The creation of the Kingdom of Italy was the result of the efforts by Italian nationalists and monarchists loyal to the House of Savoy to establish a united kingdom encompassing the entire Italian Peninsula. In the context of 1848 liberal revolutions that swept through Europe an unsuccessful war was declared on Austria. Giuseppe Garibaldi popular amongst southern Italians led the Italian republican drive for unification in southern Italy , while the northern Italian monarchy of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia whose government was led by Camillo Benso, conte di Cavour, had the ambition of establishing a united Italian state under its rule. The kingdom successfully challenged Austrian Empire in the Second Italian War of Independence with the help of Napoleon III, liberating the Lombardy-Venetia. In 1866 Victor Emmanuel II aligned the kingdom to Prussia during the Austro-Prussian War waging the Third Italian War of Independence which allowed Italy to annex Venice. In 1870, as France during the disastrous Franco-Prussian War abandoned its positions in Rome, Italy rushed to fill the power gap by taking over the Papal State from French sovereignty. Italian unification finally was achieved, and shortly afterwards Italy’s capital was moved to Rome. Well known as the setting for the story of Romeo and Juliet, historic Verona Italy is a tangle of its storied past and modern industry. One of the most powerful cities during the early rule of the Roman Empire, the old city of Verona is one of the best-preserved sections in the country. Sure, it's an obvious place to begin, but no trip to Italy is complete without viewing the ruins of ancient Rome. The crumbling remains of one of the great Republics in world history, you can see what is left of the victory arches, the decaying roads, the temples that used to command the Roman skyline. Palatine Hill offers a glimpse into how the Emperors once lived, and the Colosseum stands at the apex of the entire city, its once-imposing circular walls still housing the legends of those who fought and died on its arena floor.