Italy was inhabited from the 7th century BC by the Etruscans in the north, the Latins and Italics in central Italy and Greek colonists in the southern mainland and Sicily. The Roman republic was founded in 509 BC and came to great prominence with its concept of city planning, coherent laws and centralized government. By 275 BC most of the peninsula had come under the rule of Rome enjoying many centuries of glory as the centre of the Roman Empire. After the decline of the western Roman Empire from the 4th century AD, Italy was invaded by a succession of barbarian tribes, including the Visigots and the Vandals. The last emperor was deposed in 476 by the German King, Odoacer, who was then overthrown by the Ostrogoths in 493. They were expelled by the Byzantines (Eastern Roman Empire) in the early 6th century. The Byzantine presence was also threatened from the middle of the 6th century with successive invasions: the Lombards were followed by the Franks in the 6th and 9th centuries, a period that also saw the origins of papal power.

The Colosseum

The Islamic civilization flourished in Sicily between the 9th and the 11th centuries prior to the Norman and French invasions. During the Middle Ages the Italian peninsula was characterised by the development of the trading city-states in the north and the growth of the very important “maritime republics”: Pisa, Amalfi, Venice and Genoa. The tension between papal power represented by the Guelphs and imperial power represented by the Ghibellines characterised the 12th and 13th centuries until papacy was moved to Avignon in France where it stayed until the 15th century at which point the Holy See returned to Rome. At this time Venice was the dominant power of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and the gateway to the East as a conduit of goods from the eastern world to the rest of Europe. Many of the Italian cities came to be dominated by single families such as the Visconti and the Sforza in Milan and the Medici in Florence, who during the Renaissance were often remarkable patrons of culture and learning. Florence was the epicenter of the Italian Renaissance and UNESCO declared Italy to possess 70 per cent of the whole world’s art treasures. After the French invasion in 1494 Italy became the scene of conflict between the Spanish and the French and from the 16th to early 18th century Spain largely dominated ruling Milan, Naples, Sicily and Sardinia directly and influencing Savoy, Genoa and Tuscany. Only the Papal States and Venice remained independent. During the 18th century Spanish hegemony was destroyed passing to Austria until 1796 when Italy was conquered by the French Army under Napoleon. Under French occupation Italy experienced unity for the first time and after the fall of Napoleon and the restoration of Austrian rule the movement for independence and unification started. Under the leadership of Victor Emanuel II with its chief minister Cavour, aided by Garibaldi in the South, the Austrians were expelled by 1861. The Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed with Victor Emanuel II as its king and unification of Italy was complete by 1870. In the late 19th century Italy gained a colonial empire including Somaliland and Eritrea in eastern Africa, but attempts to conquest Ethiopia were defeated at Andowa in 1896. In 1915 Italy entered World War I on the side of the Allies and gained Trentino and the Istrian Peninsula. The postwar rise of fascism brought Mussolini to power in 1922 with a dictatorship that lasted until his fall in 1943 after, loyal to his alliance with Hitler, took Italy into World War II on Germany’s side. After Mussolini’s fall the Italian Army changed sides before the end of the war. In 1946 king Umberto II abdicated following a referendum rejecting the monarchy and the Republic of Italy started. Today Italy is a vibrant and democratic country and a proud contributor to NATO. Its economy is based on innovative design, manufacturing, agriculture, fashion and textile industry, handcrafts and tourism.