1854- Garibaldi returns to Italy, settling on the island of Caprera
1858- January 14: Felice Orsini attempts to assassinate Napoleon III, and in a letter from prison pleads for the emperor to help Italian nationalists
Summer: Cavour meets with Napoleon III in Plombières, and planned war with Austria that would benefit France and Sardinia with land gains,
Cavour then provoked revolutions in Lombardy to incite war with Austria
1859- March: Sardinia battles with France against Austria
June 4: French and Sardinian forces triumph over Austrian army affecting an Austrian withdrawal from Lombardy, later Austria retreats to Venetia
July 11: Napoleon III meets with Franz Joseph (Austria) and backs out of the war. Among other land negotiations, Lombardy will be transferred to Sardinia
November 10: Treaty of Zurich ends conflict in northern Italy for a time; Sardinia occupies some central Italian states
December: Tuscany, Parma, Modena, and some other states join the United Provinces of Central Italy, and seek annexation by Sardinia
1860- March 20: Sardinia annexes central Italian states by giving Nice and Savoy to the French, now only four states......