Resumen de L’Italia e la guerra austro-prussiana del 1866. Alcuni aspetti politici e diplomatici
Purpose of this essay is to analyze Italy’s attitude during the Austrian-Prussian War of 1866. The diplomatic documentation shows the reluctance of Italian statesmen to go to war against Austria. The Italian government tried to persuade Vienna to sell Veneto for a very large sum of money or to cede it peacefully, but Italian offers were turned down by Emperor Francis Joseph. Napoleon III’s influence on Italian foreign policy was very strong and his backing for a Prussian-Italian alliance was pivotal to convince the Florence government to accept the overtures of Otto von Bismarck and to push Italy to the war
