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753 B.C. Rome is founded. This marks the beginning of the Roman Kingdom.
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Independence of the north (1100 - 1300).
Cities in the north increasingly strive for independence, establishing themselves through trade, industry and conquest. Florence, Milan and Venice emerge as leaders, with the latter becoming Europe's trade gateway to the East. These city-states switch allegiance from Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy to serve their own interests. -
The Renaissance in Italy
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Paris Mob storms the bastille (Starts French Revolution)
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Napoleon and the Kingdom of Italy (1796 - 1808)
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Napoleon is crowned King of Italy in Milan
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Congress of Vienna.
Following the defeat of the Napoleonic Empire, the reactionary Congress of Vienna restores the pre-existing divisions in Europe, carving up Italy again. Rising Italian nationalism is repeatedly repressed by the Austrian Empire, but the seeds of Italian unification are sown. -
Radical Italian nationalists, Giuseppe Garibaldi and Giuseppe Mazzini, are backed by conservative monarchists, Count Camile Cavour and Victor Emmanuel II, to establish a united Italian state. Following a succession of wars, unity is declared in 1871 as the parliament is established in Rome.
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Italy enters World War I on the side of the Allies
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Italians vote to end the monarchy and make their nation a democratic republic.
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Social and economic unrest (1970s).
Economic crises and widespread social unrest heightens Europe's fears of a Communist uprising in Italy. The period is characterized by terrorist attacks by opposing extremist groups.
