History of Italy during foreign domination and the unification

The history of Italy in the Early Modern period was partially characterized by foreign domination: until 1797 only the Republic of Venice, the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Papal States remained fully independent. Following the Italian Wars (1494–1559), Italy saw a long period of relative peace, first under Habsburg Spain (1559–1714) and then under Habsburg Austria (1714–1796). During the Napoleonic era, the Kingdom of Italy was a client state of the French Republic (1796–1814). The Congress of Vienna (1814) restored the situation of the late 18th century, which was however quickly overturned by the incipient movement of Italian unification. The Italian Renaissance ended in around 1600, but Italy remained an important centre of Western culture throughout the period. However the economic importance of Italy declined, as the Italian states played little part in the opening up of the New World, or the early stages of the Industrial Revolution.

The Italian Wars saw 65 years of French attacks on the Italian states, starting with Charles VIII's invasion of Naples in 1494. However the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis (1559) saw almost all of Italy fall under the direct or indirect control of the Spanish.

The War of the Spanish Succession saw control of much of Italy pass from Spain to Austria, culminating in the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713. The Spaniards regained Naples and Sicily following the Battle of Bitonto in 1738.

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