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Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)

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Romagna ( Romagnol : Rumâgna ) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy .

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50-609: Timeline The Kingdom of Italy ( Italian : Regno d'Italia ; French : Royaume d'Italie ) was a kingdom in Northern Italy (formerly the Italian Republic ) that was a client state of Napoleon 's French Empire . It was fully influenced by revolutionary France and ended with Napoleon's defeat and fall. Its government was assumed by Napoleon as King of Italy and the viceroyalty delegated to his stepson Eugène de Beauharnais . It covered some of Piedmont and

100-663: A twofold kingdom of the Romans and Goths. Under the Ostrogoths Italy was partly restored to its former prosperity. In 535 Justinian I initiated the Gothic War . It was fought for 20 years, and the Ostrogoths were finally subjugated. The peninsula, depopulated and devastated, was ruled by an exarch from Ravenna. However, Imperial authority was maintained for barely more than a decade. In 568 new Germanic tribes ,

150-468: A Council of State, whose opinions became only optional and not binding for the king. The Legislative Body, the old parliament, remained in theory, but it was never summoned after 1805; the Napoleonic Code was introduced on 21 March 1804. The fourth Statute, decided on 16 February 1806, indicated Beauharnais as the heir to the throne. The fifth and the sixth Statutes, on 21 March 1808, separated

200-696: A second session of the assembly took place on 20 April, the Milan insurrection foiled the Viceroy's plan. In the riots, finance minister Count Giuseppe Prina was massacred by the crowd, and the Great Electors disbanded the Senate and called the Austrian forces to protect the city, while a Provisional Regency Government under the presidency of Carlo Verri was appointed. Eugène surrendered on 23 April, and

250-604: The Conca river has historically formed a buffer region between the regions of Romagna and the Marche . The region's major cities include Cesena , Faenza , Forlì , Imola , Ravenna , and Rimini . The independent Republic of San Marino is considered by some to be part of the region. Romagnol culture exerts a considerable influence over the Montefeltro historical region, on the borders between Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany , and

300-757: The Continental System . The kingdom was given a new national currency, replacing the local coins circulating in the country: the Italian lira , of the same size, weight, and metal of the French franc . Mintage being decided by Napoleon with an imperial decree on 21 March 1806, the production of the new coins began in 1807. The monetary unit was the silver lira, which was 5 grams heavy. There were multiples of £2 (10 grams of silver) and £5 (25 grams of silver), and precious coins of £20 (6.45 grams of gold ) and £40 (12.9 grams of gold). The lira

350-801: The Farnese family of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza , the House of Este of the Ferrara , and the Duchy of Modena and Reggio , and the Papal States. The Duchy of Ferrara was later annexed by the Papal States on the extinction of the main d'Este line in 1597, with the cadet branch retaining the Imperial fiefs of Modena and Reggio. This situation lasted until the French invasion of 1796, which brought bloodshed (the massacre of Lugo , looting, heavy taxation,

400-504: The Marche . On 15 August 2009, seven municipalities were transferred from the Province of Pesaro and Urbino to the Province of Rimini : Casteldelci , Maiolo , Novafeltria , Pennabilli , San Leo , Sant'Agata Feltria and Talamello . On 17 June 2021, the municipalities of Montecopiolo and Sassofeltrio followed. A number of archaeological sites in the region, such as Monte Poggiolo , show that Romagna has been inhabited since

450-826: The Paleolithic age. The Umbri , speaking an extinct Italic language called Umbrian , are the first traceable inhabitants of the region. The Etruscans also dwelt in some portions of Romagna. In the 5th century BC, various Gaulish tribes, most notably the Lingones , Senones and Boii , moved south into Ithe Italian peninsula, and sacked Rome in 390 BC. The Senones subjugated the Umbri and settled in Romagna, extending south to Ancona , with their capital at Sena Gallica ( Senigallia ). The lands formerly inhabited by

500-549: The Republic of Florence , which took land up to Forlì and Cervia, building the famous city-fortress of Terra del Sole . The Florentine Romagna remained part of Tuscany until the 1920s. In 1500 Cesare Borgia , illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI , carved out for himself an ephemeral Duchy of Romagna, but his lands were reabsorbed into the Papal States after his fall. In 1559 the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis divided Romagna between

550-529: The River Po . During Sulla's civil war in 82 to 82 BC, most of the colonies supported Gaius Marius . Forum Livii and Caesena ( Cesena ) were razed to ground, and the region was looted by Lucius Cornelius Sulla 's victorious army. The First Triumvirate divided the Roman Republic along the infamous Rubicon . Most of the colonies in present-day Romagna were ruled by Julius Caesar , with

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600-686: The Treaty of Paris was signed, and the remains of the kingdom were annexed by the Austrian Empire as the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia , which was announced by Count Bellegarde on 12 June. Timeline of Italian history Timeline This is a timeline of Italian history , comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Italy and its predecessor states, including Ancient Rome and Prehistoric Italy . Date of

650-684: The War of the Fifth Coalition : Emperor Napoleon and King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria signed the Treaty of Paris on 28 February 1810, deciding an exchange of territories involving Italy too. On rewards in Germany, Bavaria ceded southern Tyrol to the Kingdom of Italy, which in turn ceded Istria and Dalmatia (with Ragusa) to France, incorporating the Adriatic territories into newly created

700-558: The Byzantines in 730. In 737 the king entered Romagna once more and took Ravenna. The exarch, Eutychius , retook the region in 740, with Venetian assistance. Eventually another Lombard king, Aistulf , conquered Romagna once more, and brought an end to the exarchate in 751. King Rudolf I of Germany officially ceded Romagna to the Papal States in 1278. However, papal control over the area long remained only nominal. The region

750-553: The Consulta from the Council of State, and renamed it the Senate, with the duty of informing the king about the wishes of his most important subjects. The seventh Statute, on 21 September, created a new nobility of dukes, counts and barons; the eighth and the ninth, on 15 March 1810, established the annuity for the members of the royal family. In 1812, a Court of Accounts was added. The government had seven ministers: Originally,

800-895: The Empire further intensified. In 402, Emperor Honorius even moved the Western Roman Empire 's capital from Mediolanum to Ravenna, mainly because of the region's defensive terrain. 8 years later, Alaric I of the Visigoths looted Rome. In 476, Odoacer deposed Romulus in Ravenna, thus marking an end to the Western Empire . Encouraged by Emperor Zeno , Theodoric the Great led the Ostrogoths into Italy. He entered Ravenna and murdered Odoacer in 493, establishing

850-733: The French Illyrian Provinces . Small changes to the borders between Italy and France in Garfagnana and Friuli came in act on 5 August 1811. In practice, the Kingdom was a dependency of the French Empire. The Kingdom served as a theater in Napoleon's operations against Austria during the wars of the various coalitions . Trading with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was forbidden under

900-655: The Kingdom consisted of the territories of the Italian Republic: the former Duchy of Milan , Duchy of Mantua , Duchy of Modena , the western part of the Republic of Venice , part of the Papal States in Romagna , and the Department of Agogna ( it ) centred on Novara . After the defeat of the Third Coalition and the consequent Treaty of Pressburg , on 1 May 1806, the Kingdom gained from Austria

950-517: The Kingdom lost Istria/Dalmatia but got added Bolzano/Alto Adige and consisted of 24 departments. When Napoleon abdicated both the thrones of France and Italy on 11 April 1814, Eugène de Beauharnais was lined up on the Mincio river with his army to repel any invasion from Germany or Austria, and he attempted to be crowned king. The Senate of the Kingdom was summoned on 17 April, but the senators showed themselves undecided in that chaotic situation. When

1000-578: The Lombards, entered Italy, and established their capital at Pavia . The Empire could barely defend the region around Ravenna and Rome, connected by a narrow strip of land passing through Perugia , as well as a series of coastal cities. The Imperial frontier retreated to Bologna . In 727 the Lombard King Liutprand renewed war against the Byzantines, taking most of Romagna and besieging Ravenna itself. These territories were returned to

1050-581: The Roman rule in the region, in 187 BC, the Via Aemilia was completed from Ariminum to Piacentia ( Piacenza ). A series of colonies were founded along the route; in Romagna, these included Forum Livii ( Forlì ), Forum Cornellii ( Imola ), and Forum Popilii ( Forlimpopoli ). The Lex Julia of 90 BC, following the Social War , granted Roman citizenship to all municipia south of

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1100-664: The Senones were known as ager Gallicus (Gallic plain) to the Romans. According to the Italian linguist Giacomo Devoto , there are still a number of Celtic substrata in the Romagnolo dialect . In 295 BC, the Roman Republic won a decisive victory at the Battle of Sentinum against a coalition of Umbris, Senones, Samnites , and Etruscans . To consolidate their victory, the colonia of Ariminum ( Rimini )

1150-696: The average reign of a Roman Emperor was just 18 months, down from average just over 9 years during the first centuries of the Empire. Romagna The name Romagna originates from the Latin name Romania , which originally was the generic name for "land inhabited by Romans", and first appeared on Latin documents in the 5th century AD. It later took on the more specific meaning of "territory subjected to Eastern Roman rule", whose citizens called themselves Romans ( Romani in Latin; Ῥωμαῖοι , Rhomaîoi in Greek). Thus

1200-623: The bravest troops of Europe." Only 1,000–2,000 Italians survived the Russian campaign , but they returned with most of their banners secured. In 1813, Eugène de Beauharnais held out as long as possible against the onslaught of the Austrians ( Battle of the Mincio ) and was later forced to sign an armistice in February 1814. Infantry: Cavalry: The administrative system of the Kingdom

1250-595: The defeat of Austria and the Treaty of Pressburg , Napoleon annexed to Italy the territory of former Republic of Venice , as announced on 30 March 1806, and ratified on 1 May. Seven new departments were created, six in the Venetian mainland, and one in Istria ( Capodistria ), whereas Dalmatia received special institutions led by the General Provider Mr. Dandolo, and maintained its own laws. On 14 July 1807,

1300-540: The destruction of Cesena University) but also innovative ideas in social and political fields. Under Napoleonic rule Romagna received recognition as an entity for the first time, with the creation of the provinces of the Pino (Ravenna) and Rubicone (Forlì). When in 1815 the Congress of Vienna restored the pre-war situation, secret anti-papal societies were formed, and riots broke out in 1820, 1830–31 and 1848. This opposition

1350-474: The eastern and remaining part of the Venetian territories, including Istria and Dalmatia down to Kotor (then called Cattaro), though it lost Massa and Carrara to Elisa Bonaparte 's Principality of Lucca and Piombino . The Duchy of Guastalla was annexed on 24 May. With the Convention of Fontainebleau with Austria of 10 October 1807, Italy ceded Monfalcone to Austria and gained Gradisca , putting

1400-427: The government passed a decree that reduced the number of the comunes. Following the dissolution of the Papal States , the kingdom was extended along the Adriatic coast, and on 20 April 1808, three new departments were established. The final territorial change came in action on 10 June 1810, when, as announced by Napoleon on previous 28 May, Italy lost Istria and the never fully incorporated Dalmatia, gaining as reward all

1450-500: The importance of this Italian kingdom to him. Even though the republican constitution was never formally abolished, a series of Constitutional Statutes completely altered it. The first one was proclaimed two days after the birth of the kingdom, on 19 March, when the Consulta declared Napoleon I as king and established that one of his natural or adopted sons would succeed him once the Napoleonic Wars were over, and once separated

1500-813: The kingdom, inserted into the Grande Armée , took part in all of Napoleon's campaigns . In the course of its existence from 1805 to 1814 the Kingdom of Italy provided Napoleon I with roughly around 200,000 soldiers. In 1805 Italian troops served on garrison duty along the English Channel , during 1806–07 they took part in the sieges of Kolberg and Danzig and fought in Dalmatia. From 1808 to 1813 whole Italian divisions served in Spain , especially distinguishing themselves under Suchet at Tarragona and Saguntum . In 1809, Eugène 's Army of Italy formed

1550-467: The modern regions of Lombardy , Veneto , Emilia-Romagna , Friuli-Venezia Giulia , Trentino , South Tyrol , and Marche . Napoleon I also ruled the rest of northern and central Italy in the form of Nice , Aosta , Piedmont , Liguria , Tuscany , Umbria , and Lazio , but directly as part of the French Empire (as departments ), rather than as part of a vassal state . The Kingdom of Italy

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1600-458: The new border on the Isonzo river. The conquered Republic of Ragusa was annexed in spring 1808 by General Auguste de Marmont . On 2 April 1808, following the dissolution of the Papal States , the Kingdom annexed the present-day Marches . At its maximum extent, the Kingdom had 6,700,000 inhabitants and was composed by 2,155 comunes. The final arrangement arrived after the defeat of Austria in

1650-599: The notable exception of Ariminum , south of the river. In 49 BC, Caesar, who had been residing in Ravenna, led the Legio XIII across the Rubicon, igniting Caesar's civil war . After the decisive Battle of Actium , the reign of Augustus started a centuries-long era of Pax Romana . All of Cisalpine Gaul had been incorporated into the Roman province of Italia . Around 7 BC, Augustus divided all of Italy into eleven regiones , and most of Romagna (except Rimini )

1700-452: The ordinary administration, helped by a City Secretary. The chief of biggest comunes was the royal Podestà , when in smaller comunes there was a prefectoral Mayor . All the city offices were held only by owners and traders, and the leadership of the owners was assured. During the kingdom's life, the administrative system of the State changed for domestic and international reasons. Following

1750-550: The police and, differently from the republican era, had all the executive powers in its territory. The local legislative body was the General Council , composed by the representatives of the comunes. The departments were divided in districts, equivalent to the French arrondissements . The chief of the district was the vice-prefect, which had similar powers to the prefect, but over a smaller area. The local legislative body

1800-418: The prehistoric era are approximate. For further background, see history of Italy and list of prime ministers of Italy . Lucius Sicinius Vellutus , the plebs abandoned Rome for the nearby Monte Sacro . Marius was elected consul for the first of three years in a row. Civil wars would follow with the first breaking out in 238, another in 249 followed by a third in 253. From 235 through 284

1850-532: The right wing of Napoleon I's invasion of the Austrian Empire , winning a considerable victory at Raab and having a respectable share in the victory at Wagram . In 1812, Eugène de Beauharnais marched 27,000 troops of the Kingdom of Italy into Russia . The Italian contingent distinguished themselves at Borodino and Maloyaroslavets , receiving the recognition: "The Italian army had displayed qualities which entitled it evermore to take rank amongst

1900-533: The southern Tirol up to the city of Bolzano , creating the 24th and last department: Haut Adige . The language used officially in the Kingdom of Italy was Italian . The French language was used for ceremonies and in all relationships with France. Education was made universal for all children, which was also conducted in Italian. By decree of the governor Vincenzo Dandolo , this was so even in Istria and Dalmatia, where local populations were more heterogeneous. During its last maximum extension (from 1809 to 1814),

1950-575: The term Romania came to be used to refer to the territory administered by the Exarchate of Ravenna in contrast to other parts of Northern Italy under Lombard rule, named Langobardia or Lombardy . Romagna is traditionally limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to the east, and the rivers Reno and Sillaro to the north and west. To the southeast, the valley formed by

2000-469: The two thrones were to remain separate. The second one, dating from 29 March, regulated the regency, the Great Officials of the kingdom, and the oaths. The most important was the third, proclaimed on 5 June, being the real constitution of the kingdom: Napoleon I was the head of state and had the full powers of government; in his absence, he was represented by the Viceroy, Eugène de Beauharnais. The Consulta, Legislative Council, and Speakers were all merged into

2050-443: Was basically divided in 100 cents, and there were coins of 1 cent (2.1 grams of copper ), 3 cents (6.3 grams of copper), and 10 cents (2 grams of poor silver), but following the tradition, there was a division in 20 soldi , with coins of 1 soldo (10.5 grams of copper, in practice 5 cents), 5 soldi (1.25 grams of silver), 10 soldi (2.5 grams of silver), and 15 soldi (3.75 grams of silver). The army of

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2100-539: Was born on 17 March 1805, when the Italian Republic , whose president was Napoleon Bonaparte, became the Kingdom of Italy, with the same man (now styled Napoleon I) as the new King of Italy and his 24-year-old stepson Eugène de Beauharnais as his viceroy . Napoleon I was crowned at the Milan Cathedral , Milan on 23 May, with the Iron Crown of Lombardy . His title was "Emperor of the French and King of Italy" ( French : Empereur des Français et Roi d'Italie , Italian : Imperatore dei Francesi e Re d'Italia ), showing

2150-479: Was divided among a series of regional lords, such as the Ordelaffi of Forlì or the Malatesta of Rimini, many of them adhering to the Ghibelline party in opposition to the pro-papal Guelphs . This situation started to change in the late-15th century, when after their return to Rome from Avignon in 1378, stronger popes progressively reasserted their authority in the fragmented region. Parts of Romagna were also seized by other powers, including Venice, and most notably

2200-456: Was exiled to Bavaria by the Austrians, who occupied Milan on 28 April. On 26 April, the Empire appointed Annibale Sommariva as Imperial Commissioner of Lombardy, while many taxes were abolished or reduced by the Provisional Regency. Finally, on 25 May, the Supreme Imperial Commissioner Count Heinrich von Bellegarde took all the powers in Lombardy, and former monarchies in Modena, Romagna and Piedmont were gradually re-established; on 30 May,

2250-411: Was firstly drawn by a law on 8 June 1805. The state was divided, following the French system, in 14 départements , the twelve ones inherited from the republican era plus Adda ( Sondrio ) and Adige ( Verona ). The chief of the department, the prefect , was the State's representative in each province, improved the administrative decisions of the central government, controlled the local authorities, led of

2300-467: Was founded in southern Romagna in 268 BC, alongside the construction of the Via Flaminia , running from Rome to Ariminum . Rome was further strengthened by their victory over Celtic tribes at the Battle of Telamon in 225 BC, leading to the Roman hegemony over the new Roman Province of Cisalpine Gaul centred at Mutina (modern Modena ). After the Second Punic War , the pro- Carthaginian Lingones and Senoni were expelled. To consolidate

2350-405: Was fuelled by the Mazzinian propaganda and the direct action of Giuseppe Garibaldi . Men like Felice Orsini , Piero Maroncelli and Aurelio Saffi were among the protagonists of the Italian Risorgimento . However, after joining the unification of Italy in 1860, Romagna was not awarded separate status by the Savoy monarchs, who were afraid of dangerous destabilizing tendencies in the wake of

2400-410: Was in the eighth, Aemilia . Towards the end of the 3rd century, Diocletian reordered the Empire into four prefectures , each divided into dioceses , which in turn were divided into provinces . Under the new system, Italy was demoted to a mere Imperial province. Modern Romagna was organized into the Roman province of Flaminia et Picenum in the diocese of Italia Annonaria . Ravenna, which

2450-419: Was surrounded by swamps and marshes, prospered and steadily rose in importance, and a Roman fleet was based at the city. It had developed into a major port on the Adriatic . However, in 330, the capital of the Empire was transferred to Constantinople , so with the fleet that stationed at Ravenna, thus weakened the coastal defence in the Adriatic . Stepping into the 5th century, the Germanic migrations into

2500-410: Was the District Council, composed by eleven members. The districts were divided, as in France, in cantons , seats of Tax collectors and Justices of the peace . The cantons were divided in comunes . The comunes had a City Council ( Consiglio Comunale ) of fifteen, thirty or forty members, chosen by the king or the prefect depending by the comune size. The Council elected two, four or six Elders for

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