Venetia (region) - Italian Era

Italian Era

Venetia remained under Austrian control until the Austro-Prussian war in 1866, when the Kingdom of Italy joined on the Prussian side as it was promised Venetia in exchange for its assistance. Austria offered to sell Venetia to Italy, but the Italians refused, seeing it as a dishonourable act. This caused another southern front for Austria, the Third Italian War of Independence.

Once the wars ended, the Treaty of Vienna ceded the region to neutral France, but left the fortresses under Austrian control for a time. Following protests, the Austrians left and the French ceded it to Italy on 20 October. A controversial referendum – where only 30% of the adult population voted, and did so under heavy Italian pressure there was a 99.99% majority for Italy – was held on 21–22 October and ratified the handover.

Since 1866, Venetia has been a part of Italy except for Friuli and Eastern Veneto during Austrian occupation in World War I and under the Fascist Italian Social Republic from September 1943 to April 1945, when Belluno province and Udine–Gorizia–Trieste provinces were administrated by Nazi Germany even if they formally belonged to the Social Republic.

During 1945–1946, Yugoslav Partisan brigades occupied part of Gorizia and for a month Trieste. The eastern part of the town of Gorizia, together with the upper Isonzo valley and the main part of Carso, were ceded to Yugoslavia in 1947, while Trieste formed the Free Territory of Trieste, only annexed back by Italy in 1954.