More on the Battle of Solferino 1859
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) Makes a Stand This is a follow up to the previous Battle of Solferino 1859 post from this blog. Series 2 of the Netflix series The Empress, based upon the life of Empress Elizabeth of Austria ( better known as 'Sisi') ended with the start of the Second Italian War of Independence in 1859. Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, has to fight off the French under Napoleon III and their Italian allies led by Victor Emanuel II of Piedmont from taking the provinces of Lombardy and Venetia, part of the Austrian Empire. Series 3 of The Empress will presumably open with the Battle of Solferino in Lombardy. Technically a French and Piedmontese victory. Yet the horror of the battlefield was one of the factors that led to Napoleon III agreeing a peace treaty with Franz Joseph at Villa Franca, and leaving the campaign. A Swiss observer to the carnage at the...