Ebumelwaneni bam kukho isitalato ekuthiwa UVictor Manuel II kwaye kuba ndinomdla kwaye ndilithanda kakhulu ibali, bendiphanda ukuba ngubani umphathi weli gama kwaye kutheni kufanelekile isitalato. Inyani yile yokuba uVictor Manuel wayengukumkani wokugqibela waseSardinia kunye ukumkani wokuqala wase-Itali. Wayengunyana kaMaría Teresa de Habsburgo-Lorena noCarlos Alberto I, ukumkani wasePiedmont-Sardinia, kwaye wazalwa nge-14 Matshi 1820 kwisixeko saseTurin.
Utata wakhe wamanyanisa ubukumkani basePiedmont naseSardinia kwaye yayilithuba lakhe lokuba aye kulwa neAustria ngo-1848, ababengabalawuli basemantla e-Itali. Waphulukana, kodwa kunyaka olandelayo wathweswa isithsaba senkosi xa utata wakhe warhoxa. Phantsi kolawulo lwakhe, uBukumkani basePiedmont bakhula phantse bahlala kuyo yonke i-Itali kwaye ngale ndlela ulindelo ekudala lulindelwe kunye nolangazelelo lomanyano lwaphumelela. Ke, uVictor Manuel II waba ngukumkani wokuqala wase-Itali. Phakathi kweenjongo zikarhulumente wakhe yayikukunciphisa igunya leCawa yamaKatolika, ngenxa yoko wagqibela ngokuhlasela iRoma kwaye wanyanzela uPopu Pius IX ukuba abalekele kwisiXeko saseVatican. Wathatha inxaxheba kwiMfazwe yaseCrimea kwicala laseFransi naseNgilani kunye neRashiya ukufumana inkxaso yamazwe omabini kwaye waphumelela, evumela uNice noSavoy eFransi nje ngokuba iFransi yamxhasa ukuba anqobe iLombardy neVeneto.
Kodwa izinto azipheli kakuhle kwaye ngenxa yezo zinto zopolitiko kunye nemfihlo, uVictor Manuel wahlala neLombardy kodwa ingingqi yaseVeneto yahlala ezandleni zase-Austrian okwethutyana. I-Italiya imanyene phakathi kwe-1861 kunye ne-1870: emantla nguVictor Manuel kunye nasezantsi nguGaribaldi. Ngo-1871 iRoma yaba likomkhulu kwaye inkqubo yokumanyana yaphela. UVictor Manuel wayenabantwana abane nomzala wakhe, amantombazana amabini kunye namakhwenkwe amabini. Omnye yayinguKumkanikazi wasePortugal omnye umfazi kaJosé Napoleón, kwaye ebantwaneni omnye yayinguKumkani wase-Itali omnye enguKumkani waseSpain iminyaka emithathu emifutshane.