu Zich von Vasonykeöy 1848 (acting) * Laval Nugent von Westmeath 1848–1849 (military governor) * Karl von Gorzowsky 1849 * Stanislaus Anton Puchner 1849–1850 * Georg Otto von Toggenburg-Sargans 1850–1855 * Kajetan von Bissingen-Nippenburg 1855–1860 * Georg Otto von Toggenburg-Sargans 1860–1866 (second time)

Flags and Coats of Arms

File:Flag of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia (1815–1866).svg, 1815–1866 File:Vincenzo Chilone - The Return of the Horses of San Marco - WGA04820.jpg, 1815 File:Chilone-San Marco Flooded.jpg, 1825 File:'Piazza di San Marco, Venice' by Carl Ludwig Rundt.jpg, 1850 File:Lesser coat of arms of the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom.svg, Lesser File:Coat of arms Kingdom Lombardy-Venetia (2).svg, Middle File:Coat of arms Kingdom Lombardy-Venetia.svg, Greater

References

External links

*
Flags of Lombardy–Venetia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lombardy-Venetia, Kingdom of 19th century in Italy 1866 disestablishments in Europe Italian unification History of Lombardy History of Venice after 1797 * Subdivisions of the Habsburg monarchy States and territories established in 1815 1815 establishments in Europe History of Veneto Former countries Former monarchies of Europe Aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars