A brief history of Italy

By Almaa1
  • 3300 BCE

    ~BRONZE AGE~

    ~BRONZE AGE~
    Many tribes left traces of their civilisations in this Age such as Terramaricoli in Emilia who built villages beside rivers and worked metal;
    Or the Sards who built the conical-shaped stone huts “nuraghi”
  • 2000 BCE

    -PREHISTORY-

    -PREHISTORY-
    There is evidence of Paleolithic and Neolithic settlements in Italy such as rock drawings :
    - they have been found in the Alpine areas
    - they represent hunting scenes and social life
  • Period: 2000 BCE to

    A brief history of Italy

  • 800 BCE

    *GREEKS AND ETRUSCANS*

    *GREEKS AND ETRUSCANS*
    • Greeks settlers established colonies in some areas of southern Italy
    • They dominated a big area that was known as MAGNA GRAECIA
    • Their settlements were successful and wealthy as well as their trades in the Mediterranean
    ~ On the other side the Etruscans dominated the area of the Tiber and the Arno
    ~ they were technically advanced and had great skills as artist particularly with terracotta, pottery and bronze
  • 27 BCE

    ^THE ROMAN EMPIRE^

    In 509 BC after about two centuries of monarchy was established a republic. In 27 BC under the Emperor Augustus was born the Roman Empire:
    - the Romas quickly became dominant
    - they invaded much of Europe, North Africa and Asia minor
    - they also made innovations in engineering and architecture
  • 300

    ^THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE^

    ^THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE^
    • From the middle of the 3rd century AD, the empire started to get weak and disrupt caused by the invasions and civil wars
    • The Emperor Diocletian tried to restore order and stability by dividing the empire into east and west
    • His successor Constantine united the two empires and declared Christianity religion of the state
    • The Western Empire went into decline -In the next centuries the situation became more difficult there were different invasions and the last emperor was deposed
  • 1000

    +THE MIDDLE AGES+

    +THE MIDDLE AGES+
    The early Middle Ages was a period of repeated invasions
    - struggle for domination between the conquerors and the popes
    - By the end of the 11 century trade started developing again
    - Four maritime republics (Genova, Pisa, Amalfi and Venice) became important politically and commercially
    - In many central and northern Italian cities set up local governments called “comuni”
  • 1300

    THE RENAISSANCE

    THE RENAISSANCE
    From the late 14th century to the 16th century
    - growth of intellectual and artistic ideas by studying the classical art and literature
    - The popes in Rome and wealthy families financed architectural projects, paintings and sculptures
    - Progress in the fields of the science, philosophy and literature
    - Tuscan dialect became Italy’s literary language
  • 1500

    FOREIGN RULE

    FOREIGN RULE
    From the 16th century to 18th century Italy was subject to a number of invasions and wars by France, Spain and later the Austrians.
    - Italy also fall into a economical decline when the Atlantic and Indian Ocean started to increase the trade routes
    - In 1796 Napoleon invaded Italy and for a brief period some areas of the northern and central Italy were annexed to France
    - In 1814 the Congress of Vienna divided Italy in 10 states with most areas under foreign control

  • _UNIFICATION_

    _UNIFICATION_
    The increasing of the discontent with the political and social situation led to the foundation of secret societies and rebellions in different parts of Italy
    - Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi played a central role in the Risorgimento
    - In 1860 G.Garibaldi gain control over Sicily then of Naples and the rest of the Kingdom Two Sicilies
    - On March 17th the Kingdom of Italy was officially proclaimed, 10 years later Rome became the capital