Italy History

By echo42
  • Jan 1, 1300

    The Italian Renaissance c. 1300 – c. 1600

    Italy led the cultural and mental transformation of Europe which became known as the Renaissance. This was a period of great artistic achievement, mostly in urban areas and facilitated by the wealth of the church and the great Italian cities.
  • Jan 1, 1378

    War of Chioggia 1378 to 1381

    The decisive conflict in the mercantile rivalry between Venice and Genoa occurred between 1378 and 81, when the two fought over the Adriatic sea. Venice won, banishing Genoa from the area, and carried on collecting a large overseas trading empire.
  • Jan 1, 1390

    Peak of Visconti Power c.1390

    The most powerful state in northern Italy was Milan, headed by the Visconti family; they expanded during the period to conquer many of their neighbours, establishing a powerful army and a large power base in northern Italy which was officially transformed into a dukedom in 1395 after Gian Galeazzo Visconti basically purchased the title from the Emperor.
  • Jan 1, 1559

    The Italian Wars 1494 – 1559

    In 1494 Charles VIII of France invaded Italy for two reasons: to assist a claimant to Milan (which Charles also had a claim on) and to pursue a French claim on the Kingdom of Naples.

  • The Revolutions

    These events happened all through 1848 to 1849. A series of revolutions broke loose in Italy in early 1848, threeatening many states to make new constitutions, including the constitutional monarchy of Piedmont/Sardinia.

  • Italian Unification

    Event took place through 1859 and 1870. In 1859 France and Austria went to war, destabilising Italy and allowing many – now Austrian free – states to vote to merge with Piedmont. In 1860 Garibaldi led a force of volunteers, the "red-shirts", in the conquest of Sicily and Naples, which he then gave to Victor Emanuel II of Piedmont who now ruled the majority of Italy.

  • World War 1 1915 to 1918

    Although Italy was allied with Germany and Austria-Hungary, the nature of their entry into the war allowed Italy to remain neutral until worries about missing out on gains, and the secret Treaty of London with Russia, France and Britain, took Italy into the war, opening a new front.

  • Mussolini Gains Power 1922

    Violent groups of fascists, often ex-soldiers and students, formed in post-war Italy, partly in response to the growing success of socialism and the weak central government.

  • Italy World War 2 1940 to 1945

    Italy entered World War 2 in 1940 on the German side, unprepared but determined to gain something from a swift Nazi victory. However, Italian operations went badly wrong and had to be propped up by German forces.

  • The Italian Republic Declared in 1946

    King Victor Emmanuel III abdicated in 1946 and was replaced briefly by his son, but a referendum that same year voted to abolish the monarchy by 12 million votes to 10, the south voting largely for the king and the north for the republic.