 On 17 March 1861 the Kingdom of Italy was officially established and Victor Emmanuel II became its king.Victor Emmanuel supported Giuseppe Garibaldi's Expedition of the Thousand (1860–1861), which resulted in the rapid fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in southern Italy.However, the king halted Garibaldi when he appeared ready to attack Rome, still under the Papal States, as it was under French protection.