History of Italy

 Italy has been taken from the word Italia which means calf land, which is

probably because the Southern Italian tribes had bull as their symbol.

Italy is officially known as ‘Repubblica Italiana’and almost

four-fifths of it is covered with

 hills and mountains.

The country comprises of more masterpieces per

square mile than any other country across the globe.

It is also home to one of the oldest universities

situated in Rome which was founded in 1303 A.D.

and is usually referred to as ‘La Sapienza’, there

are around 150,000 students in the university.

Italian history is one of the histories that

still have remembrances from its way past.

Besides wars and battles there also has been time

of peace and growth among the people of Italy.

Some of the world's most renowned and famous artists

whose works are world famous belong to Italy.

This is the place where art and literature is appreciated and it is here

that you will find the preserved treasures from the renaissance period.

Every piece of art has a story to say and the intriguing

beauty never fails to capture the heart of the beholder.

Italy is now ranked among the leading countries in world exports and trade.

It has a huge agricultural sector and it also

happens to be the world’s largest wine producer.

The country has a thriving population with a dense history as for its past.

Geographical Layout

The Italian or the Apennine Peninsula is one of the three peninsulas of Southern

Europe (the other two being the Iberian Peninsula and Balkan Peninsula),

covering 1,000 km from the Po Valley in the north

to the central Mediterranean Sea in the south.

The peninsula is bounded by the Adriatic Sea on the east,

Tyrrhenian Sea on the west and the Ionian Sea on the south.

The internal part of the Apennine Peninsula

comprises of the Apennine Mountains, from which

it gets its name, the northern part is mostly

plains and the coasts are lined with cliffs.

Italy is one of the most important countries

that lies in the southern central Europe.

It inhabits peninsula jutting deep into the Mediterranean Sea.

Italy’s holds within itself some of the globes most diverse and picturesque

magnificence and is often defined as a country shaped like a boot.

You also get to see the world’s most rocky mountains here; the Alps.

The highest peaks are the along Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa.

Both of these mountains are in the most happening cities - France and Switzerland.

Towards the south is Tuscany which is Italy’s best region.

Overseeing the Alpine lakes and the valleys of glacier

expanding to Piedmont and Po River are the western Alps.

The Apennine Range exudes from the central Alps and broadens

near Rome covering almost the whole of Italian peninsula.

The Apennines taper down towards the south of Rome and is fringed by two wide

coastal plains, one faces the Adriatic Sea and the other faces the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Most of the lower Apennine chain is almost wasteland and is home to some of

the rare animal species like the roe deer, red deer, Marsican wild boar.

Some of the rare plant species like wild peony, ghost

orchid, Marsican iris and lady’s slipper orchid.

There are many active volcanoes such as Vesuvius in the southern Apennines.

Sicily and Sardinia lie in the bottom of Italy, in the Mediterranean Sea.

Prehistory

Monte Poggiolo is the where the first hominins settled 850,000 years back.

By the Bronze Age four waves of migration

occurred in the territories of Sardinia, Sicily,

Tuscany, Lombardy, Liguria, South Tyrol, Capua, Campania, Salerno and Sala Consilina.

By the 8th century BC Italy was in the proto-historical period

and Phoenician script was introduced among the inhabitants.

Etruscan Civilization

The origin of the Etruscans is not known exactly.

However, their civilization flourished after 800 BC in central Italy.

The only connection that can be found is that they are

an indigenous tribe and come from Villanovan culture.

A recent study concluded that the Etruscans could

be a result of an invasion from Near East.

The Etruscans are the nearest to a Neolithic population from Central Europe.

They concentrated on expanding their civilization in the Apennines.

They has a strong political structure, although

similar but much more refined than the Magna Greece.

There was a non Indo-European language that was used as mode of communication.

They followed monogamy.

Mining of iron and copper and their trade led to the growth and prosperity

of the Etruscans who expanded their hold not only in the Italian peninsula

but also towards the western parts of Mediterranean Sea.

Around the 6th century BC the Phoceans who were a Greek tribe

settled along the coast of Catalonia, France and Corsica.

The interests of the Etruscans conflicted with those of the Greeks.

The Carthaginians also did not favour the Greeks and made allies with the Etruscans.

Battle of Alalia was fought by Carthaginians and Etruscans

who fought as allies against the Greeks in 540 BC.

Although it was an indecisive battle Etruria relegated and moved towards the Tyrrhenian

Sea and ruled on Corsica whereas Carthaginians expanded over the Greek territories.

After the 5th century Etruria began to decline

when they lost their territories in the south.

Carthage did not survive long and was defeated by Magna Graecia in

480 BC, Etruscans lost their ally which left them with lesser power.

Battle of Cumae in 474 BC weakened the Etruria even more, as

they lost Campania and Latium to the Samnites and Romans.

Gallic invasions snatched away their rule from the Adriatic coast on Po Valley.

The Etruscans were soon taken over by Romans who then

amalgamated of what was left of Etruria in the Roman Empire.

Magna Graecia

The Greeks started settling in the southern parts of Italy,

eastern Libya, eastern coat of Black Sea and Marseille.

The extended settlements were a result of over-population and even famine.

The area of Sicily and the foot of Italy were

referred to as Magna Graecia by the Romans.

Magna Graecia in Latin meant Great Greece.

The name was given so because of the dense population of Greeks in the area.

When this colonization happened there was much changes that took place in the Greek

culture especially in the dialects, traditions and religion of the Ancient Greek.

The interaction of Italian and Latin civilizations

led to the birth of original Hellenic civilization.

The most significant cultural transfer was the Cumaean

variation of Greek alphabet that was adopted by the Etruscans.

The old alphabet of the Italians slowly advanced to modern Latin alphabet

which is now being used as the most common alphabet across the globe.

Several cities of Hellenic such as Acragas, Neapolis,

Sybaris and Syracuse were mighty and influential.

Cities like Ancona, Tarentum, Bari, Rhegium, Elea, Croton, Syessa,

Epizephyrian Locri and a few others made up the Magna Graecia.

Magna Graecia fell terribly after 282 BC when

the Romans started expanding their empire.

They were also susceptible to attacks from the barbarians.

Roman Kingdom

The accounts for the Roman Kingdom have come down from

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Livy and Plutarch mainly.

They mention about Rome being ruled in succession by seven kings.

According to the chronology that has been codified by Varro, a total of 243 years

have been marked as their rule which means an average of 35 years for each king.

The Gauls not only destroyed the lands and took lives in the

Battle of Allia in 390 BC but also burnt the written records

which could have been important proof about the

kings who ruled the lands during those times.

What remained of the records were either stolen or destroyed with time.

The myths say that Rome was founded by Romulus and Remus who were

twin brothers and grandsons of the Latin king Numitor of Alba Longa.

Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was established roughly around

509 BC when the rule of seven kings ended.

By the 4th century Romans took over the Italian

peninsula including the Etruria and the Greeks.

The overpowering Romans had to face Carthage in the 3rd century.

Although the Carthaginians were powerful they were

unable to subdue the Romans and after the three

Punic Wars Rome took over Sicily, North Africa

and Hispania ultimately destroying Carthage.

In the 2nd century BC they defeated the Empires of Seleucid

and Macedonia and ruled over the entire Mediterranean.

The conquests led to a fusion amongst the Greek and the Romans.

The Romans who were rural now became stylish and lavish.

The Romans had one big Empire and no enemies.

The Roman Republic went through a phase of social turbulence and political emergency.

It was Julius Caesar who brought two more men

together to bring back stability in the Empire.

Together with Pompey and Marcus Licinius

Crassus, Caesar formed the first Triumvirate.

After the death of Crassus in 53 BC the Triumvirate

broke and Pompey and Caesar fought for power.

Caesar took over Rome in 49 BC but his rule didn’t

last long and was assassinated in the year 44 BC.

Once again Rome was without a proper leader.

Mark Antony took over the leadership of Rome but his affair

with Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII caused a political upheavel.

Caesar’s adopted son Octavian attacked Antony and crushed the

Egyptian armies, both Cleopatra and Antony committed suicide.

Octavian was now the only ruler of the Republic.

Roman Empire

Octavian was the first emperor of Rome in 27 BC.

He was now called Augustus.

It was under him that Rome prospered and was at

its peak in terms of magnificence and glory.

Although there was a republican, Augustus had complete control of the Empire.

Roman literature grew fast and poets like Ovid, Vergil, Rufus,

Maecenas and Horace made it possible for Latin Literature to flourish.

This period is referred to as the Golden Age of Latin Literature.

Epics such as ‘Aeneid’and other grand works of the poets became the gems of the period.

Romans witnessed a 200 year peaceful and flourishing

reign which is referred to as ‘Pax Romana’.

Although Rome was a strong Empire they continued to extend their boundaries

and some of their noted conquests comprise of – conquest of Britain,

conquest of Dacia, conquest of Parthian Empire

and also the conquest of Germanic tribes.

The death of Emperor Theodosius I in 395 marked the end of the mighty Romans

as after this Rome was divided into Eastern and Western Roman Empire.

For some time Odoacer managed to keep the Western Empire

united under his rule for some time but it was conquered soon.

The Western part was pestered with Barbaric invasions

and was taken over by several small barbarian kingdoms.

Middle Ages

Italy was distraught and shattered after it was conquered by Ostrogoths.

The Gothic War led to diseases and famine in the country.

This also led to the Lombards taking over the Italian peninsula.

In 751 the Lombards captured Ravenna, overthrowing the Byzantine Empire.

The Papacy in Rome was now face to face with a new power – the Lombards.

They looked forth to the Franks to help them fight the Lombards.

The Franks defeated the Lombards and the Papacy has the

reigns of central Italy in their hands once again.

They established Papal States.

The Pope crowned Charlemagne the Holy Roman Emperor in Saint Peter’s Basilica.

The successors of Charlemagne were weak and could not uphold the Empire together.

Islam rose during these times in North Africa,

Arabian Peninsula and Middle East and the

southern parts were under constant attacks

from Abbasid Caliphate and Umayyad Caliphate.

The north was under the pressure of communes.

Sicily was under the Islamic rule from 965 to 1061.

As the millennium cam end so did the dark times for the Italian peninsula.

The cities gained back their strength and popularity

slowly and the Papacy was once again in control.

Papacy always faced some or the other

rebellions or conflicts throughout their rule.

These problems were never ending and carried on till the Medieval Ages.

In 1176, the Lombard League of communes finally defeated Frederick

Barbarossa in the Battle of Legnano and established an autonomous rule.

The southern part of the peninsula had a completely different history.

The Normans bought and end to 600 year old history

of Lombard and Byzantine possession of lands.

It was the Normans who ended the Islamic rule in Sicily.

The Norman Kingdom of Sicily was now ruled by Roger II.

Roger II bought together all the smaller cities under one powerful rule.

He united the southern peninsula into a large and strong kingdom.

A Byzantine Emperor Manuel Komnenons tried to

conquer back the lost lands but was unsuccessful.

The Byzantines left Italy in the year 1158.

The Norman Kingdom stood strong till 1194 before it was

taken by the Staufen dynasty which was a German tribe.

Sicily was under the influence of several such dynasties till the 19th century.

Italy had a very different form of administration that ruled it for centuries.

Both church and Imperial people had powers but both had different

tracks and none of them intersected each other’s path.

The cities and states prospered and gained fame and wealth

through trade which led to development of art and culture.

This automatically set in the environment for Renaissance.

Feudalism did not exist anymore and the society was mostly based

on trade and commerce with merchants who took care of these areas.

Republic of Venice was especially known to be thriving with merchants.

The Italian cities had an encouraging place between the East and West

which is why it became the hub for banks, international trading etc.

Venice, Florence and Milan were the leading cities and played

an important role in the financial uplifting of Italy.

There also emerged new types of economic and social organizations in the societies.

Maritime was booming and Genoa, Venice, Amalfi and Pisa were

among the leading cities where production of ships happened.

The ships were extensively built for trading and the protection of the cities.

Genoa and Venice has become Europe’s gateway for trade with the East.

It also controlled trade with Islamic countries and Byzantine Empire.

Florence established itself as an exceedingly systematized financial and

commercial city and was Europe’s capital of banking, wool, jewellery and silk.

Renaissance

All of Europe was influenced by the thriving art,

science, politics, literature and history of Italy.

It was the most significant center for Renaissance.

In the later part of Middle Ages the southern and central Italy,

those were once throbbing cities of Magna Graecia and Roman Empire

had now degraded and were quite low compared to the northern peninsula.

Rome was ruined and Papacy has no control on law and order.

The Papacy moved to Avignon in France.

Sardinia, Sicily and Naples were under foreign control for some time.

The cities of Italy extended their boundaries vastly

and now completely controlled the Holy Roman Empire.

The Black Death plagued the cities of Italy in

1348 and killed about one-third of the population.

The phase when the cities recovered from the losses is when Renaissance and Humanism

occurred and Italy took back its position as a leader in the Western civilization.

It was rebirth of not only urbanization and

the economy but also of the art and culture.

The Italian Renaissance began first in Tuscany that was in the city of Florence.

Spreading south, the Romans also were impressed by this and

Rome was then rebuilt by the Popes of the Renaissance period.

15th century was when Renaissance was at its peak and

it was then that it was plagued by foreign invasions.

Renaissance began in Florence and moved to Lucca and Siena.

Tuscan painting and architecture became model for all

the cities in the central and northern parts of Italy.

Science, Philosophy and Literature

The beginning of Renaissance is seen by Petrarch who

is known for the best sonnet sequence of Canzoniere.

Another famous person is the author of Decameron, Boccaccio.

Other poets who were famous poets and authors were

Ludovico Ariosto, Matteo Maria Boiardo and Luigi Pulci.

The scholars of the period studied the works of classical

writers like Cicero, Vitruvius, Aristotle and Plato.

Works of Hellenistic, Muslim and Greek writers were added to

the library so the European scholars had material to study.

Poliziano and Marsilio Ficino made several translations from Greek and Latin works.

Barlamm of Seminara and Leonzio Pilato were scholar monks.

Barlaam had taught Greek to Petrach and Boccaccio.

Leonzio was a master translator and translated Homer’s work to the word.

Baldassare Castiglione in his work ‘Book of the Courtier’

wrote down about his vision of a perfect lady and gentleman.

Niccolo Machiavelli is known for laying down the foundation of

modern political philosophy through is works in ‘The Prince’.

The book was highly conflicting in nature as it

did not match the Catholic doctrines of the time.

Painting, Architecture and Sculpture

Some of the renowned painters of the Renaissance

period were Masaccio, Domenico Ghirlandaio,

Giotto di Bondone, Michelangelo, Titian, Botticelli,

Piero della Francesca and Leonardo da Vinci.

Novelty, grandeur and magnificence are present in every work

of architecture that belongs to the Renaissance period.

St. Peter’s Basilicaand Tempio Malatestiano, Florence Cathedral are some of

the works that live on to tell the tale of the brilliant works of architects

such as Andrea Palladio, Brunelleschi, Bramante and Leone Alberti.

Aldo Manuzio founded the Aldine Press that

was famous for printing in the Italic style.

The books printed here were pocket-sized and cheap.

Unremitting Warfare

Most powerful cities of Italy were all situated in the central and northern parts and

among the strongest were Genoa, Milan, Venice,

Florence, Siena, Verona, Pisa and Ferrara.

Further up in the north of Italy was the continuous battle

between the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire for sovereignty.

There were two groups into which every city had sided – Ghibellines and Guelfs.

Wars among the states or cities were common but incursions from

outside Italy were limited to sporadic raids of Holy Roman Emperors.

Politics of Renaissance developed from this backdrop.

From the 13th century the armies of the cities mainly constituted of legionnaires.

The cities were rich and could afford forces.

By the 15th century all the powerful cities amalgamated the smaller areas.

Verona and Padua were taken by Venice, Pavia and Parma along with several smaller

places was taken by Duchy of Milan and Pisa was taken over by Florence in 1406.

Wars were a constant affair and the armies that

fought for the lands were known as condottieri.

The condottieri were soldiers from Switzerland and

Germany and they were led by Italian captains.

The condottieri did not want to risk their lives unnecessarily and the

wars turned to cordons and manipulations and the battles became less.

The condottieri played smart and continued the

conflicts as this was their means of employment now.

If not paid on time the mercenaries would turn on against their employers.

There were many occasions when the mercenaries thought of overtaking

the state because it was they on who the citizens were dependant on.

Genoa, Venice and Pisa were at war at seas too.

Several years of conflict finally declared Genoa as winner over Pisa.

Venice was more powerful than Genoa as by the 15thcentury

the Genoese started to decline and Venice ruled the seas.

Milan, Florence and Venice dominated the lands and the Peace of Lodi

written in 1454 finally bought a stop to the never ending wars.

For the next forty years there was peace in the peninsula and

Venice’s hold on the seas also saw peace till the 15th century.

Italian Wars

Italian Wars began in 1494 when France invaded northern Italy

and there were several states that lost their independence.

The main reason for the wars was dispute among dynasties

between Kingdom of Naples and Duchy of Milan.

This dispute slowly increased and gave fire to fiercer

battles which included more states and alliances.

Charles V led the French armies at Battle of Pavia in 1529 and War

of the League of Cognac that lasted for four years – 1526 to 1530.

Years of wars and battles could not decide a winner

and ultimately with the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésisthe

French relinquished its claims and instated a

long Spanish domination over the peninsula.

The Turks attacked the vicinity on Venice in 1499 and destroyed the neighbourhoods.

It was attacked again in 1509 by the League of Cambrai.

The German and Spanish troops sacked Rome on May 6,

1527 and destroyed the city except for the Papacy.

Abbruzzi and Apulia were sacked in 1528.

1529 and 1530 saw the siege of Florence which brought

about destruction to the neighbouring environs.

Italy’s trade was ruined and most of the citizen’s wealth was confiscated.

The population became half.

Wool and silk industries that were once booming were devastated.

Ransom that was paid to the invaders and taxes charged bared Italy completely.

The recovery would be excruciating and long.

Early Modern History

The period of 17th century was an unbridled time that

was marked by political upheaval and social unrest.

This was because of the Spanish effect on the

Italian peninsula, the power of Papacy, the

reaction of Catholics against the Protestant

reformation and Counter Reformation of Catholics.

Although there were several accomplishments in

the fields of arts and sciences which included

the Baroque style of painting and discoveries made by Galileo in the field of astronomy

there was an inclusive decline in the economy of Italy.

Italy undoubtedly had some of the best explorers

who led to several important discoveries.

Amerigo Vespucci, Christopher Columbus and Giovanni da

Verrazzano are the famous names in the list of discoverers.

Despite their fame Venice and other Italian ports were no longer considered as

important as the main hubs were now moved towards the West in the Atlantic.

30 years of war in which the Spanish were involved between 1618 to 1648, financed

their armies by levying heavy taxes on the Italians and drained them dry.

Their commerce and agriculture suffered tremendously.

1630, the Black Death returned and emaciated Milan and Venice.

About 25% of the population was lost to the horrific plague.

Another plague in 1656 claimed the lives of about

43% of the population in the Kingdom of Naples.

The French Army of Italy led by Napoleon invaded Italy in 1796 and between 1797 and

1799 Napoleon had conquered almost all of Italy and called it French Revolution.

He was based in Milan and set up new rules laws.

The Roman Republic was formed and the Pope was sent to France.

He formed the Kingdom of Italy in 1805 and declared himself King.

Netherlands was made Batavian Republic by the

French and Switzerland was now Helvetic Republic.

All of them had to pay subsidies to Paris and also give military support to Napoleon.

Administration and politics were bettered, Jewish ghettos were abolished,

trade barriers were brought down and metric system was introduced.

Piedmont and Belgium were now main parts of France.

Napoleon later took Dalmatia and Veneto and added to his Kingdom.

Ligurian Republic was also forced to merge with France.

Slowly Kingdom of Naples, Marche and Tuscany

were also made a part of Kingdom of Italy.

The Europeans allied themselves and defeated Napoleon on April 6, 1814.

He was sent on an exile to Elba.

This resulted in the Congress of Vienna.

Napoleon escaped and came back to France where Joachim Murat was in rule.

He asked the Murat to convince the Italians to fight for him

but the Italians were not persuaded to fight along his side.

People rebelled against Murat and killed him.

The Kingdom of Italy fell and many kings who were

ruling before Napoleon came back to their thrones.

States were now independent and now Italy was under a period of restoration.

Unification of Italy - 1814 to 1861

The social and political process that unified

the Italian peninsula is known as Risorgimento.

Although there is no specific date that can be

said about this unification but scholars say that

it began with the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and

ended with the Franco-Prussian War in 1871.

There were many disputes among the leaders on when it came to unification.

The unification started happening only after the revolutions of 1848.

Italian nationalist Giuseppe Garibaldi took the

lead in the Italian drive for a united Italy.

Italy made allies with France and Britain which also helped in the unification.

The southern parts of Italy were considered to be backwards

while the northern parts of Italy were much modernised.

The people of South were not asked to give their views in important matters.

The misunderstanding and gap led to civil wars which lasted for ten long years.

By the time these revolts ended millions moved to South America, United

States and more industrial cities such as Turin, Genoa and Milan.

Liberal Italy - 1861 to 1922

King Victor Emmanuel II united most of the states of the peninsula.

The main builders of unified Italy were the Chief Minister of Victor

Emmanuel, Camillo Benso, Giuseppe Garibaldi and Count of Cavour.

The Prussian Prime Minister offered Victor Emmanuel II to annex Venice

that was controlled by Austria in exchange for Kingdom of Prussia.

He agreed to the alliance and it led to the Third Italian War of Independence.

Austria lost and Venice was added to Italy once again.

The only thing that came in the way of unification was Rome.

In 1870, Italy took over the Papal State, ultimately unifying Italy.

The capital of Italy was moved from Florence to Rome.

19th century saw industrialisation at its boom and modernisation was speeding.

Agostino Depretis took over Italy as the Prime Minister and

implemented a new political idea which he called “Transformismo”.

Transformismo was all about a cabinet that was to pick several

reasonable and proficient politicians from a non-partisan outlook.

But this was not so, Depretis pressurised the

districts to vote for those who would favour him.

He banned public meetings and all those who posed

a threat were exiled and sent to remote islands.

Some of the things of that can be counted as the positive side of him were that

the elementary education was made free, arrest for incurring debt was stopped,

and compulsory religious teachings were also stopped.

He was forced to resign in 1877 however, he was back in 1881.

He was once again thrown out in 1887 when the country faced continuous decline.

World War I and Italy

Initially Italy chose to remain quiet on taking sides but later on

the London Pact made it declare war in Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Italy was promised huge territories in exchange.

Although the army was huge but it was poorly supplied and even more poorly led.

The effectiveness of the war was pitiable and continued for three years.

In 1916, Italy declared war on Germany and the Austrians

who already had higher grounds got more privilege.

Thousands of Italian soldiers were killed and more injured.

The government had to bring back Italy to a higher level so it increased the

labour wages and introduced collective bargaining and insurance schemes.

The industries began to expand although the industrial

wages matched the rising inflation, the farmers suffered.

The residents in the rural areas were not happy.

The Treaty of St. Germain announced Italy as victorious and awarded it.

The Pact of London did not give Italy it’s said

territories so the triumph was thought to be ‘mutilated’.

Fascism in Italy

Benito Mussolini was the founder of Fascist Party.

He has participated in the World War I and was working with Socialist newspapers.

He later broke off and established Fasci di Combattimento on March 23, 1919.

Period of 1919 and 1920 was seen as a period of time of strikes,

political instability, unemployment and economic crisis.

The strikes were not only among the industries and factories but

also among the peasants and farmers in the rural parts of Italy.

The National Fascist Party managed to suppress all these

rebellions and tried to bring peace and order in the country.

In the October of 1922 Mussolini put forth his demands when there was a strike.

He told the government to give the power to the

Fascist party or Italy would have to face a coup.

A group of 30,000 Fascists marched from Italy to

Rome and said they would restore order in Italy.

They asked the then ruling Prime Minister Luigi Facta to be replaced by Mussolini.

Even though King Victor Emmanuel II had a much powerful army than

the Fascists the political system was going through a crisis.

He had to choose between the Fascists or the Marxist, he filtered down to Fascists.

Once the Fascists were in power, Mussolini passed a law that stated two-thirds of

the seats would be given to the party that would manage to get 25% of the vote.

The 1924 election was not pleasant as the

Fascists forcefully reached the goal of 25%.

Benito Mussolini cleverly removed any obstacles that checked his power and finally

in 1926 he passed a law that he was the only person who was responsible to the king.

All the local governments were dissolved and officials were

appointed while the mayors and councils were thrown out.

In 1928 there were no parties except for the Fascists.

The Latern Accord of 1929 was a treaty that recognised

Pope as the authoritative person of Vatican City only.

Vatican now had an independent status and became an important centre of the world.

The treaty also stated that Catholicism was the only religion of the state.

Other religions were tolerated as well.

The bishops and priests were given salaries and church marriages were recognised.

The religion was taught in schools now.

The bishops promised their loyalty to the Italian state.

The church was not obliged to follow Fascism

and the differences were always there.

However, the peace continued with these small differences too.

Mussolini vowed to make Italy the biggest power

in Europe and hold power in Mediterranean Sea.

There was an equally powerful man who was Adolf Hitler.

Mussolini and Hitler met in 1934.

Mussolini wanted an assurance from him that

the Nazi’s would not try and control Europe.

Mussolini decided to attack Ethiopia in 1935

and Second Italo-Abyssinian War stemmed in the

international isolation of Italy, becauseBritain and

Francenow lost their trust in Benito Mussolini.

World War II

Germany’s invasion of Poland marked the World War II.

Although he supported Hitler Benito Mussolini said that he was neutral.

Mussolini along with the Fascists wanted to seize Middle East and Africa.

He was warned by the King about the army not being efficient

enough for a long term war and to fly the weapons and tanks.

Mussolini took the advice and waited when France was attacked by Germany.

France lost and it was now that Mussolini entered in the war.

Mussolini expected to speedily seize Savoy, Nice, Corsica, and

the African colonies of Tunisia and Algeria from the French,

but Germany signed an armistice with Marshal Philippe Pétain instituting

Vichy France, which reserved control on southern France and colonies.

This resolution infuriated the Fascist government.

Italy couldn’t stand any fronts and was losing continuously.

By 1943, there were many battles they lost.

On July 25, 1943 Mussolini was arrested by King Victor Emmanuel III’s order.

The National Fascist Party was banned and a new prime

Minister was appointed - General Pietro Badoglio.

Mussolini was saved by a German commando in the Operation Eiche.

The Fascists helped the Nazis in several ways but they finally lost.

Mussolini was caught on April 25, 1945 and was executed for

treason the next day, thus ending a long Fascist rule in Italy.

Italian Republic

On June 2, 1946 the republican won 54% of vote and this made Italy a republic.

The House of Savoy were barred from entering

Italy, this bar was lifted only in 2002.

By 1950, Italy was stabilized and, in 1957, the economic and commerce

developed soon and Italy was finally free from her troubles.

Wars and revolts, battles and rebellions had

left the country weak but it recovered soon.

The country is now leading in global trade and commerce.

Italy became one of the founding members of the European

Economic Community, it is now the European Union.

There have been many changes in the government after

the Republic and today Italy is a thriving country.

Italy has been marked by chapters of momentary long separation

and union of futile kingdoms and intercommoned conflicts.

With its 60 million residents the country now enjoys peace,

have developed culture and high standards of living.

It is now a prosperous country and has developed a high sense of growth compared

to the early years of 20th century when the country was dependant on agriculture.

Tourism has now prospered and its capital Rome happens

to be in the list of tourist’s favourite place of visit.

Not to forget the fashion hub – Milan.

Milan has been the center of music, learning, art and culture since antiquity.

It also happens to be the best place to taste the region’s top cuisines.

Another important city located in the Ligurian Gulf is Genoa.

One of the most important places which is also of

great religious importance is the Vatican City.

Vatican is always thronged by tourists throughout the year.

The city of love, the city of canals, the city of bridges or the city of masks

call it what you like– Venice is one of the most romantic escapades for couples.

It is addressed as the “La Serenissima” and the “Queen of Adriatic”.

Literature, art, culinary, music, religion and philosophy seem to thrive in Italy.

The country has preserved its reminiscences from the

wondrous painters and sculptors of ancient times.

Italy has in store some rare and extraordinary

gifts for the people of the world.