Formally ended the Austro-Sardinian War by transferring Lombardy to Sardinia, reshaping the political map of northern Italy.
Key Facts
- Date signed
- 10 November 1859
- Number of treaties
- 3 separate treaties
- Territory transferred
- Lombardy ceded from Austria to France, then to Sardinia
- Preliminary peace reaffirmed
- Peace of Villafranca
- Proposed Italian confederation
- Under honorary presidency of the Pope (never realized)
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Austro-Sardinian War, fought in 1859, had been halted by the preliminary Peace of Villafranca. That armistice required formal ratification through a definitive treaty to establish binding terms among the belligerents and France, which had intervened militarily on Sardinia's behalf.
On 10 November 1859, Austria, France, and the Kingdom of Sardinia signed the Treaty of Zurich, comprising three distinct agreements. The treaties reaffirmed the Villafranca terms, transferred Lombardy from Austria to France and then from France to Sardinia, and restored a formal state of peace between Austria and Sardinia.
Lombardy was permanently incorporated into the Kingdom of Sardinia, accelerating Italian unification. A proposed confederation of Italian states under papal presidency, agreed in the Franco-Austrian treaty, was never implemented, leaving the broader Italian question unresolved and paving the way for further conflicts and eventual unification in 1861.
Political Outcome
Lombardy transferred to the Kingdom of Sardinia; formal peace restored between Austria, France, and Sardinia; proposed Italian confederation under the Pope never materialized.
Austria held Lombardy; Austro-Sardinian War technically ongoing pending formal peace
Lombardy ceded to Sardinia; peace formally established among all three powers