Camillo Benso Count of Cavour

Cavour was appointed Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia by King Victor Emmanuel II. He implemented economic reforms, modernized the army, and pursued a policy of diplomatic maneuvering to unify Italy under Piedmontese leadership.

Cavour sent Piedmontese troops to fight alongside Britain and France in the Crimean War. This participation gained Piedmont-Sardinia a seat at the Congress of Paris, where Cavour raised the Italian question, gaining international sympathy for unification.

Cavour secretly met with French Emperor Napoleon III at Plombi

Cavour provoked Austria into declaring war, leading to the Second Italian War of Independence. Franco-Piedmontese forces won key battles at Magenta and Solferino, resulting in the annexation of Lombardy and the unification of central Italian states under Piedmont.

Cavour oversaw the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy under King Victor Emmanuel II, with the first Italian parliament meeting in Turin. He died shortly after, but his diplomatic and political efforts had largely achieved Italian unification.