Italy Timeline and History Highlights
Italy Timeline Highlights
B.C.
2000 – The Bronze Age begins in Italy.
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800 – Etruscans settle in central Italy. Iron Age begins.
753 – According to legend, Romulus founded the city of Rome.
700s – Greeks settle much of southern Italy and Sicily. 509 – The Roman Republic is established.
334 – The Romans begin to colonize and occupy much of Italy.
218 – Italy is invaded as the Carthaginian leader Hannibal is crossing the Alps during the Second Punic War.
146 – Rome conquers Greece.
73 – A gladiator named Spartacus leads a slave rebellion.
45 – Julius Caesar is a Roman dictator.
44 – Julius Caesar is killed.
31st – Marc Antonius is defeated by Octavian’s army at the Battle of Actium.
27th – Roman Empire is established. Augustus becomes the first Roman emperor.
CE
64 – The Great Fire of Rome burns most of Rome.
79 AD – Mount Vesuvius volcano erupts, destroying the city of Pompeii.
80 – The Colosseum in Rome is completed.
98 – Trajan becomes emperor. He established many public works and greatly expanded the Roman Empire.
100s – The Roman Empire expands to include most of the Mediterranean Sea.
126 – Emperor Hadrian rebuilds the Pantheon in Rome.
306 – Constantine the Great becomes Emperor of Rome.
395 – The Roman Empire is divided into her two empires. The Western Roman Empire is ruled by Rome.
410 – Rome is sacked by the Visigoths.
476 – Fall of the Roman Empire.
488 – The Ostrogoths, led by Theodoric, conquer Italy.
751 – Lombards conquer Italy. The Pope asks the Franks for help.
773 – Frankish forces under Charlemagne invade Italy and defeat the Lombards.
800 – Pope crowns Charlemagne as leader of the Holy Roman Empire.
1200s – Powerful city-states begin to develop across Italy, including Florence, Milan, Venice, and Naples.
1300s – The Renaissance began in Florence, Italy in his 13th century.
1308 – The Divine Comedy is written by Dante.
1348 – The plague hits Italy, killing about a third of the population.
1377 – The papacy returns from France to Rome.
1434 – The Medici family seizes the city-state of Florence.
1494 – France invades northern Italy.
1503 – Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa.
1508 – Michelangelo begins painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
1527 – Charles V sacks Rome.
1626 – Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome is consecrated.
1633 – Galileo is convicted as a heretic and sentenced to life imprisonment.
1796 – Northern Italy is conquered by Napoleon and becomes part of the French Empire.
1805 – Napoleon declares the Kingdom of Italy.
1814 – Napoleon is defeated and Italy is divided into smaller provinces.
1815 – The unification of Italy begins.
1861 – The Kingdom of Italy is established. Rome and Venice are still separate states.
1866 – Venice becomes part of Italy.
1871 – Most of Italy, including Rome, is united as one kingdom. Rome becomes the capital of the Kingdom of Italy.
1895 – Telegraph is invented by Marconi.
1915 – Italy enters World War I on the side of the Allies.
1919 – World War I ends with the Treaty of Versailles. Italy gains some territory.
1922 – Benito Mussolini and the fascist government seize power.
1925 – Mussolini is appointed dictator.
1929 – Vatican City becomes an independent territory within the city of Rome called the Holy See.
1935 – Italy invades Ethiopia.
1936 – Italy joins the Axis Alliance with Germany.
1938 – Italian scientist Enrico Fermi wins the Nobel Prize in Physics.
1940 – Italy joins Germany in World War II. Italy invades Greece.
1943 – Mussolini loses power and Italy surrenders to the Allies. The new government declares war on Germany.
1944 – Allied forces liberate Rome.
1945 – Mussolini is executed.
1946 – The Italian Republic is established with a new constitution. Women are given the right to vote.
1955 – Italy joins the United Nations.
1960 – The Summer Olympics are held in Rome.
2002 – The euro becomes the official currency of Italy.
Italy History Highlights:
The first advanced civilization to settle on Italian soil was the Greeks in the 8th century BC. Ch. They established colonies along the coast of southern Italy and in Sicily. Then the Phoenicians did the same.
Around the same time, a small agricultural community formed on the west coast of Italy, BC, in the 8th century BC. It founded the city of Rome, which would grow into Ancient Rome, one of the world’s greatest civilizations. For more information about Ancient Rome, see Ancient Rome for Kids. Rome first formed the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. His reign would extend to most of Europe and the Mediterranean.
Along with Greek culture, Rome would go on to have a major influence on shaping much of today’s Western civilization, including philosophy, art, and law. In 395 AD, the Roman Empire was split into the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. Italy was part of the Western Roman Empire, which collapsed around 476 AD. Over the next few centuries, Italy would consist of a series of small city-states.
In the 14th century, Italy became the home of his Renaissance. During this period, artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo made art flourish.
In the 19th century, much of Italy wanted to unite into a single country. In 1871 Italy became a constitutional monarchy and became an independent and united state. In 1922 Benito Mussolini seized power in Italy. He turned Italy into a fascist state as a dictator. During World War II, he sided with the Axis powers Germany and Japan. After losing the war, Mussolini was ousted from power. In 1946 Italy became a republic.