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Government in Exile

When: 1861
Where: Rome
Part of: Siege of Gaeta ends with Piedmontese capture and exile of Francis II

Francis II established a government in exile in Rome, recognized by several Catholic powers, after his deposition.

After being deposed, Francis II and his wife Maria Sophie lived in Rome as guests of the Pope. They maintained a government in exile that was recognized by Catholic powers including France, Spain, Austria-Hungary, and Bavaria, preserving the symbolic continuity of the Bourbon dynasty despite the loss of territory.

Sources

Francis II of the Two Sicilies Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-29

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.