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Why did Austria lose Lombardy and Venetia during Italian unification?

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Stone ruins of Habsburg Castle, also known as Habichtsburg, stand on a hill above green vineyards in Aargau canton, Switzerland, with a flag flying atop the tower. — House of Habsburg Ruins of the castle of Habsburg, or Habichtsburg (“Hawk's Castle”), built 1020, the original seat of the house of Habsburg, Aargau canton, Switzerland.

The loss of Lombardy and Venetia by the House of Habsburg was a direct consequence of the Risorgimento, the 19th-century movement for Italian unification.

Loss of Lombardy

During the Second Italian War of Independence (1859), Piedmont formed an alliance with France to challenge Austrian control in northern Italy. Following military defeats at the Battle of Magenta and the Battle of Solferino, the Austrian emperor, Francis Joseph I, met with Napoleon III at the Conference of Villafranca. Under the resulting peace terms, Austria ceded Lombardy to France, which subsequently transferred the territory to Piedmont.12

Loss of Venetia

While Lombardy was lost in 1859, Venetia remained under Austrian control for several more years. It was not until 1866 that Venetia was finally incorporated into the newly formed Kingdom of Italy, marking a final step in the unification process.34

The decline of Habsburg influence in these regions reflected the broader success of Italian nationalist forces in ending foreign domination and consolidating the peninsula under the leadership of the House of Savoy.4