Atlas of Battles

battle, major, nineteenth century

Capture of Rome

Capture of Rome was a battle fought in 1870 at Rome, in what is now Italy. Its exact site is not recorded; the atlas places it at Rome. It was part of Unification of Italy, which ran from 1815 to 1871. Recorded strength: 50,000 against 13,157.

See it on the globe Read the article

Fought1870
WhereRome, Italy41.893N, 12.483E, placed at the location, approximate
OutcomeItalian victory; Fall of the Papal States; End of the temporal power of the Holy See; Onset of the "Prisoner in the Vatican" period of the Holy See; Completion of the Italian unification; Rome becomes the capital of Italy
BelligerentsKingdom of ItalyagainstPapal States
Casualties and losses49 killed; 132 woundedand19 killed; 68 wounded
Part ofUnification of Italy1815 to 1871

Where it sits in Unification of Italy

Battle of Volturnus, 1860Battle of Calatafimi, 1860Battle of Milazzo, 1860Battaglia di Piazza Duomo, 1860Battle of Caiazzo, 1860Battle of Aspromonte, 1862Capture of Rome, 187018601870Capture of Rome, 1870
7 placed engagements of Unification of Italy in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date1870 (year precision)
PlaceRome, Italy
41.893N, 12.483E
KindBattle, nineteenth century
Territorial changeAnnexation of Rome and Lazio by the Kingdom of Italy
Strength50,00013,157
Casualties and losses49 killed; 132 wounded19 killed; 68 wounded
Commanders
  • Victor Emmanuel II
  • Raffaele Cadorna
  • Pope Pius IX
  • Hermann Kanzler
Capture of RomeCapture of RomeSack of RomeSiege of RomeSiege of RomeSiege of the Capitoline HillSiege of RomeSack of RomeNaplesPescaraL'AquilaCivitavecchiaCasertaCampobasso100 km41.893N, 12.483E
Placed at Rome; the exact site is not recorded. with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Capture of Rome
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Capture of Rome today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-08-23. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 51 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 2 to 147 m, 145 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 69% built-up, 26% tree cover, 2% grassland.

built-up: 69%tree cover: 26%grassland: 2%built-up 69%tree cover 26%grassland 2%
west to east, 10.0 km6 to 90 mnorth to south, 10.0 km7 to 70 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1870

Capture of Rome is one of 3,507 engagements of the 19th century in the atlas and one of 942 in present-day Italy.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q2604547, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Capture of Rome, revision 1383363045, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.