 By 1848, Piedmont was at war with Austria in one of the early events that eventually led to the unification of the Italian peninsula under the rule of Charles Albert's son Victor Emmanuel.The Piedmont region is located in the foothills of the Alps forming its border with France and Switzerland.To the northwest is the Valle d'Aosta, to the east is the province of Lombardy with the Liguria region forming its southern border along the Apennines.