 The First (1848–1849), Second (1859) and Third Italian War of Independence (1866) were fought against the Austrian Empire as part of the process to unify the Italian peninsula.The kingdom of Italy did not participate in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, but the defeat of France and the abdication of French emperor Napoleon III enabled Italy to capture Rome (the city was "de jure" declared the capital of Italy in 1861), the last remnant of the Papal States (ruled by the Catholic church).The military and political protection provided to the Papal States by Napoleon III had until then prevented this.