Kingdom of Italy ( Napoleonic ) The Kingdom of Italy ( ; ) , was a french puppet state founded in Northern Italy by Napoleon I , fully influenced by revolutionary France , that ended with his defeat and fall . It was governed throughout its existence by Napoleon ' s step - son , Eugène de Beauharnais , who served as Viceroy for his step - father . Constitutional statutes . The Kingdom of Italy was born on March 17 , 1805 , when the Italian Republic , whose president was Napoleon Bonaparte , became the " Kingdom of Italy " , with Napoleon I as King of Italy , and the 24 - year - old Eugène de Beauharnais his viceroy . Napoleon I was crowned at the Duomo di Milano , Milan on May 26 , with the Iron Crown of Lombardy . Napoleon I ' s title was " Emperor of the French and King of Italy " ( ) , showing the importance of this Italian Kingdom for him . Even though the republican Constitution was never formally abolished , a series of " Constitutional Statutes " completely altered it . The first one was proclaimed two days after the birth of the kingdom , on March 19 , when the Consulta declared Napoleon as king and established that his sons would succeed him , even if the French and the Italian crowns had to be separated after the Emperor ' s death . The second one , dating from March 29 , and regulated the regency , the Great Officials of the kingdom , and the oaths . The most important was the third , proclaimed on June 5 , being the real constitution of the kingdom : Napoleon was the head of State , and had the full powers of government ; in his absence , he was represented by the Viceroy , Eugène de Beauharnais . The Consulta , Legislative Council , and Speakers , were all merged in a Council of State , whose opinions became only optional and not binding for the king . The Legislative Body , the old parliament , remained in theory , but it never summoned after 1805 ; the Napoleonic code was introduced . The fourth Statute , decided on February 16 , 1806 , indicated Beauharnais as the heir to throne . The fifth and the sixth Statutes , on March 21 , 1808 , separated the Consulta from the Council of State , and renamed it the Senate , with the duty of to informing the king about the wishes of the most important subjects . The seventh Statute , on September 21 , created a new nobility of dukes , counts and barons ; the eighth and the ninth , on March 15 , 1810 , established the annuity for the members of the royal family . In 1812 , a Court of Accounts was added . The government had seven ministers : Territory . Originally , the Kingdom consisted of the territories of the Italian Republic : former Duchy of Milan , Duchy of Mantua , Duchy of Modena , the western part of the Republic of Venice , part of the Papal States in Romagna , and the province of Novara . After the defeat of the Third Coalition and the consequent Treaty of Pressburg , on May 1 , 1806 , the Kingdom was given by Austria the eastern and remaining part of the Venetian territories , including Istria and Dalmatia down to Kotor ( then called Cattaro ) , even if it had to give Massa and Carrara to Elisa Bonaparte ' s Principality of Lucca and Piombino . The Duchy of Guastalla was annexed on May 24 . With the Convention of Fontainebleau with Austria of October 10 , 1807 , Italy ceded Monfalcone to Austria and gained Gradisca , putting the new border on the Isonzo River . The conquered Republic of Ragusa was annexed in spring 1808 by general Marmont . That was the only time in modern history that Ragusa was united to Italy . On April 2 , 1808 , following the dissolution of the Papal States , the Kingdom annexed the present - day Marches . At its maximum extent , the Kingdom had 6 , 700 , 000 inhabitants and was composed by 2 , 155 communes . The final arrangement arrived after the new defeat of Austria : Emperor Napoleon and King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria signed the Treaty of Paris on February 28 , 1810 , deciding an exchange of territories involving Italy too . On rewards in Germany , Bavaria ceded southern Tirol to the Kingdom of Italy , which in its turn ceded Istria and Dalmatia ( with Ragusa ) to France , incorporating the Adriatic territories into newly created the French Illyrian Provinces . Small changes to the borders between Italy and France in Garfagnana and Friuli came in act on August 5 , 1811 . In practice , the Kingdom was a dependency of the French Empire , which exploited its resources to enrich France . The Kingdom served as a theater in Napoleon ' s operations against Austria during the wars of the various coalitions . Trading with the United Kingdom was forbidden . Currency . The kingdom was given a new national currency , replacing the local coins circulating in the country : the Italian lira , of the same size , weight , and metal of the French franc . Mintage being decided by Napoleon with an imperial decree on March 21 , 1806 , the production of the new coins began in 1807 . The monetary unit was the silver lira , which was 5 gram s heavy . There were multiples of £2 ( 10 grams of silver ) and £5 ( 25 grams of silver ) , and precious coins of £20 ( 6 . 45 grams of gold ) and £40 ( 12 . 9 grams of gold ) . The lira was basically divided in 100 cents , and there were coins of 1 cent ( 2 . 1 grams of copper ) , 3 cents ( 6 . 3 grams of copper ) , and 10 cents ( 2 grams of poor silver ) , but following the tradition , there was a division in 20 soldi , with coins of 1 soldo ( 10 . 5 grams of copper , in practice 5 cents ) , 5 soldi ( 1 . 25 grams of silver ) , 10 soldi ( 2 . 5 grams of silver ) , and 15 soldi ( 3 . 75 grams of silver ) . Army . The army of the kingdom , inserted into the " Grande Armée " , took part in all of Napoleon ' s campaigns . In the course of its existence from 1805 to 1814 the " Kingdom of Italy " provided Napoleon I with roughly around 200 , 000 soldiers . < BR > In 1805 Italian troops served on garrison duty along the English Channel , during 1806 - 1807 they took part in the sieges of Kolberg and Danzig and fought in Dalmatia . From 1808 to 1813 whole Italian divisions served in Spain , especially distinguishing themselves under Suchet at Tarragona and Saguntum . < BR > In 1809 Eugène ' s " Army of Italy " formed the right wing of Napoleon I ' s invasion of the Austrian Empire , winning a considerable victory at Raab and having a respectable share in the victory at Wagram . < BR > In 1812 , Eugène de Beauharnais marched 27 , 000 troops of the " Kingdom of Italy " into Russia . The Italian contingent distinguished themselves at Borodino and Maloyaroslavets , receiving the recognition : Only 1 , 000 - 2 , 000 Italians survived the Russian campaign , but they returned with most of their banners secured . In 1813 , Eugène de Beauharnais held out as long as possible against the onslaught of the Austrians " ( Battle of the Mincio ) " and was later forced to sign an armistice in February 1814 . Infantry : Cavalry : Local administration . The administrative system of the Kingdom was firstly drawn by a law on June 8 , 1805 . The state was divided , following the French system , in 14 " départements " , the twelve ones inherited from the republican era plus Adda ( Sondrio ) and Adige ( Verona ) . The chief of the department , the prefect , was the State ' s representative in each province , improved the administrative decisions of the central government , controlled the local authorities , led of the police and , differently from the republican era , had all the executive powers in its territory . The local legislative body was the General Council , composed by the representatives of the communes . The departments were divided in districts , equivalent to the French " arrondissements " . The chief of the district was the vice - prefect , which had similar powers to the prefect , but over a smaller area . The local legislative body was the District Council , composed by eleven members . The districts were divided , as in France , in " cantons " , seats of Tax collectors and Justices of the peace . The cantons were divided in " communes " . The communes had a City Council ( " Consiglio Comunale " ) of fifteen , thirty or forty members , chosen by the king or the prefect depending by the commune size . The Council elected two , four or six Elders for the ordinary administration , helped by a City Secretary . The chief of biggest communes was the royal " Podestà " , when in smaller communes there was a prefectoral Mayor . All the city offices were hold only by owners and traders , and the leadership of the owners was assured . During the kingdom ' s life , the administrative system of the State changed for domestic and international reasons . Following the defeat of Austria and the Treaty of Pressburg , Napoleon annexed to Italy the territory of former Republic of Venice , as announced on March 30 , 1806 , and ratified on May 1 . Seven new departments were created , six in the Venetian mainland , and one in Istria ( Capodistria ) , whereas Dalmatia received special institutions led by the General Provider Mr . Dandolo , and maintained its own laws . On July 14 , 1807 , the government passed a decree that reduced the number of the communes . Following the dissolution of the Papal States , the kingdom was extended along the Adriatic coast , and on April 20 , 1808 , three new departments were established . The final territorial change came in action on June 10 , 1810 , when , as announced by Napoleon on previous May 28 , Italy lost Istria and the never fully incorporated Dalmatia , gaining as reward all the southern Tirol up to the city of Bolzano , creating the 24th and last department : Haut Adige . Language and education . The language used officially in the Kingdom of Italy was the Italian . The French language was used for ceremonies and in all relationships with France . The education system was implemented as universal for all children . During the French rule of the area of Istria and Dalmatia the schools were in Italian , until they were part of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy . The Slovenian Marko Trogrli in his essay " The French school system in French Dalmatia " wrote that " Vincenzo Dandolo , the French governor of Dalmatia as well as Bartolomeo Benincasa , an official from the local ( Dalmatian ) Education Department , published in May 1807 a plan for the Province ' s public education ( " Il piano generale della pubblica istruzione in Dalmazia " ) , which had to be consistent with the education system throughout the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy . . . Instruction was to be in Italian " . List of departments and districts . During its last maximum extension ( from 1809 to 1814 ) , the Kingdom lost Istria / Dalmatia and consisted of 24 departments . Decline and fall . When Napoleon abdicated to both the thrones of France and Italy on April 11 , 1814 , Eugène de Beauharnais was lined up the Mincio River with his army against the German invasion , and he attempted to be crowned king . The Senate of the Kingdom was summoned on April 17 , but the senators showed themselves undecided in that chaotic situation . When a second session of the assembly took place on April 20 , the Milan insurrection foiled the Viceroy ' s plan . In the riots , finance minister Count Giuseppe Prina was massacred by the crowd , and the Great Electors disbanded the Senate and called the Austrian forces to protect the city , while a " Provisional Regency Government " under the presidency of Carlo Verri was appointed . Eugène surrendered on April 23 , and was exiled to Bavaria by the Austrians , who occupied Milan on April 28 . On April 26 , the Empire appointed Annibale Sommariva as " Imperial Commissioner " of Lombardy , while many taxes were abolished or reduced by the Provisional Regency . Finally , on May 25 , the Supreme Imperial Commissioner Count Heinrich von Bellegarde took all the powers in Lombardy , and former monarchies in Modena , Romagna and Piedmont were gradually re - established ; on May 30 , the Treaty of Paris was signed , and the remains of the kingdom were annexed by the Austrian Empire , as announced by Count Bellegarde on June 12 .