Pope Gregory XVI (r. 1831-46) opposed building railways in the Papal State using the expression, "chemins de fer, chemins d'enfer."

The Papal State was subsequently conquered by the more industrialized Piedmont-based Kingdom of Sardinia.

To this day, the peripheral regions of the former Papal State, namely Emilia-Romagna, are left-wing out of historic resentment of the economic and social backwardness of direct papal rule.