Victor Emmanuel II
Biography
King of Sardinia from 1849, Victor Emmanuel with his prime minister Cavour allied with France against Austria to gain Lombardy in 1859. Garibaldi handed him the conquered south in 1860, and in 1861 he was proclaimed King of Italy. Venice was added in 1866 and Rome in 1870, which became the capital. He was called the Father of the Fatherland, and the Vittoriano monument in Rome honors him.
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