Victor Emmanuel II (1820-1878) was king of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1849 to 1861 and the first king of Italy from 1861 to 1878. He helped lead the effort to unite Italy into one country.
Victor Emmanuel was born on March 14, 1820, in Turin, Italy. He became king of Sardinia after his father, King Charles Albert, gave up the throne. In his efforts to unite Italy, Victor Emmanuel drew his main support from Piedmont, a region at the base of the Alps that was part of the Kingdom of Sardinia. His first step was to expel the Austrians from Italy. His prime minister, Count di Cavour, made an alliance with France, and in 1859 the two countries defeated Austria. As a result, Victor Emmanuel gained the region of Lombardy. In 1861, central Italy (except for Rome) and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in southern Italy joined the Kingdom of Sardinia to form a united kingdom of Italy. Victor Emmanuel became king. The region of Venetia was added in 1866 and Rome in 1870. Victor Emmanuel died on Jan. 9, 1878.
See also Cavour, Count di ; Garibaldi, Giuseppe ; Italy (History) ; Papal States ; Sardinia, Kingdom of .
