Italy: timeline and key events
-
Politics
Legendary founding of Rome
According to tradition, Romulus founded the city of Rome on 21 April 753 BC on the Palatine Hill, giving birth to what would become the greatest power of the ancient world.
-
Politics
Birth of the Roman Republic
The Romans expelled King Tarquinius Superbus and established a republic governed by two annually elected consuls. This republican system would last nearly five centuries.
-
Politics
Assassination of Julius Caesar
On 15 March 44 BC (the Ides of March), Julius Caesar was assassinated in the Senate by a conspiracy of senators led by Brutus and Cassius, triggering the civil war that ended the Republic.
-
Other
Eruption of Vesuvius and destruction of Pompeii
On 24 August AD 79, Vesuvius erupted and buried the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae under ash and pumice, leaving one of the most precious archaeological records of antiquity.
-
Politics
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
The barbarian chieftain Odoacer deposed the last Western Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, ending the Western Roman Empire. This event conventionally marks the end of antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages.
-
Politics
Coronation of Charlemagne in Rome
Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the West at St Peter's Basilica in Rome on 25 December 800, symbolically reviving the Roman Empire and marking the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire.
-
Culture
Foundation of the University of Bologna
The University of Bologna was founded in 1088, becoming the oldest university in the Western world still in operation. It attracted students from across Europe and established the model for medieval higher education.
-
Economy
Foundation of the Medici Bank
Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici founded the Medici Bank in Florence, which would become the most important financial institution in Europe. The Medici used their wealth to patronise the arts and dominate Florentine politics for two centuries.
-
Culture
Completion of Florence Cathedral dome by Brunelleschi
Filippo Brunelleschi completed the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, an unprecedented architectural masterpiece that marks the beginning of the Renaissance. Its construction without wooden centring revolutionised building.
-
War
Invasion of Italy by Charles VIII of France
French King Charles VIII invaded Italy to claim the throne of Naples, triggering the Italian Wars that lasted until 1559. These conflicts devastated the peninsula but spread Renaissance culture throughout Europe.
-
War
Sack of Rome by the troops of Charles V
The troops of Charles V, composed of German Landsknechts and Spanish soldiers, sacked Rome for several weeks. This traumatic event marked the end of the High Renaissance in Rome and the beginning of Spanish dominance over Italy.
-
Science
Trial of Galileo by the Inquisition
The Roman Inquisition forced Galileo to recant his heliocentric theory. Despite his sentence of house arrest, his work on astronomy and physics laid the foundations of modern scientific method.
-
War
Napoleon Bonaparte's Italian campaign
Napoleon Bonaparte conducted a brilliant military campaign in northern Italy (1796-1797), defeating the Austrians at Lodi and Arcole. He reorganised the peninsula into sister republics and introduced French revolutionary ideas.
-
Politics
Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy
On 17 March 1861, the parliament assembled in Turin proclaimed Victor Emmanuel II King of Italy, completing the Risorgimento and the unification of the peninsula. Rome and Venice would not join until 1870 and 1866 respectively.
-
Politics
March on Rome: Mussolini takes power
On 28 October 1922, thousands of Fascist Blackshirts marched on Rome. King Victor Emmanuel III refused to declare a state of siege and appointed Mussolini as Prime Minister, setting Italy on the path to dictatorship.
-
War
Italy enters World War II
On 10 June 1940, Mussolini declared war on France and the United Kingdom. Italy, militarily unprepared, suffered heavy defeats in North Africa and Greece, revealing deep weaknesses in the Fascist war machine.
-
War
Allied landings in Sicily and fall of Mussolini
On 10 July 1943, the Allies landed in Sicily (Operation Husky). The Fascist Grand Council dismissed Mussolini on 25 July and he was arrested. Italy signed an armistice with the Allies on 8 September 1943.
-
Politics
Proclamation of the Italian Republic
On 2 June 1946, a popular referendum abolished the monarchy: 54% of Italians voted for a Republic. June 2 became Italy's national holiday. A Constituent Assembly drafted the Constitution, adopted on 1 January 1948.
-
Politics
Treaty of Rome: founding of the EEC
On 25 March 1957, six European countries signed the founding treaties of the European Economic Community (EEC) and Euratom in Rome. Italy was thus one of the founding members of what would become the European Union.
-
Politics
Operation Mani Pulite (Clean Hands)
Operation Mani Pulite, launched by judge Antonio Di Pietro in Milan, revealed a vast corruption network linking politicians and businesses (Tangentopoli). Thousands of politicians and businessmen were implicated, transforming Italian politics.
-
Economy
Italy adopts the euro
On 1 January 2002, Italy put euro coins and banknotes into circulation, abandoning the Italian lira after more than 2,000 years of monetary history. Italy had been one of the eleven founding members of the eurozone since 1999.