something I came across during my research is that Victor Amadeus, Duke of Savoy and the first king of Sardinia, was floated as a possible match for Maria Antonina of Austria, heiress to Charles II, last Habsburg king of Spain. So let's say the marriage went through and when Charles is on his deathbed Victor Amadeus and his wife have a son as the legally acknowledged heir....
Now neither France nor Austria are likely to accept a unilateral inheritance. OTL Maria Antoninas son by the elector Maximilian of Bavaria, Joseph Ferdinand, was acknowledged heir to spain by England and France, while the Bourbons were promised Naples and Austria Milan. Even this is unworkable as neither Austria nor spain intend to allow this, notably the Austrians tried to claim the spanish throne unsuccessfully despite their british allies refusing to endorse it. Still the Savoy have a strong claim and interest.
So what's the outcome here? Let's say for example that the powers agree to a compromise, and hammer out a deal like they did at the Hague- the Savoy inherit (could it be a Maria Theresa situation, where the house is known as Habsburg-Savoy?) at least Milan, Spain and Sardinia and probably Sicily too, the bourbons get Naples. Austria won't want the netherlands and britain won't want France to have it, and I can see the Savoy ceding it to fend off French claims in Italy (Savoy proper and or Nice); maybe as a compromise the Wittelsbachs swap it for Bavaria, and we get a bourbon wittelsbach match.
Of course if VE gets Spain and the Italian territories that could give Italian unification a big leg up as thats a big chunk of the peninsula under one ruler- Piedmont, Milan, Sardinia, and both sicilies plus Finale and thrle Praesidium. All that's left is Tuscany, Venice, Papal states and a couple minors (Mantua, Genoa, Lucca, Modena, Parma).
Now neither France nor Austria are likely to accept a unilateral inheritance. OTL Maria Antoninas son by the elector Maximilian of Bavaria, Joseph Ferdinand, was acknowledged heir to spain by England and France, while the Bourbons were promised Naples and Austria Milan. Even this is unworkable as neither Austria nor spain intend to allow this, notably the Austrians tried to claim the spanish throne unsuccessfully despite their british allies refusing to endorse it. Still the Savoy have a strong claim and interest.
So what's the outcome here? Let's say for example that the powers agree to a compromise, and hammer out a deal like they did at the Hague- the Savoy inherit (could it be a Maria Theresa situation, where the house is known as Habsburg-Savoy?) at least Milan, Spain and Sardinia and probably Sicily too, the bourbons get Naples. Austria won't want the netherlands and britain won't want France to have it, and I can see the Savoy ceding it to fend off French claims in Italy (Savoy proper and or Nice); maybe as a compromise the Wittelsbachs swap it for Bavaria, and we get a bourbon wittelsbach match.
Of course if VE gets Spain and the Italian territories that could give Italian unification a big leg up as thats a big chunk of the peninsula under one ruler- Piedmont, Milan, Sardinia, and both sicilies plus Finale and thrle Praesidium. All that's left is Tuscany, Venice, Papal states and a couple minors (Mantua, Genoa, Lucca, Modena, Parma).