Historedia
EuropeEvent

Armistice of Villafranca and Treaty of Zürich end the Austro-Sardinian War

When
1859
Where
Villafranca; Zürich
Episodes
2

The Armistice of Villafranca, signed by Napoleon III and Franz Joseph I on July 11, 1859, initiated the end of the Austro-Sardinian War. It was formalized by the Treaty of Zürich on November 10, 1859, which reaffirmed preliminary terms, ceded Lombardy to France and then Sardinia, and re-established peace between Austria and Sardinia.

Episodes

  1. 11 July 1859 · VillafrancaSigning of the Armistice

    Napoleon III and Franz Joseph I concluded the armistice at Villafranca on July 11, 1859, setting the stage for the war's end.

  2. 10 November 1859 · ZürichTreaty of Zürich

    The Treaty of Zürich reaffirmed the Villafranca terms, officially closing the Austro-Sardinian War on November 10, 1859.

Background and detail

Background. The conflict arose from the Plombières Agreement and the Sardinian-French alliance. Austria issued an ultimatum in April 1859, leading to war. Following victories at Magenta and Solferino, France decided unilaterally to conclude peace because of the danger of the conflict spreading to Central Europe; Prussia had meanwhile mobilized army corps along the Rhine. The resulting armistice was viewed by Cavour as a violation of the alliance.

Armistice Terms. The armistice was concluded on July 11, 1859, at Villafranca. Napoleon III proposed peace to Franz Joseph, who agreed after ensuring Austrian retention of the Quadrilatero fortresses and Mantua. The agreement stipulated the restoration of Central Italian rulers, though arms could be used for this purpose, and excluded constitutional changes for Tuscany and Modena.

Treaty Confirmation. The Treaty of Zürich, signed on November 10, 1859, formalized the armistice. It consisted of three treaties: France-Austria reaffirmed terms and ceded Lombardy to France; France-Sardinia saw France cede Lombardy to Sardinia; and a tripartite treaty re-established peace between Austria and Sardinia.

People involved

Sources

  1. Armistice of Villafranca Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-19
  2. Treaty of Zürich Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-08
  3. Second Italian War of Independence Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-01

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.