The Treaty of Zurich was signed by the Austrian Empire, the French Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia on 10 November 1859. The agreement was a reaffirmation of the terms of the preliminary peace of Villafranca, which brought the Austro-Sardinian War to an official close. The treaty actually consisted of three separate treaties – a treaty between France and Austria, which reaffirmed the terms of the preliminary peace, re-established peace between the two emperors, and ceded Lombardy to France. A second treaty, between France and Sardinia, saw France cede Lombardy to Sardinia. The third treaty, signed by all three powers, re-established a state of peace between Austria and Sardinia.
In the French-Austrian treaty, both countries agreed to work towards a confederation of Italian states, including Venice, under the honorary presidence of the Pope (art. 18), which never happened.