Could Italy be unified...

Napoleon could try to take advantage of Italian nationalism and create a united Kingdom of Italy with one of his family as king. Then, he manages to pull off enough of a victory that the Kingdom of Italy remains together.
 
I think Rome did a pretty decent job.

Well, I'm talking about modern Italy...

Napoleon could try to take advantage of Italian nationalism and create a united Kingdom of Italy with one of his family as king. Then, he manages to pull off enough of a victory that the Kingdom of Italy remains together.

Considering that Napoleon III gave support to Sardinia-Piedmont in exchange for Savoy and Nice...
 
You can have someone from either Milan or Florence during the 1500s begin unifying the Italian city states in the north and then head south to expand later on.
 
You can have someone from either Milan or Florence during the 1500s begin unifying the Italian city states in the north and then head south to expand later on.

The biggest challenge would be the Papal States, as unlike OTL, Austria doesn't hold a large portion of Italian lands at this point.

(Then again, in the OTL Risorgimento, the Papal States were also a fairly large hurdle for Cavour...)
 
Considering that Napoleon III gave support to Sardinia-Piedmont in exchange for Savoy and Nice...

I think you have the wrong Napoleon. I'm talking about that one's uncle. The first Napoleon could have easily created a united Italy as a buffer and ally against Austria, like he created the Duchy of Warsaw as an ally against Austria, Russia, and Prussia.

EDIT: Seeing the above posts, the Papal state wouldn't be a problem since it was already conquered. That's another plus for this scenario.
 
I think you have the wrong Napoleon. I'm talking about that one's uncle. The first Napoleon could have easily created a united Italy as a buffer and ally against Austria, like he created the Duchy of Warsaw as an ally against Austria, Russia, and Prussia.

EDIT: Seeing the above posts, the Papal state wouldn't be a problem since it was already conquered. That's another plus for this scenario.

I know, I was just pointing out that the nephew helped do something the uncle ultimately failed to do.
 
I think Borgia controlled Italy would be cool. Cesare Borgia was not that good of a statesman and was more likely to fuck things up. Machiavelli really was mislead by him. But lets say Cesare Borgia actually is able to pull off his scheme to rule Italy, he was greatly favored by the French and friends with Spain at the same time. Perhaps he could could pull it off.
 
Milan actually managed to conquer most of Northern Italy, except for Venice, under the rule of Gian Galeazzo Visconti. The incompetence of his successors led to the weakening of the Duchy and, indirectly, to the French overtaking of the peninsula. Maybe, if Giovanni Maria and Filippo Maria are not so mediocre, Milan could stay independent from foreign domination, becoming the Venice of this timeline. Maybe, if the loose alliance between the peninsular states manages to survive Lorenzo de' Medici (whose family will eventually have dynastical links with the Sforza), Italy as a whole would be free from foreign rule and later become a sort of confederation. The italian states were by far the most culturally and economically advanced nations in Europe, but they fell because of military reasons: the fragmentation of the peninsula in various, often warring states did not allow the creation of great armies, and when they were present, they were often mercenary armies.
 
I wrote a timeline in which it was unified by Lombardy-Venetia which had been spun off by Vienna as a client state.

Most things are possible if you create the timeline carefully enough

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
You can have someone from either Milan or Florence during the 1500s begin unifying the Italian city states in the north and then head south to expand later on.

Perhaps a Florence-Papal States alliance that conquers the rest of North and Central Italy. After all, the Papal States would have been one of the bigger hurdles for any aspiring Italian unificator; better to have them on your side, if not the leading figure of it all.
Hell, with Cesare Borgia, you got someone halfway there already.
 
I've always had a soft spot for Gian Galeazzo Visconti. One of these days I may have to actually get around to writing up a timeline where he manages to leave a stronger and better organised state to his successors and Italy develops into a five power nation split between Milan, Sardinia-Piedmont, and Venice in the north with the Papal States in the middle and Sicily in the south. That I think could lead to some real fun. :)
 
I've always had a soft spot for Gian Galeazzo Visconti. One of these days I may have to actually get around to writing up a timeline where he manages to leave a stronger and better organised state to his successors and Italy develops into a five power nation split between Milan, Sardinia-Piedmont, and Venice in the north with the Papal States in the middle and Sicily in the south. That I think could lead to some real fun. :)

I think a 1399 start as Milan in EU3 could help a lot... :D
 
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