11 - The Papacy, Reform and Intervention

Summary

In contrast to the largely critical historiography on the Italian portion of the system established at the Congress of Vienna, this chapter argues that most Italians were happy to see the establishment of a Habsburg hegemony, in part as the main driver for reform within the peninsula. Moreover, the major European powers welcomed the Austrians as guarantors of stability in a traditionally contested area, where unrest or international rivalry risked triggering European war. Confronted with Catholic majorities or significant Catholic minorities in most major European states, it was considered crucial within the new climate of collective security to defend the Papacy, while simultaneously encouraging successive Popes to forestall domestic unrest through adopting more progressive politics. The Vienna Settlement in Italy should not be viewed teleologically as a failure, but rather as yet another example of cooperation between states.