Alliance Victor Emmanuel II and Prussia
Joins an alliance with Prussia against Austria
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1866 in Italy
Explore 17 historical events and records for Italy in 1866.
Historical records for Italy in 1866
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 17 of 17 unique records.
17Unique records
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17Named events on this page
10Named people on this page
11Places on this page
April
Prussian-Italian Alliance
La Marmora's government promises to attack Austria if Prussia begins war within three months.
Rule of Venetia
Acquires Venetia after making an alliance with Prussia against Austria
June
Declaration of War
Victor Emmanuel's government declares war on Austria under the alliance with Prussia.
Crossing of Mincio
La Marmora leads Italy's main army across the Mincio toward Austrian Venetia.
Battle of Custoza
Victor Emmanuel accompanies the army during the defeat at Custoza and subsequent withdrawal.
July
Battle of Monte Suello
Garibaldi is wounded while his volunteers fight Austrian troops near Monte Suello.
Crossing of the Po
Cialdini crosses the lower Po and advances into Venetia after Austria redeploys troops northward.
Advance into Venetia
Cialdini advances across Venetia as Austrian forces withdraw toward the main theatre.
Attack on Lissa
Persano begins operations against Lissa without achieving a decisive result before the Austrian fleet arrives.
Loss of Palestro
Cappellini remains aboard Palestro when fire reaches its magazine and destroys the ship.
Sinking of Re d'Italia
Faa di Bruno dies when Tegetthoff's flagship rams and sinks Re d'Italia.
Battle of Bezzecca
Garibaldi defeats Austrian forces at Bezzecca during the campaign in Trentino.
August
Armistice of Cormons
Petitti Bagliani signs the armistice ending active operations between Italy and Austria.
Naval Command Inquiry
Persano faces investigation after transferring his flag during the unsuccessful battle of Lissa.
October
Treaty of Vienna
Victor Emmanuel's kingdom receives Venetia following the peace settlement with Austria.
Other events (month unknown)
Chief of Staff
Appointed Chief of Staff
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.