

France, Napoleon I Bonaparte. Bronze medal commemorating the union of Venice with Italy, 1805/1806, Denon, Bramsen 460, Bronze 40 mm, weight 34,14 g., Condition aUNC, beautiful brown patina with luster.
The Kingdom of Italy (Italian: Regno d'Italia) - a historic state with its capital in Milan, located in the northern and central part of present-day Italy, created in 1805 by Napoleon Bonaparte to replace the Italian Republic, founded three years earlier. In doing so, Napoleon crowned himself king of this state, while he made Eugène de Beauharnais his deputy (viceroy). The state initially encompassed the territory that comprised the Italian Republic, after which its territory was expanded to include the Veneto in 1806, the Marche in 1808 and the Alto Adige in 1810. At its peak, it covered an area of 84,000 km² and had a population of 6.7 million. It ceased to exist in 1814, shortly after Napoleon Bonaparte's abdication in France (source: wikipedia).
On December 26, 1805, after the defeat of the Third Anti-French Coalition, the Peace of Prešburg was signed. After the smashing of the Austrian armies at Ulm and Austerlitz, the Austrian Empire faced the threat of total annihilation. Under peace negotiations, Austria lost Venice, Istria and Dalmatia to Italy (the title of King of Italy was held by Napoleon Bonaparte at the time), but retained its sovereignty.