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The History and Culture of Italy

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Published: Mar 1, 2019

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A Brief Look at Italy's History of Division

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The history of Italy is characterized by two periods of unity—the Roman Empire (27 BCE–476 CE) and the modern democratic republic formed after the end of World War II. Between those two periods may have been a millennium and a half of division and disruption, but that disruption saw one of the world's great flowering of art, the Renaissance (circa 1400–1600 CE).

Italy, sitting in southwestern Europe, is comprised largely of a boot-shaped peninsula that extends out into the Mediterranean, as well as a region on the core landmass of the continent. It is bordered by Switzerland and Austria to the north, Slovenia and the Adriatic Sea to the east, France and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west, and the Ionian Sea and the Mediterranean to the south. Italy also includes the islands of Sicily and Sardinia.

Roman Empire

Between the sixth to third centuries BCE, the Italian city of Rome conquered Peninsular Italy; over the next few centuries, this empire spread to dominate the Mediterranean and Western Europe. The Roman Empire would go on to define much of Europe's history, leaving a mark on culture and society that outlasted the military and political machinations of its leadership.

After the Italian part of the Roman Empire declined and “fell” in the fifth century (an event no one at the time realized was so significant), Italy was the target of several invasions. The previously united region broke apart into several smaller bodies, including the Papal States , governed by the Catholic Pope.

Renaissance and the Kingdom of Italy

By the eighth and ninth centuries, a number of powerful and trading-oriented city-states emerged, including Florence, Venice , and Genoa; these were the forces that incubated the Renaissance. Italy and its smaller states also went through stages of foreign domination. These smaller states were the fertile grounds of the Renaissance, which changed Europe massively once more and owed a lot to the competing states trying to outspend each other on glorious art and architecture.

Unification and independence movements throughout Italy developed ever stronger voices in the 19th century after Napoleon created the short-lived Kingdom of Italy. A war between Austria and France in 1859 allowed several small states to merge with Piedmont; a tipping point had been reached and the Kingdom of Italy was formed in 1861, growing by 1870—when the Papal States joined—to cover almost all of what we now call Italy.

Mussolini and Modern Italy

The Kingdom of Italy was subverted when Mussolini took power as a fascist dictator, and although he was initially skeptical of German dictator Adolf Hitler, Mussolini took Italy into World War II rather than risk losing out on what he perceived as a land grab. That choice caused his downfall. Modern Italy is now a democratic republic and has been since the modern constitution came into effect in 1948. This followed a referendum in 1946, which voted to abolish the previous monarchy by 12.7 million to 10.7 million votes.

Julius Caesar c. 100 BCE–44 BCE

A great general and statesman, Julius Caesar won a civil war to become both sole ruler of the extensive Roman domains and dictator for life, setting in motion a process of transformation that led to the creation of the Roman Empire. He was assassinated by enemies and is arguably the most famous ancient Roman.

Giuseppe Garibaldi 1807–1882

After exile in South America, forced upon him because of his role in an attempted republican revolution, Guiseppi Garibaldi commanded forces in several Italian conflicts of the 19th century. He played an important role in Italian unification when he and his volunteer army of “Redshirts” captured Sicily and Naples and allowed them to join the Kingdom of Italy. Although Garibaldi fell out with the new king, in 1862, he was offered a command in the U.S. Civil War by President Abraham Lincoln. That never occurred because Lincoln wouldn't agree to abolish slavery at that early date.

Benito Mussolini 1883–1945

Mussolini became the youngest-ever prime minister of Italy in 1922, using his fascist organization of “Blackshirts” to propel him to power. He transformed the office into a dictatorship and allied with Hitler’s Germany, but was forced to flee when World War II turned Italy against him. He was captured and executed.

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A History of Italy in Brief

Italian history.

In many ways, the history of Italy is the history of the modern world. So many pivotal moments in our collective past have taken place in Italy that it can be considered Europe’s historical keystone. In this section, learn about the great and not so great moments in Italian history, from the grandeur of Rome to the Renaissance , the Risorgimento and the battlefields of World War II .

Brief History of Italy

By 500 BC, a number of peoples of different ethnicity and origin shared Italy. Small Greek colonies dotted the southern coast and the island of Sicily. Gauls, ancestors of today’s modern French, roamed the mountainous north. While the Etruscans, a group originally hailing from somewhere in western Turkey, settled in central Italy, establishing a number of city-states, including what is now modern-day Bologna. Little is known about the Etruscans except that they thrived for a time, creating a civilization that would pass down a fondness for bold architecture (stone arches, paved streets, aqueducts, sewers) to its successor, Rome.

According to legend, Rome was founded on April 21, 753 BC by Romulus and Remus, twin brothers who claimed to be sons of the war god Mars and to have been raised as infants by a she-wolf. Romulus saw himself as a descendant of the defeated army of Troy, and wanted Rome to inherit the mantle of that ancient city, if not surpass it. When Remus laughed at the notion, Romulus killed his brother and declared himself the first king of Rome.

Rome went through seven kings until 509 BC when the last king was overthrown and the Roman Republic was formed. Rome then came to be ruled by two elected officials (known as consuls), a Senate made up of wealthy aristocrats (known as patricians), and a lower assembly that represented the common people (plebeians) and had limited power. This format of government worked well at first, but as Rome expanded beyond a mere city-state to take over territory not just in Italy, but overseas as well, the system of government came under severe strain.

By the First Century BC, Rome was in crisis. Spartacus, a slave, led the common people in a revolt against the rule of the aristocratic patricians. Rome was able to put down the rebellion, but at great cost, as the Republic dissolved into a series of military dictatorships that ended with the assassination of Julius Caesar.

In 29 BC, after a long power struggle, Julius Caesar’s nephew, Octavius, seized power and declared himself Emperor Augustus . The Roman Empire was born. For the next two hundred years, Rome thrived, ruling over a vast territory stretching from Britain and the Atlantic coast of Europe in the north and west to North Africa and the Middle East in the south and east.

This Pax Romana , a time of peace, ended in 180 AD with the death of Marcus Aurelius . A combination of economic problems, barbarian invasions, domestic instability, and territorial rebellions, combined with a lack of strong leadership, resulted in the slow and gradual decline of Rome. In 380 AD, after three hundred years of persecution, Christianity became the one and only official religion. By the end of the Fourth Century AD, the Roman Empire split into two. The East, based out of the newly-built capital of Constantinople, in what is now Turkey, thrived, eventually becoming the long-lasting Byzantine Empire. Rome, capital of the West, continued to decline.

In 410 AD, Rome itself was sacked by barbarian hordes. The Eastern Empire invaded but failed to restore order and had to withdraw. The Roman Empire in the West completely collapsed by the end of the 5th AD century. For the next thousand years, Italy once again became a patchwork of city-states , with Rome, home to the Catholic Church, being the most powerful. This long period of quiet stagnation was known as the Dark Ages.

Prosperity did not return to Italy again until the 14th Century, when city-states such as Florence, Milan, Pisa, Genoa, and Venice became centers of trade. The influx of wealth and increased trade contact with foreign lands, transformed Italy into Europe’s premier center of culture. Funded by wealthy patrons, figures such as Leonardo Da Vinci , Michelangelo , Dante , Machiavell i, and Galileo, among others, revolutionized the fields of art, literature, politics, and science. Italian explorers, such as Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus, introduced Italy and Europe to the rest of the world.

Italy remained a center of power until the 16th century, when trade routes shifted away from the Mediterranean and the Protestant Reformation resulted in the Catholic Church, which was based in Rome, losing influence over much of Northern Europe. Weakened, the various Italian city-states became vulnerable to conquest by Spain, France, and Austria. Italy remained a patchwork of principalities controlled through proxy by various European powers until the 19th century, when the French leader Napoleon supported the unification of Italy as a way of creating a buffer state against his many enemies. With the backing of France, Italian nationalist Giuseppe Garibaldi led a popular movement that took over much of Italy in 1861 and would be ending in 1870 with the fall of Rome and complete unification of the country.

Plagued by internal political divisions and with an economy devastated by war, the new Kingdom of Italy was no Roman Empire. In 1919, frustrated that Italy had received few gains despite having been a victor in the First World War , a politician named Benito Mussolini launched a movement that called for the restoration of Italy as a great power. In 1922, impatient with electoral politics, Mussolini led his supporters, known as Fascists, on a march on Rome to seize power directly through a coup. Spooked, the Italian king did not put up a fight and allowed Mussolini to become supreme ruler of Italy.

Mussolini spent the next twenty years consolidating power and building up the Italian economy, but he never gave up on the idea of restoring Italy as a great power. Calling himself “Il Duce” (meaning Leader), Mussolini dreamed of leading a new Roman Empire. In the 1930s, he indulged his dreams of conquest, by invading Ethiopia and Albania. When the Second World War broke out, Italy remained neutral at first. However, once it appeared through the Fall of France that Germany would win, Mussolini eagerly joined Hitler, a fellow Fascist and longtime ally, in the war effort and rushed to invade Greece, the Balkans, and North Africa. Overextended and unprepared for such a large-scale effort, Italy quickly found that it could not maintain its military position and had to ask Germany for help. Before long, Mussolini saw himself losing control of North Africa, the Mediterranean, and eventually his very own country to the Allies. Fleeing Rome, Mussolini tried to set up a puppet state in Northern Italy but failed. Abandoned by a disgusted Hitler, Il Duce and his mistress were captured and executed by Italian partisans.

After the Second World War, Italy abolished the monarchy and declared itself a republic. With the strong support of the United States, Italy rebuilt its economy through loans from the Marshall Plan, joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization , and became a strong supporter of what is now the European Union. Today, Italy is one of the most prosperous and democratic nations in Europe.

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Ancient Rome

By: History.com Editors

Updated: September 22, 2023 | Original: October 14, 2009

Beginning in the eighth century B.C., Ancient Rome grew from a small town on central Italy’s Tiber River into an empire that at its peak encompassed most of continental Europe, Britain, much of western Asia, northern Africa and the Mediterranean islands. Among the many legacies of Roman dominance are the widespread use of the Romance languages (Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian) derived from Latin, the modern Western alphabet and calendar and the emergence of Christianity as a major world religion.

After 450 years as a republic, Rome became an empire in the wake of Julius Caesar’s rise and fall in the first century B.C. The long and triumphant reign of its first emperor, Augustus, began a golden age of peace and prosperity; by contrast, the Roman Empire’s decline and fall by the fifth century A.D. was one of the most dramatic implosions in the history of human civilization.

Origins of Rome

As legend has it, Rome was founded in 753 B.C. by Romulus and Remus, twin sons of Mars, the god of war. Left to drown in a basket on the Tiber by a king of nearby Alba Longa and rescued by a she-wolf, the twins lived to defeat that king and found their own city on the river’s banks in 753 B.C. After killing his brother, Romulus became the first king of Rome, which is named for him.

A line of Sabine, Latin and Etruscan (earlier Italian civilizations) kings followed in a non-hereditary succession. There are seven legendary kings of Rome: Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Martius, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (Tarquin the Elder), Servius Tullius and Tarquinius Superbus, or Tarquin the Proud (534-510 B.C.). While they were referred to as “Rex,” or “King” in Latin, all the kings after Romulus were elected by the senate.

Did you know? Four decades after Constantine made Christianity Rome's official religion, Emperor Julian—known as the Apostate—tried to revive the pagan cults and temples of the past, but the process was reversed after his death, and Julian was the last pagan emperor of Rome.

Rome’s era as a monarchy ended in 509 B.C. with the overthrow of its seventh king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, whom ancient historians portrayed as cruel and tyrannical, compared to his benevolent predecessors. A popular uprising was said to have arisen over the rape of a virtuous noblewoman, Lucretia, by the king’s son. Whatever the cause, Rome turned from a monarchy into a republic, a world derived from res publica , or “property of the people.”

Rome was built on seven hills, known as “the seven hills of Rome”—Esquiline Hill, Palatine Hill, Aventine Hill, Capitoline Hill, Quirinal Hill, Viminal Hill and Caelian Hill.

The Early Republic

The power of the monarch passed to two annually elected magistrates called consuls. They also served as commanders in chief of the army. The magistrates, though elected by the people, were drawn largely from the Senate, which was dominated by the patricians, or the descendants of the original senators from the time of Romulus. Politics in the early republic was marked by the long struggle between patricians and plebeians (the common people), who eventually attained some political power through years of concessions from patricians, including their own political bodies, the tribunes, which could initiate or veto legislation.

In 450 B.C., the first Roman law code was inscribed on 12 bronze tablets–known as the Twelve Tables–and publicly displayed in the Roman Forum . These laws included issues of legal procedure, civil rights and property rights and provided the basis for all future Roman civil law. By around 300 B.C., real political power in Rome was centered in the Senate, which at the time included only members of patrician and wealthy plebeian families.

Military Expansion

During the early republic, the Roman state grew exponentially in both size and power. Though the Gauls sacked and burned Rome in 390 B.C., the Romans rebounded under the leadership of the military hero Camillus, eventually gaining control of the entire Italian peninsula by 264 B.C. Rome then fought a series of wars known as the Punic Wars with Carthage, a powerful city-state in northern Africa.

The first two Punic Wars ended with Rome in full control of Sicily, the western Mediterranean and much of Spain. In the Third Punic War (149–146 B.C.), the Romans captured and destroyed the city of Carthage and sold its surviving inhabitants into slavery, making a section of northern Africa a Roman province. At the same time, Rome also spread its influence east, defeating King Philip V of Macedonia in the Macedonian Wars and turning his kingdom into another Roman province.

Rome’s military conquests led directly to its cultural growth as a society, as the Romans benefited greatly from contact with such advanced cultures as the Greeks. The first Roman literature appeared around 240 B.C., with translations of Greek classics into Latin; Romans would eventually adopt much of Greek art, philosophy and religion.

Internal Struggles in the Late Republic

Rome’s complex political institutions began to crumble under the weight of the growing empire, ushering in an era of internal turmoil and violence. The gap between rich and poor widened as wealthy landowners drove small farmers from public land, while access to government was increasingly limited to the more privileged classes. Attempts to address these social problems, such as the reform movements of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus (in 133 B.C. and 123-22 B.C., respectively) ended in the reformers’ deaths at the hands of their opponents.

Gaius Marius, a commoner whose military prowess elevated him to the position of consul (for the first of six terms) in 107 B.C., was the first of a series of warlords who would dominate Rome during the late republic. By 91 B.C., Marius was struggling against attacks by his opponents, including his fellow general Sulla, who emerged as military dictator around 82 B.C. After Sulla retired, one of his former supporters, Pompey, briefly served as consul before waging successful military campaigns against pirates in the Mediterranean and the forces of Mithridates in Asia. During this same period, Marcus Tullius Cicero , elected consul in 63 B.C., famously defeated the conspiracy of the patrician Cataline and won a reputation as one of Rome’s greatest orators.

Julius Caesar’s Rise

When the victorious Pompey returned to Rome, he formed an uneasy alliance known as the First Triumvirate with the wealthy Marcus Licinius Crassus (who suppressed a slave rebellion led by Spartacus in 71 B.C.) and another rising star in Roman politics: Gaius Julius Caesar . After earning military glory in Spain, Caesar returned to Rome to vie for the consulship in 59 B.C. From his alliance with Pompey and Crassus, Caesar received the governorship of three wealthy provinces in Gaul beginning in 58 B.C.; he then set about conquering the rest of the region for Rome.

After Pompey’s wife Julia (Caesar’s daughter) died in 54 B.C. and Crassus was killed in battle against Parthia (present-day Iran) the following year, the triumvirate was broken. With old-style Roman politics in disorder, Pompey stepped in as sole consul in 53 B.C. Caesar’s military glory in Gaul and his increasing wealth had eclipsed Pompey’s, and the latter teamed with his Senate allies to steadily undermine Caesar. In 49 B.C., Caesar and one of his legions crossed the Rubicon, a river on the border between Italy from Cisalpine Gaul. Caesar’s invasion of Italy ignited a civil war from which he emerged as dictator of Rome for life in 45 B.C.

From Caesar to Augustus

Less than a year later, Julius Caesar was murdered on the ides of March (March 15, 44 B.C.) by a group of his enemies (led by the republican nobles Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius). Consul Mark Antony and Caesar’s great-nephew and adopted heir, Octavian, joined forces to crush Brutus and Cassius and divided power in Rome with ex-consul Lepidus in what was known as the Second Triumvirate. With Octavian leading the western provinces, Antony the east, and Lepidus Africa, tensions developed by 36 B.C. and the triumvirate soon dissolved. In 31 B.C., Octavian triumped over the forces of Antony and Queen Cleopatra of Egypt (also rumored to be the onetime lover of Julius Caesar) in the Battle of Actium. In the wake of this devastating defeat, Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide.

By 29 B.C., Octavian was the sole leader of Rome and all its provinces. To avoid meeting Caesar’s fate, he made sure to make his position as absolute ruler acceptable to the public by apparently restoring the political institutions of the Roman republic while in reality retaining all real power for himself. In 27 B.C., Octavian assumed the title of Augustus , becoming the first emperor of Rome.

Age of the Roman Emperors

Augustus’ rule restored morale in Rome after a century of discord and corruption and ushered in the famous pax Romana –two full centuries of peace and prosperity. He instituted various social reforms, won numerous military victories and allowed Roman literature, art, architecture and religion to flourish. Augustus ruled for 56 years, supported by his great army and by a growing cult of devotion to the emperor. When he died, the Senate elevated Augustus to the status of a god, beginning a long-running tradition of deification for popular emperors.

Augustus’ dynasty included the unpopular Tiberius (A.D. 14-37), the bloodthirsty and unstable Caligula (37-41) and Claudius (41-54), who was best remembered for his army’s conquest of Britain. The line ended with Nero (54-68), whose excesses drained the Roman treasury and led to his downfall and eventual suicide.

Four emperors took the throne in the tumultuous year after Nero’s death; the fourth, Vespasian (69-79), and his successors, Titus and Domitian, were known as the Flavians; they attempted to temper the excesses of the Roman court, restore Senate authority and promote public welfare. Titus (79-81) earned his people’s devotion with his handling of recovery efforts after the infamous eruption of Vesuvius, which destroyed the towns of Herculaneum and Pompeii .

The reign of Nerva (96-98), who was selected by the Senate to succeed Domitian, began another golden age in Roman history, during which four emperors–Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius–took the throne peacefully, succeeding one another by adoption, as opposed to hereditary succession. Trajan (98-117) expanded Rome’s borders to the greatest extent in history with victories over the kingdoms of Dacia (now northwestern Romania) and Parthia. His successor Hadrian (117-138) solidified the empire’s frontiers (famously building Hadrian's Wall in present-day England) and continued his predecessor’s work of establishing internal stability and instituting administrative reforms.

Under Antoninus Pius (138-161), Rome continued in peace and prosperity, but the reign of Marcus Aurelius (161–180) was dominated by conflict, including war against Parthia and Armenia and the invasion of Germanic tribes from the north. When Marcus fell ill and died near the battlefield at Vindobona (Vienna), he broke with the tradition of non-hereditary succession and named his 19-year-old son Commodus as his successor.

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The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. obliterated the Roman city of Pompeii, burying it under tons of volcanic ash. While many of its resident fled to safety, what happened to those who dared to stay behind?

Decline and Disintegration

The decadence and incompetence of Commodus (180-192) brought the golden age of the Roman emperors to a disappointing end. His death at the hands of his own ministers sparked another period of civil war , from which Lucius Septimius Severus (193-211) emerged victorious. During the third century Rome suffered from a cycle of near-constant conflict. A total of 22 emperors took the throne, many of them meeting violent ends at the hands of the same soldiers who had propelled them to power. Meanwhile, threats from outside plagued the empire and depleted its riches, including continuing aggression from Germans and Parthians and raids by the Goths over the Aegean Sea.

The reign of Diocletian (284-305) temporarily restored peace and prosperity in Rome, but at a high cost to the unity of the empire. Diocletian divided power into the so-called tetrarchy (rule of four), sharing his title of Augustus (emperor) with Maximian. A pair of generals, Galerius and Constantius, were appointed as the assistants and chosen successors of Diocletian and Maximian; Diocletian and Galerius ruled the eastern Roman Empire, while Maximian and Constantius took power in the west.

The stability of this system suffered greatly after Diocletian and Maximian retired from office. Constantine (the son of Constantius) emerged from the ensuing power struggles as sole emperor of a reunified Rome in 324. He moved the Roman capital to the Greek city of Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople . At the Council of Nicaea in 325, Constantine made Christianity (once an obscure Jewish sect) Rome’s official religion.

Roman unity under Constantine proved illusory, and 30 years after his death the eastern and western empires were again divided. Despite its continuing battle against Persian forces, the eastern Roman Empire–later known as the Byzantine Empire –would remain largely intact for centuries to come. An entirely different story played out in the west, where the empire was wracked by internal conflict as well as threats from abroad–particularly from the Germanic tribes now established within the empire’s frontiers like the Vandals (their sack of Rome originated the phrase “vandalism”)–and was steadily losing money due to constant warfare.

Rome eventually collapsed under the weight of its own bloated empire, losing its provinces one by one: Britain around 410; Spain and northern Africa by 430. Attila and his brutal Huns invaded Gaul and Italy around 450, further shaking the foundations of the empire. In September 476, a Germanic prince named Odovacar won control of the Roman army in Italy. After deposing the last western emperor, Romulus Augustus, Odovacar’s troops proclaimed him king of Italy, bringing an ignoble end to the long, tumultuous history of ancient Rome. The fall of the Roman Empire was complete.

Steps Leading to the Fall of Rome

A.D. 285 First split
A.D. 378 Battle of Adrianople
A.D. 395 Final split
A.D. 410 Visigoths sack Rome
A.D. 439 Vandals capture Carthage
A.D. 455 Vandals sack Rome
A.D. 476 Western Roman Emperor deposed

Between 235 and 284, more than 20 Roman emperors take the throne in a chaotic period known as the Crisis of the Third Century . This period ends when Diocletian becomes emperor and divides the Roman Empire into eastern and western regions, each ruled by its own emperor. This divided rule lasts until 324 when Constantine the Great reunifies Rome. More

The Roman military suffers one of its worst defeats at the Battle of Adrianople . Led by Eastern Emperor Valens, Rome loses an estimated 10,000 troops while fighting against the Visigoths and other Germanic peoples. Valens dies in battle, and the defeat in the east paves the way for attacks in the west. More

After Valens’ death in the Battle of Adrianople, Theodosius I becomes the new eastern emperor. In 394, he defeats Eugenius, the proclaimed western emperor. Theodosius executes Eugenius and briefly reunifies the empire under his rule. However, his death in 395 divides the empire between his two sons, Arcadius and Honorius.

In 410, Visigoths successfully enter and sack the city of Rome . According to legend, this attack marks the first time an outside force has sacked Rome since 387 B.C., nearly 800 years before. More

Three decades after the Visigoths sack Rome, a different group of Germanic people called the Vandals capture Carthage, one of the largest cities in the Western Roman Empire. After capturing the ancient city, the Vandals declare it their new capital. This marks another significant victory for Germanic peoples against the Western Roman Empire. More

During the early 450s, the Western Roman Empire successfully fights off attempts by Attila the Hun and his forces to invade Roman territory. However, in 455 the Vandals invade and sack the city of Rome. This attack eventually helps turn the Vandals’ name into another word for people who destroy property. More

In 476, a Germanic soldier named Odoacer deposes the last western Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus , and proclaims himself king of Italy. This marks the traditional end of the Western Roman Empire; but not the end of the Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantine Empire , which flourishes for another millennium.

Roman Architecture

Roman architecture and engineering innovations have had a lasting impact on the modern world. Roman aqueducts, first developed in 312 B.C., enabled the rise of cities by transporting water to urban areas, improving public health and sanitation. Some Roman aqueducts transported water up to 60 miles from its source and the Fountain of Trevi in Rome still relies on an updated version of an original Roman aqueduct.

Roman cement and concrete are part of the reason ancient buildings like the Colosseum and Roman Forum are still standing strong today. Roman arches, or segmented arches, improved upon earlier arches to build strong bridges and buildings, evenly distributing weight throughout the structure.

Roman roads, the most advanced roads in the ancient world, enabled the Roman Empire—which was over 1.7 million square miles at the pinnacle of its power—to stay connected. They included such modern-seeming innovations as mile markers and drainage. Over 50,000 miles of road were built by 200 B.C. and several are still in use today.

HISTORY Vault: Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire

History of the ancient Roman Empire.

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The History of Italy

Francesco Guicciardini
Edited by: Sidney Alexander
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Language: English
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Copyright year: 1984
Audience: General/trade;
Main content: 488
Keywords: Pontiff ; Duchy of Milan ; Romagna ; Christendom ; King of the Romans ; Italians ; Cesare Borgia ; Pope Julius II ; Ducat ; French Army ; Trivulzio ; Investiture ; Pope Alexander VI ; Louis XII of France ; Apostolic see ; Francesco Guicciardini ; Peace treaty ; Infantry ; Republic of Florence ; Courtesy ; Archduke ; Orsini ; Siege of Florence (1529–30) ; Duchy ; Gonfaloniere ; Pope Clement VII ; Papal States ; Girolamo Savonarola ; Ludovico Sforza ; San Pietro in Vincoli ; Spaniards ; Majesty ; Guicciardini ; Benefice ; Landsknecht ; Castel Sant'Angelo ; Lombardy ; Cowardice ; Warfare ; Capua ; Pontificate ; Duke of Calabria ; Fabrizio Colonna ; Persecution ; Pisa ; Lorenzo de' Medici ; Council of Pisa ; Catherine of Aragon ; Guelphs and Ghibellines ; Condottieri ; Friuli ; Della Rovere ; Republic of Venice ; Livorno ; Censure ; Prospero Colonna ; Cortona ; Louis XI of France ; Cesena ; Pope Adrian VI ; Calabria ; Kingdom of France ; Faenza ; Assassination ; Roman Curia ; Palazzo Vecchio ; Cosimo de' Medici ; Captain general ; Urbino ; Imperial crown
Published: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 9780691213910

A Short History of Italy

Italy, formally referred to as the Italian Republic is a unitary parliamentary nation in Europe. It is situated at the center of the Mediterranean Sea. It shares land borders with the Vatican City, San Marino , Austria , Switzerland , Slovenia , and France . In numerous ways, Italy’s history is believed to be the history of not only Europe but also the present day world. The country’s history began roughly 850,000 years ago when the first hominins arrived and settled at Monte Poggiolo. Evidence of settlement by anatomically modern humans in Italy began at around 43,000 years ago. This was followed by the Neolithic Period between 6000-5500 BC and was characterized by Impressed ware and Cardium Pottery. Bronze Age in Italy began at around 1500 BC and it corresponded with the arrival of the Indo-European speakers whose ancestors later became the Italic people of the Iron Age.

In the 19th century, the concept of nationalism and nation-state was on the rise, and a result, the peninsula was unified. In 1861, a new Kingdom of Italy was formed and it modernized rapidly and established a huge colonial empire and colonized nations along the Mediterranean and some regions of Africa.

With this in mind, the history of Italy will be discussed in brief below.

Pre-History of Italy

Proof of civilization on the Italian peninsula has been found and it dates all the way back to pre-history. Numerous rock drawings have been found in the Alpine areas of Lombardy dating from roughly 8,000 BC. The 37th to the 15th century BC was the Copper Age period and it was characterized by sizable settlements in the region. The Bronze Age period was experienced from the 15th century to the 8th century and the Iron Age period from the 8th century to the 5th century. Around 8,000 BC, the Etruscan culture took hold of the northern region of Italy. The Greeks, on the other hand, occupied southern Italy from 700 to 600 BC. They settled in the cities of Calabria, Apulia, and Sicily formerly referred to as Magna Graecia.

The Roman Empire (5th Century BC to 5th Century AD)

There is no clear history of the Roman Kingdom but legend states that it was established by Romulus and Remus in the core of Etruscan Italy at around 735 BC. In the centuries that followed, Rome extended its boundaries into what came to be referred as the Roman Empire. The Italian peninsula was named “Italia” by the Romans and the Italians cities north of Emilia-Romagna were believed to be a section of Cisalpine Gaul which was a Roman province.

Under the Roman Empire, Italy was able to flourish. Roman rule, however, ended in 476 AD when Emperor Augustus died. After his death, the Italian Peninsula was divided into different kingdoms but was later reunified in 1861.

The Middle Ages (6th to 14th Century)

This period experienced a number of invasions. In 493, the Italian peninsula was seized by the Ostrogoths, a tribe from eastern German. This resulted in the Gothic War which led to another German tribe, the Lombards, creating a kingdom in the north of Italy and three territories in the South in 568. The Popes also started constructing a sovereign nation. In 756, the Franks (French) overpowered the Lombards and granted authority over central Italy to the Popes, thus leading to the creation of the Papal States. The northern cities of Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont, and Lombardy were governed by the Holy Roman Empire from 962. Trade started to thrive again in Italy towards the end of the 11th century and the cities of Venice, Amalfi, Pisa, and Genoa became huge political and commercial powers.

The Final Judgement" by Michaelangelo, Sixteen Chapel, Vatican City The Italian Renaissance (14th to 16th Century)

In the 14th century, the Italian Renaissance began in Tuscany and spread to other cities such as Florence and Siena. Some of the factors that led to its emergence include the arrival of Greek scholars as a result of the second incursion of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. Another factor was the benefaction of the arts paid for by the Medici family. This period led to the emergence of famous artists such as Francesco Petrarch, Leonardo Da Vinci, Dante Alighieri, Sandro Botticelli, and Michelangelo Buonarotti just to mention a few. The Renaissance extended to Rome and motivated the Italian Popes to reconstruct their nation and once again Rome was able to flourish. This crusade also extended to Venice, Milan and into Europe and it had an influence on politics, art, science, literature, philosophy, religion, and other intellectual fields. In Italy, Tuscan culture was more dominant and as a result, Tuscan language became the official language in Italy.

Foreign Rule (1559 to 1814)

By 1559 Spain had control over Sardinia, Milan, southern Tuscany, and Naples, and also controlled the rulers of Genoa, Tuscany, and other smaller nations in the northern region of Italy. Spanish ruled Italy until 1713.

Habsburg Spain dominated the region from 1559 to 1713 and Habsburg Austria from 1713 to 1796. During this period, the Italians were able to experience a period of peace. From 1796 to 1814, Italy was unified though briefly by Napoleon as the Italian Republic and later on as the Kingdom of Italy and as a result, it became a client nation of the French Republic.

In 1814, France was defeated and the Congress of Vienna partitioned the country into eight regions, all under foreign governance: Venetia and Lombardy were governed by Austria; Tuscany, Modena and Parma were governed by the Hapsburgs; the Papal States and Piedmont-Sardinia-Genoa were independent; and Sicily and Naples were governed by France. It is this division that laid the foundation for the Italian unification crusade.

Unification of Italy (1814 to 1861)

The unification movement started in 1815 and the whole process was referred to as Risorgimento . This process is what led to the unification of the different nations of the Italian peninsula into the present day country of Italy. The most prominent figures in the unification crusade were Giuseppe Garibaldi and Giuseppe Mazzini. Mazzini was from Genoa and was imprisoned in 1830 for the role he played in the Carbonari secret society. He went to exile in France and later England and he started a number of uprisings in Italy that were not successful, but he later collaborated with Garibaldi to realize their unification dream.

In 1861, Italy was officially united. Latium and Rome were annexed in 1870, and the Trieste area after the First World War.

Present Day Italy

After unification, Italy went through a tumultuous era that was characterized by a mass emigration of its people and the catastrophic outcomes of the two World Wars. It is, however, important to note that in the last 60 years Italy has been able to reclaim its position as a key cultural and social player in global affairs. Goods and services from Italy are of excellent global standards and reputation. The country is also one of the most common tourist destinations in Europe. Italy was among the founding states of the European Economic Community, which is currently known as the European Union. Italy is also a member of NATO, the United Nations, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the G7. Italy also plays a very significant role in regional and international diplomatic, cultural, and military affairs.

Italian politics have had a very stormy nature. Despite this, the citizens and the country, in general, do enjoy a high standard of living and positive fiscal growth.

Local Histories

Tim's History of British Towns, Cities and So Much More

A Brief History of Italy

By Tim Lambert

The Etruscans

The first civilization in Italy was the Etruscan, which arose about 800 BC in central Italy. The Etruscans built cities on a grid pattern. Some of these cities still exist (including Arezzo, Chiusi, Cortona, Perugia, and Cerveteri). The Etruscans were also engineers who drained marshes and built roads. They were also skilled artists. The Etruscans made terracotta sculptures and worked in bronze. Their craftsmen also made jewelry of gold and silver. Etruscan artists painted frescoes on the walls of rich people’s tombs. They also painted pottery. Upper-class Etruscans lived in splendid houses with many rooms arranged around a courtyard. They had luxurious furniture. Poor Etruscans lived in simple huts of wood and brick.

The Etruscans were influenced by the Greeks, with whom they traded. About 750 BC the Greeks established a colony on the island of Ischia in the Bay of Naples. Later they created colonies in Sicily such as Catania and Messina. They also founded colonies in mainland Italy such as Reggio Calabria. By 600 BC the Etruscans came to rule central Italy, including Rome. They also had a powerful navy. However, in 510 BC the Romans rebelled and they gradually encroached on the Etruscan territory. The last Etruscan city fell to the Romans in 265 BC.

The Rise of Rome

There was a settlement in Rome by the mid-8th century BC. In the 6th century BC, it was ruled by Etruscan kings. The kings were advised by the Senate, a body that consisted of Roman aristocrats or patricians. However, in 510 BC the Romans rebelled and expelled the last king Tarquinius Superbus. Afterward, Rome was ruled by two officials called consuls who were elected from among the Senators. The consuls served for one year. Working-class Romans were called plebeians. In the 6th century, there was antagonism between the two classes. Finally, in 494 BC the plebeians left Rome and founded their own settlement on Aventine Hill. The patricians were forced to make concessions to win them back.

From the beginning, Rome was an aggressive and expansionist state. At first, the Romans conquered central Italy. In 396 they conquered the important Etruscan city of Veii. However, in 390 the Gauls captured and sacked Rome. Yet Rome recovered and conquered southern Italy. By 272 BC almost all of the south of Italy was in Roman hands.

Rome then came into conflict with Carthage. The Phoenicians from Lebanon founded a colony in North Africa, which they called Carthage. In time Carthage became very powerful, ruling North Africa, Sardinia, Corsica, and part of Spain. The wars between Rome and Carthage are called the Punic Wars. The first lasted from 264 to 241 BC and it was mainly a naval war. It ended with the Romans capturing Sicily. Shortly afterward they also occupied Sardinia and Corsica.

The Second Punic War lasted from 218 to 202 BC. In 218 Hannibal marched a great army including elephants from Spain, through southern France, and over the Alps into Italy. He defeated the Romans in several battles, Ticinus, and Trebia in 218 BC, Lake Trasimeno in 217, and Cannae in 216. However, Hannibal did not have the resources to destroy Rome and the Romans sent an army to North Africa. Led by Scipio the Romans won a decisive battle at Zama in 202 BC.

Meanwhile, the Romans expanded northwards. North Italy was inhabited by Celts but the Romans conquered them piecemeal. By 90 BC all of northern Italy was in Roman hands. Furthermore, the Romans fought a series of wars with the Macedonians. The wars ended in 148 BC when Macedon became a Roman province. Some Romans became very rich as a result of these successful wars.

Furthermore, prisoners of war were made slaves and so there was a huge influx of slaves into Roman territory. Some wealthy Romans made fortunes by using slave labor on large estates. However many peasants were forced to leave the land and move to the cities. Fortunately, there were plenty of jobs for them. As Rome grew more and more prosperous many public were built such as roads and temples. However, the dramatic social changes caused much unrest in Rome.

Meanwhile, the slaves sometimes rose in rebellion. The first rebellion or servile war lasted from 135 to 132 BC when slaves in Sicily rebelled. Sicilian slaves rebelled again in 103 BC but they were crushed in 99 BC. Finally, Spartacus led a rebellion of Italian slaves in 73 BC. However, the rebellion was crushed in 71 BC. Then non-Roman Italians rose against Rome in the Social War of 91-89 BC. They demanded certain rights and privileges. Roman troops under Cornelius Sulla crushed the revolt. Nevertheless, in 89 BC all free Italians were granted Roman citizenship.

In the first century BC the Roman Republic slowly broke down and power was increasingly in the hands of successful generals. In times of emergency, the Romans sometimes appointed a temporary dictator to take charge. In 83 BC Sulla made himself dictator. He ruled until 80 BC. Then, in 67 BC another powerful general, Gnaeus Pompey waged a successful campaign against pirates in the Mediterranean. In 66-62 BC he added parts of Turkey, Syria, and the surrounding area to the Roman Empire. In 60 AD he formed a triumvirate with two other men Crassus and Julius Caesar. The triumvirate only lasted about one year but it was renewed in 56 BC. However, Crassus died in 52 BC and Pompey was made sole Consul.

Meanwhile,, the third member of the triumvirate, Julius Caesar conquered Gaul. His military victories made him very popular with his men. However, in 49 BC the Senate voted that Caesar should give up command of the army and return to Rome without his troops. Caesar refused and instead marched on Rome. Lacking troops to defend the city Pompey fled to Greece to raise an army. Caesar followed and defeated him. Pompey fled to Egypt where he was murdered. Julius Caesar was the dictator of Rome until 44 BC when he was assassinated.

After his death another triumvirate took power. It was made up of Marcus Antonius (Mark Anthony), Marcus Lepidus, and Gaius Octavius (Octavian), Julius Caesar’s great-nephew. Lepidus was deposed in 36 BC and Octavian and Mark Anthony soon fell out. Octavian defeated Mark Anthony at the naval battle of Actium in 31 BC. Octavian became the first Roman emperor (in all but name). In 27 BC he was granted the title ‘Augustus’. The Roman Republic was at an end.

Italy Under the Roman Empire

Augustus kept the Senate but he held the real power. He controlled the army and the civil service. Augustus managed to restore order to the Roman Empire and when he died in 14 AD it was peaceful and prosperous. He was followed by his stepson Tiberius (14-37 AD). The next emperor was Gaius or Caligula (37-41 AD), who ruled so badly he was assassinated by his bodyguard, the praetorian guard. He was succeeded by his uncle Claudius (41-54 AD). During his reign the Romans conquered Britain. Next came Nero (54-68). Vespasian (69-79) built the Coliseum and under Trajan (98-117) and Hadrian (177-138) the Roman Empire was at its peak.

In 212 the emperor Caracalla granted Roman citizenship to all free people in the empire. By then the Roman Empire was beginning to decline. When the emperor Severus Alexander was murdered in 325 there were decades of political instability. Between 235 and 284 there were 22 emperors. Order and prosperity were temporarily restored by Diocletian (284-305). He abdicated in 305 and there was a struggle for succession. Constantine was proclaimed emperor in 306 but he was not in complete control of the empire until 324.

Constantine introduced a policy of tolerating Christianity. He was baptized on his deathbed in 337. Diocletian split the empire into two halves, western and eastern. Constantine united them in 324 but they split again after his death. Gradually there was less and less co-operation between the two halves. In the Western Roman Empire, there was a relentless economic decline with raging inflation. Meanwhile, the Germanic tribes beyond the border were growing stronger and stronger.

In the 5th century, the Roman empire in the west collapsed piecemeal (although it continued in the west). In 406-407, Germanic people invaded Gaul and in 407 the Roman army left Britain. Then in 410 Alaric, the Goth captured Rome. Nevertheless, the Roman Empire survived for some time afterward.

However, in 429-430, a people called the Vandals crossed from Spain to North Africa. That had serious consequences for the Romans because they imported much of their grain from there. Worse in 455 the Vandals sacked Rome. Finally, in 476 the last Roman emperor in the west was deposed. A German called Odoacer made himself king of Italy.

Italy in the Early Middle Ages

However, for most people in Italy life went on as usual. The Germanic kings respected Roman culture and laws. Odoacer was followed by Theodoric the Ostrogoth in 493. He ruled until 526 and under him, Germans and Romans in Italy lived together peacefully. Meanwhile, the eastern half of the Roman Empire was still flourishing. Today it is called the Byzantine Empire. In 535 the Byzantine emperor Justinian sent an army to Italy under his general Belisarius. So began a long period of warfare that devastated much of Italy.

Belisarius marched north through Italy and he captured Ravenna in 540. However, under their leader Totila (541-552) the Goths recaptured most of Italy. Only Ravenna and some other coastal towns stayed in Byzantine hands. The Pendulum then swung the other way. Under their general Narses, the Byzantines took all of Italy again by 562.

Then in 568, a people called the Lombards invaded northern Italy. Under their leaders Authari (584-590) and Agilulf (590-616) the Lombards fought their way south but they were halted by the Byzantines at a line from Ravenna to Rome. Gradually the Lombards intermarried with the native Italians and they also adopted Italian customs. They also adopted the Italian language.

In 751 the Lombard king Aistulf took Ravenna and threatened Rome. The Pope appealed to the Franks for help. Under their leader Pepin III, the Franks invaded northern Italy. They defeated the Lombards and Pepin handed Ravenna and some territory in central Italy to the pope. So the Popes came to rule their own state in central Italy. The Franks then withdrew but in 772 they invaded Italy again. This time they conquered the Lombard kingdom. Charlemagne, leader of the Franks, confirmed the pope’s rule over part of central Italy. After Charlemagne died in 814 the emperors of Germany continued to rule Italy and were called its kings. However, they had little power and in the 10th century, the ‘kingdom’ of Italy broke up. Finally, in 1024 the people of Pavia burned the royal palace. That symbolized the end of the German ‘kings of Italy’.

During the 11th century, the Normans took control of southern Italy. Then in 1061-1091, they conquered Sicily and in the 12th century, they created a strong state in Sicily and south Italy. Meanwhile, the breakdown of the kingdom of Italy allowed several city-states to emerge. In the 11th and 12th centuries trade in the Mediterranean boomed and cities in northern and central Italy grew rich and important. They were also independent. However, in the south, the Normans prevented cities from becoming autonomous.

However, in the 12th century, the German emperor Frederick Barbarossa tried to restore German authority over the cities of northern Italy. In 1162 Barbarossa destroyed Milan. As a result, the northern Italians formed the Lombard League against him. Barbarossa invaded Italy in 1174 but his army was soundly defeated at the battle of Legnano in 1176. Barbarossa was forced to recognize the independence of the north Italian cities by the Peace of Constance in 1183. Frederick Barbarossa died in 1190. His successor Henry VI conquered Sicily from the Normans.

However, the Germans did not hold Sicily for long. In 1266 the French conquered the kingdom of Sicily (which included a large part of southern Italy as well as the island). However, in 1282 the people of Palermo rose in rebellion. Peter of Aragon (a kingdom in northern Spain) then captured the island of Sicily, which, for a time became independent of the mainland.

Meanwhile, the populations of north Italian cities grew rapidly. Their trade and prosperity also increased. The rise of the north Italian cities was temporarily interrupted by the disaster of the Black Death in 1348, which killed about one-third of the population. However, they recovered and in the late 14th century, a new chapter in Italian history began.

Italy in the Late Middle Ages

In the late 14th and 15th centuries art flourished in Italy. The period produced great writers and artists. There was also an increasing interest in the art and literature of ancient Greece and Rome. Rich Italians patronized the arts. Meanwhile, the printing press was introduced to Venice by 1470.

Meanwhile, Italian trade and commerce prospered. The city-states flourished. In the 15th century, Florence was ruled by the Medicis, a family of bankers. (Florence was a republic ruled by an oligarchy but the Medicis managed to control it). The greatest Medicis were Cosimo who ruled from 1434 to 1464 and Lorenzo the Magnificent who ruled from 1469 to 1492.

However, at the end of the 15th century, Italy fell prey to foreign powers. In 1494 the French king claimed the throne of Naples. He invaded Italy that year and he entered Naples in February 1495. However, he was soon forced to withdraw.

Italy in the 16th Century

In the 16th century, the French and Spanish fought over Italy. Instead of uniting against the invaders, the Italian states split into two factions supporting either France or Spain.

In 1515 the French captured Milan. However, in 1519 Charles V became emperor of Spain and other parts of Europe. In 1521 the Spaniards took Milan from the French. At the battle of Pavia in 1525, the French were decisively defeated. However, the French then allied with some Italian states called the League of Cognac. The Spaniards sent an army against the League and in 1527 they sacked Rome. In 1529 the French were forced to renounce their claims to Italy by the Treaty of Cambrai.

However, they fought more wars with the Spanish until 1559 when the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis finally ended the French presence in Italy. Afterward, Italy was dominated by the Spaniards.

During the 15th century, free thought and inquiry flourished in Italy. However, things changed during the 16th century. The Inquisition cruelly persecuted Protestants in Italy. In 1600 they burned an astronomer called Giordano Bruno.

Italy in the 17th Century

In the 17th century, the Italian economy entered a long recession. Trade and industry declined. (This was partly due to the decreasing importance of Mediterranean trade and the rise of trade outside Europe). Italian agriculture stagnated. Poverty and banditry increased. Meanwhile, Italy was struck by the plague. Once the most advanced part of Europe Italy became a relatively backward part.

Meanwhile, the Spanish continued to rule southern Italy. However, in 1647 the people rose in rebellion. Yet the rebellion was crushed in 1648. Nevertheless, by the end of the 17th century, Spain was a declining power.

Finally, the War of the Spanish Succession (1700-1713) ended the Spanish domination of Italy. Spain was replaced by Austria. The Austrians took Naples (southern Italy) in 1707. They also gained Sardinia but in 1720 they swapped it for Sicily. Also in 1720, the Duchy of Savoy (in northwest Italy) became the kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia.

Italy in the 18th Century

In 1734 Spain captured Naples and Sicily from Austria. A Spanish prince, Carlos, became king of Naples and Sicily. On the other hand in 1737 the Grand Duchy of Tuscany passed to Francis of Lorraine, one of the Austrian royal family.

The 18th century was an age of enlightenment when the power of the church was curtailed. It was also a period when Italian rulers carried out reforms. Naples suffered a terrible famine in 1764. Meanwhile, famine also struck Tuscany in 1763-1766. However, under Grand Duke Leopold (1765-1790) several reforms were introduced in Tuscany. Tax privileges were abolished, communal land was sold and the Florentine guilds were abolished.

In 1786 torture and capital punishment were abolished in Tuscany. In the late 18th century guilds were also abolished in Lombardy and the power of the church was restricted. In Naples, the Jesuits were expelled and the power of the church was reduced.

Napoleonic Italy

In 1796 Napoleon led a successful invasion of Italy. Afterward, he re-drew the political map. he created a new state out of Bologna, Ferrara, and Milan. It was called the Cisalpine Republic. At first, Venice was neutral but in May 1797 Napoleon declared war. In October 1797 he placed Venice under Austrian control. Then, in 1798 Napoleon captured the mainland part of the kingdom of Naples. (The kingdom included Sicily. The king and queen fled there and it remained outside French control).

However, in 1799 the Austrians and Russians drove the French out of Italy. Yet in 1800 Napoleon won a great victory at Marengo. This time Piedmont was absorbed into France. The Cisalpine Republic was restored and renamed the Italian Republic. In 1805 Napoleon turned the Italian Republic into the Italian kingdom – with himself as king. In 1806 the French took the mainland part of the kingdom of Naples again. Napoleon made his brother the king of that part of Italy. However, after Napoleon’s defeat in 1815, the old order returned.

Italy in the 19th Century

The old kingdoms were restored but the republics of Venice and Genoa were not. Genoa was taken by Piedmont. However, there was much discontent in Italy and many people joined secret societies such as the Carbonari. In 1820 the Carbonari led a rebellion in Naples. They led another rebellion in Piedmont in 1821. However, the Austrians intervened to crush both rebellions. In 1831 there were other rebellions in Italy but they too were suppressed by the Austrians.

Enter Giuseppe Mazzini (1805-1872). Mazzini was a great Italian nationalist and he did much to popularize the idea of a united Italy. Mazzini was involved in the rebellion in Piedmont in 1831 and he was forced to flee to France, where he formed an organization called Young Italy. From 1837 Mazzini lived in Britain where he continued to stoke the fire of nationalism in Italy.

Then in 1848 revolutions broke out all over Europe. The first was in Palermo in January. The king of Naples was forced to grant a constitution. In March public pressure forced the king of Piedmont to grant a constitution. Also in March 1848, Venice became an independent republic again. The king of Piedmont decided to take Lombardy from the Austrians and he declared war. Another army was sent from Naples. Meanwhile, Giacomo Durando commanded the army of the Papal States. The Pope ordered him to defend the border. However, he exceeded his orders by marching to fight the Austrians.

Many people hoped the Pope would lead the Italians to independence and unity. However, on 29 April the Pope issued a statement making it clear he had no intention of fighting the Austrians. Worse on 25 May, the King of Naples used Swiss mercenaries to stage a coup and restore his power. Finally, the Austrians crushed the Piedmontese at Custoza on 24 July.

However, in the autumn of 1848, the Pope was forced to flee from his home. Rome became a republic. Its army was led by Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882). Unfortunately, the French sent an army to crush the Roman Republic and restore the Pope. In March 1849 Piedmont went to war with Austria again but was quickly defeated at Novara. The king of Piedmont abdicated in favor of his son.

The war with Austria began in 1859 and the French won the battles of Magenta and Solferino. However Napoleon III, fearing Prussian intervention, decided to end the war. Without consulting Cavour he made peace with Austria on 11 July 1859. As a result of the peace, Piedmont was given Lombardy. That was much less than Cavour hoped for and he resigned rather than accept the peace. He became Prime Minister again in January 1860.

Nevertheless, the Italians themselves decided their future. The people of Romagna, Modena, Parma, and Tuscany all demanded unification with Piedmont. In 1860 Cavour arranged for referendums in these states. All voted to join Piedmont. However, to obtain Napoleon III’s agreement, Cavour was obliged to give him Savoy and Nice. Garibaldi was enraged by the loss of Nice and he gathered a force on the coast near Genoa in 1860. With his force of 1,000 Garibaldi planned to prevent the French annexation. However, he was persuaded not to.

But the Austrians still controlled Venice. In 1866 Italy joined Prussia in a war with Austria. The Italians were defeated in a land battle at Novara and a naval battle at Lissa. However, Prussia won the war. Afterward, Italy gained Venice.

Meanwhile, the French still had troops stationed in Rome. However, in 1870, France was defeated by Prussia. Needing every man they could get the French withdrew their troops from Rome. The Italians took advantage of French weakness to liberate Rome.

At the end of the 19th century, Socialism was growing in Italy. There was unrest among the Sicilian peasants, which Crispi ruthlessly crushed. Under his rule, one man came to control the government more and more. However, Crispi was destroyed by his foreign policy. In 1885 the Italians took the port of Massawa on the Red Sea Coast.

However, in January 1887 an Italian force was massacred by the Abyssinians at Dogali. The Italians tried to capture Abyssinia (Ethiopia) again. However, on 1 March 1896, an Italian army was annihilated at Adowa.

Modern Italy

Meanwhile, in 1908 Sicily suffered a terrible earthquake. About 75,000 people died in and around Messina. Then in 1911-1912, the Italians conquered Libya.

After the war, Italy gained Trieste and South Tyrol. However, the Italians had also been promised part of the Dalmatian Coast. Yet the Americans had not signed the treaty of London and they refused to be bound by it. In the end, the Dalmatian Coast went to Yugoslavia. The Italians also wanted the Adriatic port of Fiume although were not promised it in the Treaty of London. However, they were not given it. The Italians were deeply disappointed by the eventual peace treaty with Austria and were very angry at their treatment. Then in September 1919, a poet named Gabriele d’Annunzio decided to take Fiume regardless of the Italian government. He led 2,000 Italian nationalists who occupied the city for over a year. Finally, in December 1920 the Italian Prime Minister, Giolitti, sent in the navy and d’Annunzio surrendered. Italy formally annexed Fiume in 1924.

Meanwhile, in 1919, Mussolini founded the Fascists. Mussolini’s Fascists were thugs who acted as strikebreakers and committed arson. They also beat up Socialists and forced them to drink castor oil. The Fascists claimed they were acting to restore law and order and were saving Italy from Communism. The police and the army turned a blind eye.

The Fascist movement grew rapidly and in May 1921 35 Fascist deputies were elected. Finally, at a mass rally in Naples on 24 October 1922, the Fascists demanded a march on Rome to take power by force. So on 28 October 1922, a force of Fascists marched on Rome (although Mussolini remained in Milan in case anything went wrong). At first, the king planned to use the army to resist the Fascists.

However, at the last moment, he changed his mind and refused to sign an order placing Italy under martial law. Instead, he summoned Mussolini to be Prime Minister. Mussolini traveled from Milan and arrived in Rome to take up the post on 29 October 1922. Mussolini gradually strengthened his grip on Italy, although his first cabinet was made up of Fascists and members of other political parties. In 1923 Mussolini formed the Fascist militia as an ‘auxiliary’ army. He also gained the support of the Roman Catholic Church by making religious education compulsory in primary schools.

Mussolini now faced a crisis. However, the opposition responded weakly by simply withdrawing their MPs from parliament. Yet Mussolini became increasingly isolated and faced attacks from the press. Finally, on 3 January 1925 Mussolini called his opponent’s bluff. He made a speech in which he said ‘I and I alone assume the political, moral, and historical responsibility for all that has happened’. His opponents did nothing.

Finally, in 1929 the Fascists made a treaty with the Roman Catholic Church. It was called the Lateran Pact. The Vatican was made a sovereign state and in Italy, religious education was extended to secondary schools. The Pope recognized the kingdom of Italy for the first time and he accepted that Rome was now the capital of Italy.

In the 1930s Italy suffered from the worldwide depression. The Fascists responded by increasing public spending. New public buildings were erected. Roads and other public works were created. Nevertheless, southern Italy remained very poor. Crime also remained rife although the South’s problems were covered up by the Fascist regime. From 1925 Mussolini also campaigned to make Italy self-sufficient in grain. The so-called battle of the grain did succeed in increasing grain production. However much Italian land was not well suited to growing wheat. It was better suited to growing other crops such as olives or grapes. Nevertheless, some of it was used to grow wheat, which made no economic sense.

When the Second World War began in 1939 Italy stayed neutral. However, in 1940 Germany overran Norway, Holland, and Belgium and invaded France. Like a vulture Mussolini declared war on Britain and France on 10 June 1940, hoping to gain overseas territory from them. However, when Italian forces attacked France the French army easily held them at bay.

However, in May 1941, the British liberated Ethiopia from the Italians. Meanwhile, in November 1940 the British utterly defeated the Italian navy at Taranto. Italy had proven to be a broken reed. The ordinary Italian soldiers were not interested in Mussolini’s foolish dream of a ‘new Roman Empire’. Worse from 1940 Italy suffered air raids. By 1943 60% of Italy’s industrial production was destroyed by bombing.

Italy surrendered on 8 September 1943. On 9 September the Allies landed at Salerno. The Germans then poured troops into Italy. On 11 September they captured Rome. They also kidnapped Mussolini and made him the puppet ruler of northern and central Italy, which they called the Salo Republic.

The Allies were in control of southern Italy but they advanced slowly. They captured the monastery of Monte Cassino in May 1944 and they entered Rome on 4 June 1944. Meanwhile, the Germans retreated to the north. As well as the allied army the Germans were faced with a force of Italian partisans acting behind their lines. In 1945 the partisans liberated Milan, Turin, and Genoa. They also captured Mussolini and shot him on 28 April 1945. The German army in northern Italy surrendered on 2 May 1945.

The task of reconstruction then began. In May 1946 the king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel, abdicated in favor of his son. However, on 2 June 1946, a referendum was held and the majority of Italians voted for a republic. On the same day, elections were held for a constituent assembly to draw up a new constitution. It came into effect on 1 January 1948. The first president of Italy was Luigi Einaudi.

From 1949 to 1953 Italy was helped by Marshall Aid from the USA. Furthermore, in the 1950s and early 1960s, Italy experienced an ‘economic miracle’. Italian industry boomed and living standards rose sharply. However, there was still acute poverty in the south of Italy and many southern Italians migrated to the north in search of jobs.

During the rest of the 1960s, living standards continued to rise. Nevertheless, at the end of the decade, unrest began in Italy. In 1967-68 there were demonstrations and sit-ins in Italian universities. Then in 1968-69 labor unrest began in the north and there were many strikes.

However, labor unrest in Italy declined in the early 1970s as wages grew rapidly and the government introduced some reforms. (In 1965 less than 50% of households had a TV. By 1975 the figure was 92%). Furthermore, some reforms were introduced in Italy. In 1970 a new law allowed divorce. (The measure was approved by a referendum in 1974).

Unfortunately in the 1970s, Italy suffered from terrorism both right and left-wing. In 1978 left-wing terrorists kidnapped and murdered the leader of the Christian Democrats, Aldo Moro. In 1980 a bomb planted by fascists killed 84 people at the Bologna railway station. Fortunately, in the early 1980s, terrorism declined.

In the early 1980s Italy, like the rest of the world, suffered a recession. However, by 1983 it was over and the decade was one of prosperity for most (not all) Italians. Poverty persisted in the south.

Today the north of Italy is highly industrialized but the south is still relatively poor. Italy also has an important fishing industry. Wine is also an important export. However, in recent years service industries such as tourism, education, and finance have become the most important ones in Italy. In 2022 the population of Italy was 60 million.

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Essay on Italy

Students are often asked to write an essay on Italy in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Italy

Introduction to italy.

Italy is a country in Europe known for its rich history and beautiful art. It looks like a boot on the map and has seas on three sides. Many people visit Italy to see its famous cities, eat delicious food, and enjoy the lovely weather.

Famous Places

In Italy, cities like Rome, Venice, and Florence are full of old buildings and famous art. Rome has the Colosseum, an ancient arena, and Venice has canals instead of streets. Florence is the birthplace of the Renaissance, a time when art and learning grew a lot.

Italian Food

Italian food is popular all over the world. Pizza and pasta come from Italy. Italians love to use fresh ingredients like tomatoes, olive oil, and cheese. Gelato, a kind of ice cream, is a sweet treat many enjoy.

Italian Culture

Italians are known for their love of family, music, and celebrations. Football is the most popular sport. Italy also has many festivals that show its traditions and history. People from all over come to enjoy these events.

Italy is a country with a lot to offer. From its historic sites and tasty food to its vibrant culture, there’s something for everyone. It’s a place that many dream of visiting.

250 Words Essay on Italy

Italy is a country in Europe known for its rich history and beautiful landscapes. It looks like a boot on the map and has seas on three sides. Many people visit Italy to see its art, monuments, and enjoy its famous food.

The Land and Cities

Italy has mountains, hills, and beaches. The Alps are big mountains in the north, and the Apennines go down the middle. Big cities like Rome, which is the capital, Milan, and Venice are in Italy. Rome has an old stadium called the Colosseum, and Venice has water streets.

Italian culture includes famous paintings and buildings. Long ago, artists like Leonardo da Vinci made great art. Italians also love music and opera. People all over the world like Italian food like pizza, pasta, and gelato, which is Italian ice cream.

Famous Italian Festivals

In Italy, there are many festivals. One is called Carnevale, where people wear masks and costumes. Another is the Venice Film Festival, where new movies are shown.

Sports in Italy

Football, or soccer, is very popular in Italy. The Italian football team has won many important games. People also enjoy car racing, especially Formula One.

Italy is a country with lots of things to see and do. From its history and art to its food and sports, Italy has something for everyone to enjoy.

500 Words Essay on Italy

Italy is a country in Europe that looks like a high-heeled boot on the map. It is known for its interesting history, delicious food, and beautiful places. Many people visit Italy to see its art, old buildings, and to enjoy the sunny weather.

History of Italy

Long ago, Italy was home to the Romans, who built a huge empire. The city of Rome was the center of this empire. Today, you can still see old Roman buildings like the Colosseum, where gladiators fought. After the Roman Empire ended, Italy had many different rulers and was divided into smaller states for a long time. It became one country again in 1861.

Famous Italian Food

Italian food is famous all over the world. Pizza and pasta are the most popular dishes. They come in many different types with various sauces. Cheese and tomatoes are often used in Italian cooking. In Italy, people enjoy their meals with family and friends, and eating together is an important part of their culture.

Beautiful Places in Italy

Italy has many beautiful places to see. Venice is a city with canals instead of roads, and people move around in boats called gondolas. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a tower that is not straight but tilted to one side. The countryside, especially in regions like Tuscany, has beautiful hills and vineyards where grapes are grown to make wine.

Italian Art and Culture

Italy is also famous for its art. Long ago, artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo made paintings and sculptures that are still famous today. Italian culture includes music and festivals too. Opera music started in Italy, and there are many theaters where you can watch these musical stories.

Italy’s Impact on the World

Italy has had a big impact on the world. Its history, art, and culture have influenced many other countries. Italian designers are known for making beautiful clothes and shoes, and many people like to buy Italian fashion.

Italy is a country with a rich history, tasty food, beautiful places, and a strong influence on art and fashion. It is a place where the past and present come together, and there is something interesting for everyone to see and learn. Italy teaches us about the Romans, gives us great food to eat, and shows us how beautiful our world can be.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

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Happy studying!