The King of Piedmont-Sardinia would respond by graciously declining the appeal in the terms in which it was put, but he would nevertheless send a menacing communication to Francis V of Modena. The communication would be seen as interference in the Austrian sphere of influence and would provoke outrage in Vienna: Austria's response would be correspondingly provocative. Piedmont-Sardinia would then find itself obliged to occupy militarily Massa, a coastal city and an important port belonging to the Duchy of Modena, by which time a wider war with Austria would have been triggered.[1][2]