History of Italy

Introduction to History of Italy

The Italians, an Indo-European people, had settled on the Italian peninsula by 1000 B.C.Around 900 B.C., the Etruscans, a non-Indo-European people, began to develop a civilization on the west coast. They formed 12 city-states that together came to be known as Etruria. To the south was Latium, established by Latins, an Italian people, with Rome as its strongest city. Farther south were the Greek colonies.

By the middle of the sixth century B.C.the Etruscans dominated Italy from the Po River valley to Naples. Greeks and Romans cooperated in driving back the Etruscans. Raids by Gauls, who had crossed the Alps and settled in the Po Valley, helped weaken Etruria, and it rapidly declined.

In the fourth century B.C.the Greeks made several attempts to conquer the Italians, but in the third century the Greek colonies fell to Rome. From that time until the collapse of the Roman Empire, the history of Italy coincides with the history of Rome.

From Roman Empire to Holy Roman Empire

In the fifth century A.D.Italy was invaded by Visigoths, Huns, and Vandals. The Roman armies at this time were made up largely of German mercenaries, who became the real rulers of the country. In 476 the last Roman emperor of the West, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed by Odoacer, leader of the mercenaries.

In 493 Theodoric, leader of the Ostrogoths, became king of Italy, with Ravenna as capital. When Justinian I became Byzantine emperor in 527, he wanted Italy under his rule. The Ostrogoths were defeated after almost 20 years of warfare (535–54) that left Rome and much of Italy in ruins.

In 568 the Lombards, a Germanic tribe, occupied northern Italy. Ravenna and the south remained under Byzantine control. The popes at Rome gradually assumed temporal (political) power over the Patrimony of St. Peter (territory held by the Church). In the early 700's the Lombards began encroaching on the papal lands. Pope Stephen II appealed for help to Pepin the Short, king of the Franks.

In 755 and 756 Pepin invaded Italy, subdued the Lombards, and declared the pope sovereign over Ravenna and the papal patrimony. Soon the Lombards began again to threaten the papal lands, however. Pepin's son Charlemagne deposed the Lombard king in 774 and assumed the Lombard crown himself.

In 800 Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Roman emperor of the West. Only southern Italy remained under Byzantine rule. After eight kings of Charlemagne's line, the rule of northern Italy passed to a variety of ambitious nobles, Italian and foreign. The monarchy grew steadily weaker, and the Italian city-states became virtually self-ruling. There was frequent warfare among noble families, among cities, and between Italian and foreign contenders for the title of king.

In the 9th and 10th centuries, Saracens (Muslims) occupied southern Italy. By the early 11th century, they had been driven from that region and the Italians and Byzantines were fighting for control of it. Normans appeared in southern Italy in about 1016. By the end of the century, the Normans had established themselves as rulers. They also conquered Sicily, 1072–91, and created the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

The German Emperors

Meanwhile, in northern Italy, Magyars (Hungarians) had begun raiding Lombardy in the mid-10th century. Otto I (the Great), king of Germany, defeated them at Lechfeld in 955. In 962 he came to the aid of Pope John XII, whose authority was being challenged by Lombard nobles. Otto drove the nobles out of Rome, and the pope proclaimed him emperor of the Western Roman Empire, which came to be known as the Holy Roman Empire.

Most of Otto's successors were too preoccupied with German affairs to maintain control over the Lombard nobles. In 1046 Emperor Henry III brought an army to Rome to help restore order in the Papal States. However, a conflict developed between the emperor and the pope over lay investiture (the installation of bishops by monarchs). The conflict divided the Italian nobility. Supporters of the emperor came to be known as Ghibellines; supporters of the pope were called Guelphs.

During the reigns of Henry IV (1056–1106), Henry V (1106–25), and Frederick (I) Barbarossa (1152–90), German armies marched on Rome and Lombardy several times. In 1164 the Guelph nobles formed an alliance called the Lombard League. Fighting continued until the League defeated Frederick at Legnano in 1176.

In 1194 the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies passed by marriage to Emperor Henry VI, the son of Frederick Barbarossa. Henry's son, Frederick II (1215–50), resumed the war against the Lombard League but was defeated.

After Frederick's death, Charles of Anjou, a French noble, seized the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1266–68) with the support of the Guelphs. With this setback, German efforts to rule Italy came to an end. An uprising against the French broke out in 1282. The revolt, commonly known as the Sicilian Vespers, was supported by the Kingdom of Aragon (later part of the Kingdom of Spain) and succeeded in Sicily. However, Charles maintained the Angevin holdings in southern Italy.

Renaissance and Decline

The surge of creative activity known as the Renaissance began in Italy in the 14th century. It was accompanied by an era of expansion by the city-states. Venice, Genoa, Milan, Florence, and the Papal States were major participants in the territorial warfare that developed. There was no central authority in Italy. The emperors had abandoned their effort to rule Italy, and during the so-called Babylonian Captivity of the Church (1305–77) there was a succession of French popes, living in Avignon, France. During the Great Western Schism (1378–1417), there were rival popes in Rome and Avignon. In the late 14th century, the Hapsburgs of Austria seized the Italian Tyrol and Trieste.

In the mid-15th century the Angevin kingdom in southern Italy fell to Aragon. In 1494 the French invaded southern Italy in support of the Angevins. More than 30 years of warfare followed. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, a Hapsburg and the ruler of Austria and Spain, emerged victorious in 1529. All of Italy except the free states of Venice and Genoa and the Papal States fell under Spanish rule or influence. A mid-century effort by the French to dislodge the Spanish was unsuccessful, and in the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis (1559) the French recognized Hapsburg rule of Italy.

The 17th century was a period of continual decline. Spanish monarchs had little concern for the welfare of Italy. During the first half of the 18th century, Italy was a battleground in various wars of succession. By mid-century, Italy had been divided among Austria, France, and Spain, except for Sardinia and the Papal States, which had remained independent. In northwestern Italy the House of Savoy founded the Kingdom of Sardinia, composed of Sardinia, Savoy, Nice, and Piedmont.

From Napoleon to Unification

When the French Revolutionary Wars began in 1792, Italy again became a battleground. French conquest began with the annexation of Savoy and Nice and ended with the subjugation of the entire peninsula by Napoleon in 1796–97. Italy was reorganized into republics and small kingdoms. With the collapse of Napoleon's empire in 1814–15, Italy was divided among France, Austria, and Spain. leaving the Hapsburg dynasty with dominating influence on the peninsula.

Italian princes, restored to power by the Austrians, reestablished autocratic rule. Napoleon, however, had instituted many reforms, including republican government. Discontent with the Austrian autocracy was widespread, and a revolutionary movement known as the risorgimento (resurgence) began. Secret revolutionary societies such as the Carbonari were formed. Revolts flared up in all parts of Italy, but they were crushed by the Italian aristocracy, with the help of the Austrians.

In 1831 Charles Albert of Savoy succeeded to the throne of Sardinia. A young patriot, Giuseppe Mazzini, urged him to lead the fight for unification of Italy. Sentiment for uniting Italy under the House of Savoy grew. Resentment of foreign domination resulted in the Revolution of 1848, in which Charles Albert led Italians against Austrians. Republics were established in several states. The revolution was crushed by armies from Austria and France, who had allied to block the attempt to unify Italy. Charles Albert abdicated in favor of his son, Victor Emmanuel II.

Sardinia, led by Prime Minister Camillo di Cavour, attempted to gain support from other European nations for the unification of Italy. In 1859 Sardinia and France formed an alliance to expel the Austrians from Italy. They attacked the Austrians and pushed them back to Venice. Meanwhile, Giuseppe Garibaldi drove the Spanish out of the Two Sicilies. In 1861 the Kingdom of Italy was formally proclaimed, with Victor Emmanuel II as king. Rome and Venice remained outside the kingdom.

Italian forces, aided by the Prussians, who were at war with Austria, conquered Venice in 1866. Meanwhile, Napoleon III, emperor of France, sent troops to Rome to uphold the pope's authority in the city. Garibaldi led unsuccessful attacks against the French troops in Rome in 1862 and 1867. In 1870, after Napoleon III was overthrown, French troops were withdrawn and Italy was fully united. Italy annexed Rome and, in 1871, proclaimed it the capital. The pope was deprived of all political authority.

Development of the Nation

Victor Emmanuel II was succeeded in 1878 by his son Humbert I. Italy joined Austria-Hungary and Germany in forming the Triple Alliance. A severe depression in the late 1880's caused mass emigration of Sicilians and other southern Italians, many of them to the United States. Industrialization was begun in the north under national subsidy.

In the 1890's Italy attempted to build a colonial empire. The establishment of a colony in Eritrea led to war with Ethiopia and a crushing Italian defeat at Aduwa in 1896. Meanwhile, the peasants and many city dwellers were living in poverty. Marxist socialism was gaining great strength in Italy's cities. In 1900 King Humbert was assassinated by an anarchist. He was succeeded by his son, Victor Emmanuel III.

In the Libyan War, 1911–12, Italy took Libya, Rhodes, and the Dodecanese Islands from Turkey. The Triple Alliance of Italy, Germany, and Austria-Hungary was renewed in 1912. Italy, however, wanted the regions it called Italia irredenta (unredeemed Italy), including Trentino, Trieste, and Dalmatia. Austria-Hungary refused to cede them. After World War I broke out, Italy joined the Allies. In return for Italy's declaration of war against the Central Powers, Great Britain and France promised that if the Allies were victorious, Italy would be awarded Italia irredentain the postwar settlement. After the war, Italy received Trentino, Trieste, and South Tyrol, and renounced its claim on Dalmatia.

Mussolini and World War II

Italy suffered economic collapse after World War I. The government was torn by conflict among Socialists, Communists, and Nationalists. Numerous strikes reduced the country to virtual anarchy. The Fascists, a nationalist group organized by Benito Mussolini in 1919, had a large following. In 1922, at the request of King Victor Emmanuel, Mussolini took over the government. He became dictator of Italy and promised to restore order through strong central authority.

Under Fascism, Italy became a totalitarian state devoted to expansion and military conquest. Ethiopia was invaded and conquered by Italy in 1935–36. In 1936 Italy and Germany began cooperating on foreign policy, marking the beginning of the Axis alliance. They intervened in the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) on the side of Francisco Franco's rebel forces. In 1937 Italy withdrew from the League of Nations and in 1939 it seized Albania. A military alliance was formed with Germany in 1939. Meanwhile, the Italian government and the papacy had signed the Lateran Treaty in 1929, establishing the independence of Vatican City.

Italy entered World War II by invading France in June, 1940. The Italians invaded Greece (1940–41), but required massive German assistance to overrun the country. Campaigns in Africa were disastrous: Ethiopia was lost in 1941, Libya in 1943. The Allies invaded Sicily in July, 1943. Later that year, Mussolini was deposed and arrested, but was rescued by the Germans.

Mussolini was succeeded as premier by Marshal Pietro Badoglio, who surrendered Italy to the Allies in September shortly after Allied troops invaded the mainland. In October Italy declared war on Germany, whose forces occupied the country as far south as Rome. Fighting continued until the German collapse in May, 1945. Mussolini was captured and killed by Italian partisans.

Italy Since 1945

Italy was stripped of its colonial possessions and of most of Istria. Alcide de Gasperi, leader of the Christian Democratic party, became premier in 1945 and served until 1953. In 1946 Victor Emmanuel III abdicated in favor of his son, Humbert II. By a referendum soon after, Italy became a republic, and Humbert wentc into exile. Italy was a charter member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Community (today's European Union). It became a member of the United Nations in 1955.

Meanwhile, in 1953, Italy had become involved in a dispute with Yugoslavia over the territory of Trieste, which had been under United Nations administration since the end of World War II. The dispute was resolved in 1954 through mediation by the United Nations.

Through land reform and industrial development, Italy gradually achieved prosperity, although the south remained depressed. Political stability, however, proved impossible to achieve because of the large number of political parties. Throughout the 1960's the Christian Democrats, the largest party, were able to form a series of coalitions. The Communists, although the second largest party, were consistently excluded from the coalitions. During the late 1960's demands for social reforms led to widespread strikes and student demonstrations.

The national government took steps to restore order, and in 1970 it established regional governments with jurisdiction over many matters formerly under central control. Delays in implementing social, economic, and educational reforms, however, caused unrest. The economy was seriously weakened by low industrial productivity, unemployment, inflation, and strikes. With the government unable to agree on austerity measures, the nation was left on the brink of economic disaster. In addition, many controversial issues continued to divide the country. For example, there was a bitter dispute over the enactment of a 1970 law legalizing divorce.

During the 1970's, the country was governed by a series of coalitions made virtually powerless by internal dissension and having little popular support. The Communist party made significant electoral gains during the decade. Italy, heavily dependent on imported oil, was especially hard hit by sharp increases in the world price of oil. A high rate of inflation also plagued the economy. In the late 1970's and early 1980's, leftist terrorists carried out a series of bombings, kidnappings, and shootings, including the 1978 abduction and murder of former premier Aldo Moro.

In 1981, for the first time in 36 years, a premier was chosen who was not a member of the Christian Democratic party. However, Christian Democrats continued to hold the largest number of cabinet posts. In 1985 Roman Catholicism was disestablished as the state religion. Bettino Craxi, who had been prime minister since 1983, resigned in 1987, ending Italy's longest-lasting postwar government.

During the early 1990's Italy was plagued by a far-reaching political-corruption scandal, which led to the resignation of many high-ranking government ministers. Elections in 1994 ended nearly 50 years of Italian governments in which the Christian Democrats ruled or were part of a coalition government. The government formed after the 1996 elections was the first to include members of a leftist party, the Democrats of the Left (the former Communist party). It fell in October, 1998. A new coalition was formed within weeks by Massimo D'Alema, who became the first former Communist to lead the country.

See cross references within the history section of this article. See also history sections of articles on cities and regions and, in addition,