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Why did Otto von Bismarck form an alliance with Italy before the Seven Weeks’ War?

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Otto von Bismarck in military uniform and cap, with a mustache, facing slightly to the side in a black-and-white portrait taken around 1880. — Otto von Bismarck Otto von Bismarck.

Otto von Bismarck formed an alliance with Italy prior to the Seven Weeks’ War primarily to gain a strategic military advantage against the Habsburg empire. By securing Italian participation in the conflict, Bismarck intended to force Austria to divert a significant portion of its military forces to the south, thereby weakening its position against Prussia in the main theater of war.12

As part of the agreement, Bismarck promised that Italy would receive Venetia as a reward for its involvement. This alliance was a calculated move in Bismarck’s broader strategy to challenge Austria for hegemony within the German Confederation and facilitate the unification of Germany under Prussian leadership.21