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History of Italy
From antiquity to the modern era — the historical eras, key events, and narrative that shaped Italy.
Overview
Italy is largely homogeneous linguistically and religiously but is diverse culturally, economically, and politically. Italy has the fifth-highest population density in Europe--about 200 persons per square kilometer (490 per sq. mi.). Minority groups are small, the largest being the German-speaking people of Bolzano Province and the Slovenes around Trieste. Other groups comprise small communities of Albanian, Greek, Ladino, and French origin. Immigration has increased in recent years, however, while the Italian population is declining overall due to low birth rates.
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Historical Eras
The major periods of {country}’s history at a glance.
Ancient Italy
800 BCE – 476
Greek colonists established city-states across southern Italy while Etruscans dominated the north and center. Rome rose from a small republic to master of the Mediterranean world, unifying the peninsula and its islands by the third century BCE. At its height, the Roman Empire governed much of Europe, North Africa, and the Near East before collapsing under pressure from Germanic invasions in 476 CE.
Medieval Fragmentation
476 – 1000
The fall of the Western Roman Empire ushered in successive waves of invasion — Visigoths, Huns, Ostrogoths, and Lombards — dismantling Italian political unity. The papacy emerged as a major temporal power in central Italy, establishing the Papal States following Pepin the Short's donation in 756. Rivalry between popes and Holy Roman Emperors made the peninsula a persistent battleground, preventing consolidation under any single authority.
City-States & Renaissance
1000 – 1559
Commercial prosperity gave rise to powerful independent city-states — Florence, Venice, Milan, Genoa, and Naples — each developing distinct political and artistic cultures. The Renaissance, flowering from the 14th through 16th centuries, produced transformative achievements in art, architecture, literature, and humanism under patrons such as the Medici of Florence. The period closed with Spanish Habsburg dominance cemented by the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559.
Foreign Domination
1559 – 1814
Spain, then Austria, exercised hegemony over much of the peninsula, reducing most Italian states to satellites of foreign powers. Napoleon's campaigns briefly reorganized Italy into client republics and kingdoms, and he declared himself emperor of the Italians in 1804, but his abdication in 1814 restored the fragmented patchwork of kingdoms and duchies. These upheavals nonetheless spread Enlightenment ideas and nationalist sentiment that would fuel the Risorgimento.
Risorgimento & Unification
1814 – 1870
A growing nationalist movement, driven by figures such as Giuseppe Mazzini, Count Cavour, and Giuseppe Garibaldi, sought to unite the fragmented Italian states against Austrian and papal authority. A series of wars and popular uprisings culminated in the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 under Victor Emmanuel II of the House of Savoy. Rome was incorporated in 1870 following the withdrawal of French troops, completing territorial unification.
Liberal & Fascist Kingdom
1870 – 1946
Unified Italy functioned as a constitutional monarchy with a gradually expanding parliamentary system, joining the Allies in World War I and gaining northeastern territories from Austria-Hungary. Economic hardship and political instability allowed Benito Mussolini to seize power in 1922, dismantling democratic institutions and establishing a fascist Corporate State allied with Nazi Germany. Defeat in World War II, Allied invasion in 1943, and liberation in 1945 led to a 1946 plebiscite that abolished the monarchy.
Italian Republic
1946 – present
A constituent assembly drafted a republican constitution enacted in 1948, anchoring Italy in parliamentary democracy and Western alliances including NATO and the founding European Economic Community. The postwar economic miracle transformed Italy into a major industrial nation, though political life was marked by frequent government changes, Cold War polarization, and the turbulence of the 1970s 'Years of Lead.' Italy remains a founding member of the European Union and one of the world's largest economies.
Timeline Preview
The first 7 key events. View the full chronology on the timeline page.
485
Italy was invaded by Attila the Hun
Italy was invaded by Attila the Hun. Pope Leo I dissuaded Attila from sacking Rome.
553
The old Roman Empire was reunited
The old Roman Empire was reunited by Justinian, the Byzantine emperor.
568
The Lombards invade Italy
The Lombards, a Germanic tribe, invade Italy which is divided into three regions ruled by the Lombards, the Eastern Roman Empire and the Papal States.
572
The Byzantine rule collapses after an attack by the Lombards
The Byzantine rule collapses after an attack by the Lombards.
756
Pepin the Short conquers the Lombards for the popes
Pepin the Short, a Frankish King, conquers the Lombards for the popes.
756
The Papal States were established in central Italy
The Papal States were established in central Italy.
774
The Lombards defeated by Charlemagne
The Lombards defeated by Charlemagne.