Naval superiority becomes Italy's route to Trieste

The naval campaign belongs to the unfinished project of Italian unification and the Prussian challenge to Austria. The Italian-Prussian alliance joins two state-building projects, each dominated by the kingdom leading the unification effort. Italy plans to use its larger navy while its armies engage Austria on land, carrying pressure along the Dalmatian coast toward Trieste. This strategic purpose explains why political leaders expect the fleet to produce results before it has become an integrated institution.