Second Italian War of Independence
The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Sardinian War, the Austro-Sardinian War, the Franco-Austrian War, or the Italian War of 1859, was fought by the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia against the Austrian Empire in 1859 and played a crucial part in the process of Italian Unification.
Napoleon III at the Battle of Solferino, by Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier, oil on canvas, 1863
Battle of Montebello
Garibaldi leads his Hunters of the Alps in the Battle of Varese.
Battle of San Martino
The Second French Empire was an Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the Second and the Third French Republics. The period was one of significant achievements in infrastructure and economy, while France reasserted itself as the dominant power in Europe.
The official declaration of the Second Empire, at the Union Cycliste Internationale on 2 December 1852
The Avenue de l'Opéra, one of the new boulevards created by Napoleon III and Baron Haussmann
The French landing near Yevpatoria, Crimea, then part of the Russian Empire, 1854
Arrival of Marshal Randon in Algiers, French Algeria, 1857