Britannica Sources used in this answer

How did the Treaty of Campo Formio affect the Republic of Venice?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Napoleon I — French Revolutionary wars *Bonaparte on the Bridge at Arcole, 17 November 1796*, oil on canvas by Antoine-Jean Gros, 1796; in the Versailles Museum.

The Treaty of Campo Formio, signed on October 17, 1797, had a devastating impact on the Republic of Venice, effectively ending its 1,100 years of independence.

Under the terms of the treaty, the territory of the former republic was partitioned. While France gained control of Venice’s Ionian Islands, the city of Venice itself, along with Venetian territories east of the Adige River—including Istria and Dalmatia—was ceded to Austria as compensation for its losses in Lombardy.1

This formal transfer followed the earlier deposition of the last doge, Ludovico Manin, on May 12, 1797, after Napoleon Bonaparte used the pretext of Venetian hostility to dismantle the state's long-standing oligarchy.2