Italy
Home of Rome, the Renaissance and the Baroque — the peninsula that gave Europe its classical inheritance.
Overview
Italy was the heart of the Roman world for a thousand years and the birthplace of the Renaissance a thousand years later. Unified only in 1861, it has been culturally central to Europe throughout.
Basic Information
History Timeline
- 753 BCETraditional founding of Rome
- 509 BCERoman Republic established
- 27 BCEAugustus becomes first Roman emperor
- 476 CEFall of the Western Roman Empire
- c. 1300 – 1600Italian Renaissance
- 1861Unification of Italy under Victor Emmanuel II
- 1946Italian Republic proclaimed
Ancient Peoples
- Etruscans
- Latins
- Samnites
- Greeks (Magna Graecia)
Ancient Kingdoms
- Roman Kingdom
- Etruscan League
Empires
- Roman Republic
- Roman Empire
- Papal States
Religions
- Roman Catholicism
Culture
Italian literature (Dante, Petrarch), painting (Giotto, Leonardo, Michelangelo), music (opera) and cuisine are foundational to Western culture.
Language
Italian evolved from Vulgar Latin. Dante's Divine Comedy (1320) helped establish the literary standard.
Important Battles
- Battle of Cannae216 BCE
Hannibal's victory over Rome
- Battle of Legnano1176
Lombard League vs. Frederick Barbarossa
Historical Figures
General and dictator
First Roman emperor
Renaissance polymath
Hero of Italian unification
Archaeological Sites
- Roman Forum
- Colosseum
- Pompeii
- Herculaneum
- Ostia Antica
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
- Historic Centre of Rome
- Venice
- Florence
- Pompeii
- Amalfi Coast
Dynasties
- Julio-Claudian
- Flavian
- Medici
- Savoy
Colonial Period
Italy held colonies in Libya, Eritrea, Somalia and briefly Ethiopia; most were lost in WWII.
Modern History
Postwar Italy became a founding member of the European Economic Community and a G7 industrial power.