133-738: The Garibaldi Battalion (Garibaldi Brigade after April 1937) was a largely- Italian volunteer unit of the International Brigades that fought on the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War from October 1936 to 1938. It was named after Giuseppe Garibaldi , an Italian military and political figure of the nineteenth century. The Italian Legion was established on 27 October 1936, through an agreement signed in Paris between Italian republicans, socialists and Communists. It
266-604: A dux . During this time, Christianity took deeper root on the island, supplanting the Paganism which had survived into the early Middle Ages in the culturally conservative hinterlands. Along with lay Christianity, the followers of monastic figures such as Basil of Caesarea became established in Sardinia. While Christianity penetrated the majority of the population, the region of Barbagia remained largely pagan and, probably, partially non-Latin speaking. They re-established
399-452: A regional or minority language native to Italy, the existence of which predates the national language. Although there is disagreement on the total number, according to UNESCO , there are approximately 30 languages native to Italy , although many are often misleadingly referred to as "Italian dialects ". Since 2017, in addition to the approximately 55 million Italians in Italy (91% of
532-709: A worldwide famous cuisine . Due to comparatively late national unification, and the historical autonomy of the regions that comprise the Italian peninsula, many traditions and customs of the Italians can be identified by their regions of origin. Despite the political and social isolation of these regions, Italy's contributions to the cultural and historical heritage of the Western world remain immense. Famous elements of Italian culture are its opera and music, its iconic gastronomy and food, which are commonly regarded as amongst
665-581: A Napoleonic sister republic of Revolutionary France , took place, on the basis of the events following the French Revolution (1789–1799) which, among its ideals, advocated the national self-determination . This event is celebrated by the Tricolour Day . The Italian national colours appeared for the first time on a tricolour cockade in 1789, anticipating by seven years the first green, white and red Italian military war flag , which
798-558: A combination of 43 different isobioclimates. During the year there is a major concentration of rainfall in the winter and autumn, some heavy showers in the spring and snowfalls in the highlands. The average temperature is between 11 and 18 °C (52 and 64 °F), with mild winters and warm summers on the coasts (9 to 16 °C (48 to 61 °F) in January, 23 to 31 °C (73 to 88 °F) in July), and cold winters and cool summers on
931-693: A key role in ushering the Age of Discovery and the European colonization of the Americas. The most notable among them were: Christopher Columbus (Italian: Cristoforo Colombo [kriˈstɔːforo koˈlombo] ), colonist in the name of Spain, who is credited with discovering the New World and the opening of the Americas for conquest and settlement by Europeans; John Cabot (Italian: Giovanni Caboto [dʒoˈvanni kaˈbɔːto] ), sailing for England, who
1064-580: A kind of round tower-fortress called nuraghe (usually pluralized as nuraghes in English and as nuraghi in Italian). These towers were often reinforced and enlarged with battlements. Tribal boundaries were guarded by smaller lookout Nuraghes erected on strategic hills commanding a view of other territories. Today, some 7,000 Nuraghes dot the Sardinian landscape. While initially these Nuraghes had
1197-586: A lesser extent in the Middle East ( Italians in the United Arab Emirates ). Italians have influenced and contributed to fields like arts and music , science , technology , fashion , cinema , cuisine , restaurants , sports , jurisprudence , banking and business . Furthermore, Italian people are generally known for their attachment to their locale, expressed in the form of either regionalism or municipalism . Hypotheses for
1330-518: A local noble family, the Lacon-Gunale , acceded to the power of Archon , still identifying themselves as vassals of the Byzantines, but de facto independent as communications with Constantinople were very difficult. Only two names of those rulers are known: Salusios ( Σαλούσιος ) and the protospatharios Turcoturios ( Tουρκοτούριος ) from two inscriptions), who probably reigned between
1463-540: A micro-continent. In the modern era, many travelers and writers have extolled the beauty of its long-untouched landscapes, which retain vestiges of the Nuragic civilization . The name Sardinia has pre-Latin roots. It comes from the pre-Roman ethnonym * s(a)rd- , later romanised as sardus (feminine sarda ). It makes its first appearance on the Nora Stone , where the word ŠRDN , or * Šardana , testifies to
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#17327838356921596-588: A relatively simple structure, with time they became extremely complex and monumental (see for example the Nuraghe Santu Antine , Su Nuraxi , or Nuraghe Arrubiu ). The scale, complexity and territorial spread of these buildings attest to the level of wealth accumulated by the Nuragic Sardinians, their advances in technology and the complexity of their society, which was able to coordinate large numbers of people with different roles for
1729-820: A result of invasions by another Germanic tribe, the Lombards . Much of the peninsula was now politically dominated by the Kingdom of the Lombards ; however, remnants of Byzantine control remained, especially in Southern Italy , where the Byzantine Empire retained control into the 11th century until the Norman conquest of Southern Italy . In addition to the Normans , Arabs conquered parts of Southern Italy in
1862-929: A second time and came under Carthaginian rule. In 238 BC, taking advantage of Carthage having to face a rebellion of her mercenaries (the Mercenary War ) after the First Punic War (264–241 BC), the Romans annexed Corsica and Sardinia from the Carthaginians. The two islands became the province of Corsica and Sardinia . They were not given a provincial governor until 227 BC. The Romans faced many rebellions, and it took them many years to pacify both islands. The existing coastal cities were enlarged and embellished, and Roman colonies such as Turris Lybissonis and Feronia were founded. These were populated by Roman immigrants. The Roman military occupation brought
1995-619: A short-lived independent domain with Sardinian-heathen lay and religious traditions, one of its kings being Hospito . Pope Gregory I wrote a letter to Hospito defining him "Dux Barbaricinorum" and, being Christian, the leader and best of his people. In this unique letter about Hospito, the Pope prompts him to convert his people who "living all like irrational animals, ignore the true God and worship wood and stone" ( Barbaricini omnes, ut insensata animalia vivant, Deum verum nesciant, ligna autem et lapides adorent ). The dates and circumstances of
2128-667: Is Lago di Baratz . A number of large, shallow, salt-water lagoons and pools are located along the coast. The climate of the island is variable from area to area, due to several factors including the extension in latitude and the elevation . It can be classified in two different macrobioclimates (Mediterranean pluviseasonal oceanic and Temperate oceanic), one macrobioclimatic variant (Submediterranean), and four classes of continentality (from weak semihyperoceanic to weak semicontinental), eight thermotypic horizons (from lower thermomediterranean to upper supratemperate), and seven ombrotypic horizons (from lower dry to lower hyperhumid), resulting in
2261-712: Is Marco Polo , explorer of the 13th century, who recorded his 24 years-long travels in the Book of the Marvels of the World , introducing Europeans to Central Asia and China. The country boasts several world-famous cities. Rome was the ancient capital of the Roman Empire, seat of the Pope of the Catholic Church, capital of reunified Italy and artistic, cultural and cinematographic centre of world relevance. Florence
2394-542: Is 1,849 km (1,149 mi) long. It is generally high and rocky, with long, relatively straight stretches, outstanding headlands, wide, deep bays, rias , and inlets with various smaller islands. The island has an ancient geoformation and, unlike Sicily and mainland Italy, is not earthquake-prone. Its rocks date in fact from the Palaeozoic Era . The Cambrian - Lower Ordovician succession of Sardinia reaches 1500–3000 m in thickness. Due to long erosion processes,
2527-533: Is bilingual in Italian and Sardinian : Regione Autonoma della Sardegna / Regione Autònoma de Sardigna . It is divided into four provinces and a metropolitan city . The capital of the region of Sardinia — and its largest city — is Cagliari . Sardinia's indigenous language and Algherese Catalan are referred to by both the regional and national law as two of Italy's twelve officially recognized linguistic minorities , albeit gravely endangered , while
2660-547: Is considered the "father of the Italian flag". After the Battle of Waterloo , the reaction set in with the Congress of Vienna allowed the restoration of many of the old rulers and systems under Austrian domination. The concept of nationalism continued strong, however, and sporadic outbreaks led by such inveterate reformers as Giuseppe Mazzini occurred in several parts of the peninsula down to 1848–49. In this context, in 1847,
2793-650: Is not uniform; in particular the East is drier, but paradoxically it suffers the worst rainstorms: in autumn 2009, it rained more than 200 mm (7.9 in) in a single day in Siniscola, and 19 November 2013, locations in Sardinia were reported to have received more than 431 mm (17.0 in) within two hours. The western coast has a higher distribution of rainfalls even for modest elevations (for instance Iglesias, elevation 200 m (656 ft), average annual precipitation 815 mm (32.1 in)). The driest part of
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#17327838356922926-605: Is situated between 38° 51' and 41° 18' latitude north (respectively Isola del Toro and Isola La Presa) and 8° 8' and 9° 50' east longitude (respectively Capo dell' Argentiera and Capo Comino). To the west of Sardinia is the Sea of Sardinia , a unit of the Mediterranean Sea; to Sardinia's east is the Tyrrhenian Sea , which is also an element of the Mediterranean Sea. The nearest land masses are (clockwise from north)
3059-602: Is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea , after Sicily , and one of the twenty regions of Italy . It is located west of the Italian Peninsula , north of Tunisia and 16.45 km south of the French island of Corsica . It is one of the five Italian regions with some degree of domestic autonomy being granted by a special statute . Its official name, Autonomous Region of Sardinia ,
3192-525: The praeses and apparently continued to manage military, judicial, and civil governmental functions via imperial procedures. The only Vandal governor of Sardinia about whom there is substantial record is the last, Godas , a Visigoth noble. In AD 530, a coup d'état in Carthage removed King Hilderic , a convert to Nicene Christianity , in favor of his cousin Gelimer , an Arian Christian like most of
3325-637: The Baroque , Neoclassicism , the Risorgimento , Fascism , and European integration . Italy also became a seat of great formal learning in 1088 with the establishment of the University of Bologna , the oldest university in continuous operation , and the first university in the sense of a higher-learning and degree-awarding institute, as the word universitas was coined at its foundation. Many other Italian universities soon followed. For example,
3458-515: The Crown of the Realm . Each Judicate saw to its own defense, maintained its own laws and administration, and looked after its own foreign and trading affairs. The history of the four Judicates would be defined by the contest for influence between the two Italian maritime powers of Genoa and Pisa , and later the ambitions of the Kingdom of Aragon . The Judicate of Cagliari or Pluminos , during
3591-669: The Early Middle Ages , the island was ruled by the Vandals and the Byzantines . In practice, the island was disconnected from Byzantium's territorial influence, which allowed the Sardinians to provide themselves with a self-ruling political organization, the four kingdoms known as Judicates . The Italian maritime republics of Pisa and Genoa struggled to impose political control over these indigenous kingdoms, but it
3724-776: The Italian geographical region . Italians share a common culture , history , ancestry and language . Their predecessors differ regionally, but generally include native populations such as the Etruscans , the Rhaetians , the Ligurians , the Adriatic Veneti , and the Italic peoples , including the Latins , from which the Romans emerged and helped create and evolve the modern Italian identity. Foreign influences include
3857-470: The Kingdom of Sicily . From the 11th century on, Italian cities began to grow rapidly in independence and importance. They became centres of political life, banking , and foreign trade. Some became wealthy, and many, including Florence , Rome , Genoa , Milan , Pisa , Siena and Venice , grew into nearly independent city-states and maritime republics . Each had its own foreign policy and political life. They all resisted, with varying degrees of success,
3990-451: The Nation through emblems , metaphors , personifications , allegories , which are shared by the entire Italian people. Some of them are official, i.e. they are recognized by the Italian state authorities, while others are part of the identity of the country without being defined by law. Traditions of Italy are sets of traditions , beliefs , values , and customs that belongs within
4123-698: The Ostrogoths . Theodoric and Odoacer ruled jointly until 493, when Theodoric murdered Odoacer. Theodoric continued to rule Italy with an army of Ostrogoths and a government that was mostly Italian. After the death of Theodoric in 526, the kingdom began to grow weak. By 553, emperor Justinian I expelled the Ostrogoths, and Italy was included into the Byzantine Empire under the Justinian dynasty . Byzantine rule in much of Italy collapsed by 572 as
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4256-528: The Papal States in central Italy. The Lombards remained a threat to papal power, however, until they were crushed by Charlemagne in 774. Charlemagne added the Kingdom of the Lombards to his vast realm. In recognition of Charlemagne's power, and to cement the church's alliance with him, Charlemagne was crowned emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III in 800. After Charlemagne's death in 814, his son Louis
4389-586: The Praetorian prefecture of Italy ( praefectura praetoria Italiae ), and was subdivided into two dioceses. Diocesis Italia annonaria (Italy of the annona , governed from Milan) and Diocesis Italia Suburbicaria (Italy "under the government of the urbs ", i.e. governed from Rome). Christianity became the Roman state religion in AD 380, under Emperor Theodosius I . The last Western emperor, Romulus Augustulus ,
4522-665: The Schola Medica Salernitana , in southern Italy, was the first medical school in Europe. These great centres of learning presaged the Rinascimento : the European Renaissance began in Italy and was fueled throughout Europe by Italian painters, sculptors, architects, scientists, literature masters and music composers. Italy continued its leading cultural role through the Baroque period and into
4655-684: The Talaiotic culture of the Balearic Islands and the Torrean civilization of Southern Corsica . Evidence of trade with the other civilizations of the time is attested by several artefacts (e.g. pots), coming from as far as Cyprus , Crete , Mainland Greece , Spain and Italy, that have been found in Nuragic sites, bearing witness to the scope of commercial relations between the Nuragic people and other peoples in Europe and beyond. Around
4788-569: The Uffizi Gallery . The Catholic Church openly condemned the Mafia, and two churches were bombed and an anti-Mafia priest shot dead in Rome. Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino were named as heroes of the last 60 years in 13 November 2006 issue of Time . Italy is considered one of the birthplaces of Western civilization and a cultural superpower . Italian culture is the culture of
4921-570: The University of Madrid , at Pozuelo , Boadilla del Monte , Mirabueno , Majadahonda and Jarama . During the Battle of Jarama, Pacciardi was wounded, and so Ilio Barontini took command of the battalion during the Battle of Guadalajara . Pacciardi was again the commander at Huesca and Villanueva del Pardillo . In late of April 1937, it was dissolved to form the skeleton of the Garibaldi Brigade, formally established on May 1. Brigade
5054-921: The culture of Italian people. These traditions have influenced life in Italy for centuries, and are still practiced in modern times. Italian traditions are directly connected to Italy's ancestors, which says even more about Italian history . Folklore of Italy refers to the folklore and urban legends of Italy . Within the Italian territory, various peoples have followed one another over time, each of which has left its mark on current culture. Some tales also come from Christianization , especially those concerning demons , which are sometimes recognized by Christian demonology . Italian folklore also includes Italian folk dance , Italian folk music and folk heroes . Women in Italy refers to females who are from (or reside in) Italy . The legal and social status of Italian women has undergone rapid transformations and changes during
5187-704: The four great powers after the victory of the Allies . In the decades following unification, Italy began creating colonies in Africa , and under Benito Mussolini 's fascist regime conquered Ethiopia , founding the Italian Empire in 1936. The population of Italy grew to 45 million in 1940 and the economy, which had been based upon agriculture until that time, started its industrial development, mainly in northern Italy. World War II soon severely damaged Italy and destroyed its colonial power. Between 1945 and 1948,
5320-443: The metallurgy of copper and silver began to develop. During the late Chalcolithic the so-called Beaker culture , coming from various parts of Continental Europe , appeared in Sardinia. These new people predominantly settled on the west coast, where the majority of the sites attributed to them had been found. The Beaker culture was followed in the early Bronze Age by the Bonnanaro culture which showed both reminiscences of
5453-542: The " Maxi Trial ", and of the new anti-mafia measures launched by the government. In 1992, two major dynamite attacks killed the judges Giovanni Falcone (23 May in the Capaci bombing ) and Paolo Borsellino (19 July in the Via D'Amelio bombing ). One year later (May–July 1993), tourist spots were attacked, such as the Via dei Georgofili in Florence, Via Palestro in Milan, and the Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano and Via San Teodoro in Rome, leaving 10 dead and 93 injured and causing severe damage to cultural heritage such as
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5586-417: The 10th and the 11th century. These rulers were still closely linked to the Byzantines, both for a pact of ancient vassalage, and from the ideological point of view, with the use of the Byzantine Greek language (in a Romance country), and the use of art of Byzantine inspiration. In the early 11th century, an attempt to conquer the island was made by Mujahid al-Amiri al-Ṣaqlabī was the ruler of Dénia and
5719-464: The 10th century, the so-called "Judges" ( Sardinian : judikes / Latin : iudices , a Byzantine administrative title) had emerged as the autonomous rulers of Sardinia. The title of iudice changed with the language and local understanding of the position, becoming the Sardinian judike , essentially a king or sovereign, while Judicate ( Sardinian : logu ) came to mean 'state'. Early medieval Sardinian political institutions evolved from
5852-424: The 14th century, and led to an unparalleled flourishing of the arts, literature, music, and science. However, the city-states were often troubled by violent disagreements among their citizens. The most famous division was between the Guelphs and Ghibellines . The Guelphs supported supreme rule by the pope, and the Ghibellines favoured the emperor. City-states often took sides and waged war against each other. During
5985-455: The 18th century BC to either 238 BC or the 2nd century AD in some parts of the island, and to the 6th century AD in that part of the island known as Barbagia . After a period in which the island was ruled by a political and economic alliance between the Nuragic Sardinians and the Phoenicians , parts of it were conquered by Carthage in the late 6th century BC, and by Rome in 238 BC. The Roman occupation lasted for 700 years. Beginning in
6118-470: The 9th century BC the Phoenicians began visiting Sardinia with increasing frequency, presumably initially needing safe overnight and all-weather anchorages along their trade routes from the coast of modern-day Lebanon as far afield as the African and European Atlantic coasts and beyond. The most common ports of call were Caralis , Nora , Bithia , Sulci , and Tharros . Claudian , a 4th-century Latin poet, in his poem De bello Gildonico , stated that Caralis
6251-425: The 9th century, establishing an Emirate of Sicily that lasted until it was also eventually overtaken by the Normans in the 11th century. The subsequent interaction between Latin, Byzantine, Arab, and Norman cultures resulted in the formation of a Norman-Arab-Byzantine culture in Southern Italy. During the 5th and 6th centuries, the popes increased their influence in both religious and political matters in Italy. It
6384-489: The Balearic Islands based in the Iberian Peninsula . The only records of that war are from Pisan and Genoese chronicles. The Christians won but, after that, the previous Sardinian kingdom was undermined and subsequently divided into four smaller states: Cagliari ( Calari ), Arborea ( Arbaree ), Gallura, and Torres or Logudoro. Whether this final transformation from imperial civil servant to independent sovereign bodies resulted from imperial abandonment or local assertion, by
6517-433: The Beaker and influences by the Polada culture . As time passed the different Sardinian populations appear to have become united in customs, yet remained politically divided into various small, tribal groupings, at times banding together against invading forces from the sea, and at others waging war against each other. Habitations consisted of round thatched stone huts. From about 1500 BC onwards, villages were built around
6650-530: The Elder 's Origines , the first work of history composed in Latin , described Italy as the entire peninsula south of the Alps . According to Cato and several Roman authors, the Alps formed the "walls of Italy". In 264 BC, Roman Italy extended from the Arno and Rubicon rivers of the centre-north to the entire south. The northern area of Cisalpine Gaul was occupied by Rome in the 220s BC and became considered geographically and de facto part of Italy, but remained politically and de jure separated. It
6783-416: The European kings who opposed France. After the French king was overthrown and France became a republic, secret clubs favouring an Italian republic were formed throughout Italy. The armies of the French Republic began to move across Europe. In 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte led a French army into northern Italy and drove out the Austrian rulers. Once again, Italy was the scene of battle between the Habsburgs and
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#17327838356926916-417: The French. Wherever France conquered, Italian republics were set up, with constitutions and legal reforms. Napoleon made himself emperor in 1804, and part of northern and central Italy was unified under the name of the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as king. The rest of northern and central Italy was annexed by France. Only Sicily, where the Bourbon king had taken refuge upon the French invasion of Naples, and
7049-421: The Italian economy which, until the late 1960s, enjoyed a period of sustained economic growth commonly called the " Economic Miracle ". In 1957, Italy was a founding member of the European Economic Community (EEC), which became the European Union (EU) in 1993. Italy faced several terror attacks between 1992 and 1993 perpetrated by the Sicilian Mafia as a consequence of several life sentences pronounced during
7182-504: The Italian national population), Italian-speaking autonomous groups are found in neighboring nations; about a half million are in Switzerland , as well as in France , the entire population of San Marino . In addition, there are also clusters of Italian speakers in the former Yugoslavia , primarily in Istria , located between in modern Croatia and Slovenia (see: Istrian Italians ), and Dalmatia , located in present-day Croatia and Montenegro (see: Dalmatian Italians ). Due to
7315-452: The Italian peninsula without Italian citizenship. The Latin equivalent of the term Italian had been in use for natives of the geographical region since antiquity. The majority of Italian nationals are native speakers of the country's official language, Italian, a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin , or a variety thereof, that is regional Italian . However, many of them also speak
7448-423: The Italians and is incredibly diverse spanning the entirety of the Italian peninsula and the islands of Sardinia and Sicily . Italy has been the starting point of phenomena of international impact such as the Roman Republic , Roman Empire , the Roman Catholic Church , the Maritime republics , Romanesque art , Scholasticism , the Renaissance , the Age of Discovery , Mannerism , the Scientific revolution ,
7581-503: The Italians, is medieval and was used alternatively with Italicus during the early modern period . After the fall of the Western Roman Empire , which was caused by the invasion of the Ostrogoths , the Kingdom of Italy was created. After the Lombard invasions, "Italia" was retained as the name for their kingdom , and for its successor kingdom within the Holy Roman Empire , which nominally lasted until 1806, although it had de facto disintegrated due to factional politics pitting
7714-402: The Mesolithic hunter-gatherer populations, with a material culture including the widespread Cardium pottery style. In the mid-Neolithic period, the Ozieri culture , probably of Aegean origin , flourished on the island spreading the hypogeum tombs known as domus de Janas , while the Arzachena culture of Gallura built the first megaliths : circular tombs. In the early 3rd millennium BC,
7847-404: The Middle Ages to the early modern period, with its intricate canal system attracts tourists from all over the world especially during the Venetian Carnival and the Biennale . Naples , with the largest historic city centre in Europe and the oldest continuously active public opera house in the world ( Teatro di San Carlo ). Bologna is the main transport hub of the country, as well as the home of
7980-403: The Nuragic civilization to an end, except for the mountainous interior of the island, which the Romans called Barbaria , meaning ' Barbarian land'. Roman rule in Sardinia lasted 694 years, during which time the province was an important source of grain for the capital. Latin came to be the dominant spoken language during this period, though Roman culture was slower to take hold, and Roman rule
8113-399: The Pious succeeded him. Louis divided the empire among his sons, and Frankish Italy became part of Middle Francia , extending as far south as Rome and Spoleto . This Kingdom of Italy became part of the Holy Roman Empire in the 10th century, while southern Italy was under the rule of the Lombard Principality of Benevento or of the Byzantine Empire , in the 12th century absorbed into
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#17327838356928246-400: The Renaissance, Italy became an even more attractive prize to foreign conquerors. After some city-states asked for outside help in settling disputes with their neighbours, King Charles VIII of France marched into Italy in 1494; he soon withdrew, showing that the Italian peninsula's delicate equilibrium could be taken advantage of. After the Italian Wars , Spain emerged as the dominant force in
8379-445: The Romantic period, when its dominance in painting and sculpture diminished but the Italians re-established a strong presence in music. Italian explorers and navigators in the 15th and 16th centuries left a perennial mark on human history with the modern "discovery of America", due to the Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus . In addition, the name of " America " derives from the geographer Amerigo Vespucci 's first name. Also noted
8512-457: The Vandal Kingdom was overwhelmed when Justinian's own army under Belisarius arrived at Carthage in their absence. The Vandal Kingdom ended and Sardinia was returned to Roman rule. In 533, Sardinia returned to the rule of the Byzantine Empire when the Vandals were defeated by the armies of Justinian I under the General Belisarius in the Battle of Tricamarum , in their African kingdom Belisarius sent his general Cyril to Sardinia to retake
8645-441: The adjective " sardonic ". In classical antiquity , Sardinia was called a number of names besides Sardṓ ( Σαρδώ ) or Sardinia , like Ichnusa (the Latinised form of the Greek Ἰχνοῦσσα ), Sandaliotis ( Σανδαλιῶτις ) and Argyrophleps ( Αργυρόφλεψ ). Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and before Cyprus ), with an area of 24,100 km (9,305 sq mi). It
8778-403: The ancient Nuragic Sards with the Sherden , one of the Sea Peoples . It is suggested that the name had a religious connotation from its use also as the adjective for the ancient Sardinian mythological hero-god Sardus Pater ("Sardinian Father"; a common explanation that the term means "Father of the Sardinians" is incorrect, as that would be "Sardorum Pater"), as well as being the stem of
8911-540: The ancient Greeks in Magna Graecia , and the Phoenicians , who had a presence in Sicily and Sardinia , the Celts , who settled in parts of the north, the Germanics and the Slavs. Legally, Italian nationals are citizens of Italy , regardless of ancestry or nation of residence (in effect, however, Italian nationality is largely based on jus sanguinis ) and may be distinguished from ethnic Italians in general or from people of Italian descent without Italian citizenship and ethnic Italians living in territories adjacent to
9044-612: The associated Romanization , culminated in 88 BC, when, in the aftermath of the Social War , Rome granted its fellow Italian allies full rights in Roman society , extending Roman citizenship to all fellow Italic peoples . From its inception, Rome was a republican city-state, but four famous civil conflicts destroyed the Roman Republic : Lucius Cornelius Sulla against Gaius Marius and his son (88–82 BC), Julius Caesar against Pompey (49–45 BC), Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus against Mark Antony and Octavian (43 BC), and Mark Antony against Octavian . Octavian,
9177-405: The beginning of the 14th century. During the 14th and 15th centuries, some Italian city-states ranked among the most important powers of Europe. Venice, in particular, had become a major maritime power, and the city-states as a group acted as a conduit for goods from the Byzantine and Islamic empires. In this capacity, they provided great impetus to the developing Renaissance , began in Florence in
9310-490: The beginning of the conquest of Sicily in 827. Historian Corrado Zedda argues that the island hosted a Muslim presence during the Aghlabid period, possibly a limited foothold along the coasts that forcibly coexisted with the local Byzantine government. Historian Alex Metcalfe argues that the available evidence for any Muslim occupation or colonisation of the island during this period is limited and inconclusive, and that Muslim attacks were limited to raids. Communication with
9443-485: The capital of the kingdom. Pope Pius IX , a longtime rival of Italian kings, stated he had been made a "prisoner" inside the Vatican walls and refused to cooperate with the royal administration. Only in 1929 did the Roman Pope accept the unified Italy with Rome as capital. World War I has been interpreted as completing the process of Italian unification, with the annexation of Trieste, Istria , Trentino-Alto Adige and Zara . After World War I, Italy emerged as one of
9576-636: The central government became daunting if not impossible during and after the Muslim conquest of Sicily between 827 and 902. A letter by Pope Nicholas I as early as 864 mentions the "Sardinian judges", without reference to the empire and a letter by Pope John VIII (reigned 872–882) refers to them as principes ("princes"). By the time of De Administrando Imperio , completed in 952, the Byzantine authorities no longer listed Sardinia as an imperial province, suggesting they considered it lost. In all likelihood
9709-719: The city was far from the troubled frontiers. The seats of the Caesars became Augusta Treverorum (on the River Rhine frontier) for Constantius Chlorus and Sirmium (on the River Danube frontier) for Galerius , who also resided at Thessaloniki . Under Diocletian, Italy became the Dioecesis Italiciana , subdivided into thirteen provinces, now including Raetia . Under Constantine the Great , Italy became
9842-520: The complexity of its surviving buildings, but also in its artworks (e.g. the votive bronze statuettes found across Sardinia or the statues of Mont'e Prama). According to some scholars, the Nuragic people(s) are identifiable with the Sherden , a tribe of the Sea Peoples . The Nuragic civilization was linked with other contemporaneous megalithic civilization of the western Mediterranean, such as
9975-469: The control over the fortress of Castel di Cagliari founded by Pisan merchants in 1216–1217 east of Santa Igia; in the south-west the count Ugolino della Gherardesca promoted the birth of the town of Villa di Chiesa (today Iglesias ) to exploit the nearby rich silver deposits. The Judicate of Logudoro (also called Torres ) was also allied to the Republic of Genoa and came to an end in 1259 after
10108-572: The death of the judikessa (queen) Adelasia . The territory was divided up between the Doria and Malaspina families of Genoa and the Bas-Serra family of Arborea , while the city of Sassari became a small republic , along the lines of the Italian city-states ( comuni ), confederated firstly with Pisa and then with Genoa. The Judicate of Gallura ended in the year 1288, when the last giudice, Nino Visconti (a friend of Dante Alighieri ),
10241-470: The earliest evidence of human presence on Sardinia, around 20,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Maximum . However, other authors contend that there is no solid evidence for the occupation of the island until the early Mesolithic , around 10,000 years ago. The Neolithic began on Sardinia during the 6th millennium BC resulting from the migration of Early European Farmers , replacing
10374-544: The efforts of noblemen, emperors, and larger foreign powers to control them. The emergence of identifiable Italian dialects from Vulgar Latin , and as such the possibility of a specifically "Italian" ethnic identity, has no clear-cut date, but began in roughly the 12th century. Modern standard Italian derives from the written vernacular of Tuscan writers of the 12th century. The recognition of Italian vernaculars as literary languages in their own right began with De vulgari eloquentia , an essay written by Dante Alighieri at
10507-410: The elite in his kingdom. Godas was sent to take charge and ensure the loyalty of Sardinia. He did the exact opposite, declaring the island's independence from Carthage and opening negotiations with Emperor Justinian I , who had declared war on Hilderic's behalf. In AD 533, Gelimer sent the bulk of his army and navy (120 vessels and 5,000 men) to Sardinia to subdue Godas, with the catastrophic result that
10640-495: The empire against the ascendant city republics in the 13th century. The Italian peninsula was divided into a multitude of tribal or ethnic territory prior to the Roman conquest of Italy in the 3rd century BC. After a series of wars between Greeks and Etruscans , the Latins , with Rome as their capital, gained the ascendancy by 272 BC, and completed the conquest of the Italian peninsula by 218 BC. This period of unification
10773-583: The end of Byzantine rule in Sardinia are not known. Direct central control was maintained at least through c. 650, after which local legates were empowered in the face of the rebellion of Gregory the Patrician , Exarch of Africa and the first invasion of the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb . There is some evidence that senior Byzantine administration in the Exarchate of Africa retreated to Caralis following
10906-524: The etymology of the Latin name "Italia" are numerous. One is that it was borrowed via Greek from the Oscan Víteliú 'land of calves' ( cf. Lat vitulus "calf", Umb vitlo "calf"). Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus , mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides . According to Antiochus of Syracuse ,
11039-697: The expansion of the Roman Republic , the name was used by Greeks to indicate the land between the Strait of Messina and the line connecting the Gulf of Salerno and Gulf of Taranto , corresponding roughly to the current region of Calabria . The Greeks gradually came to apply the name "Italia" to a larger region In addition to the "Greek Italy" in the south, historians have suggested the existence of an "Etruscan Italy" covering variable areas of central Italy. The borders of Roman Italy are better established. Cato
11172-650: The final fall of Carthage to the Arabs in 697. The loss of imperial control in Africa led to escalating raids by Arabs on the island, the first of which is documented in 703, forcing increased military self-reliance in the province. Elsewhere in the central Mediterranean, the Aghlabids conquered the island of Malta in 870. They also attacked or raided Sardinia and Corsica . Some modern references state that Sardinia came under Aghlabid control around 810 or after
11305-501: The final victor (31 BC), was accorded the title of Augustus by the Senate and thereby became the first Roman Emperor. Augustus created for the first time an administrative region called Italia with inhabitants called "Italicus populus", stretching from the Alps to Sicily : for this reason historians like Emilio Gentile called him Father of Italians . In the 1st century BC, Italia
11438-459: The first public performance of the song Il Canto degli Italiani , the Italian national anthem since 1946, took place. Il Canto degli Italiani , written by Goffredo Mameli set to music by Michele Novaro , is also known as the Inno di Mameli , after the author of the lyrics, or Fratelli d'Italia , from its opening line . The unification of Italy was brought to a successful conclusion under
11571-530: The guidance of Camillo Benso, conte di Cavour , prime minister of Piedmont. Cavour managed to unite most of Italy under the headship of Victor Emmanuel II of the house of Savoy, and on 17 March 1861, the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed with Victor Emmanuel II as king. Giuseppe Garibaldi , the popular republican hero of Italy, contributed much to this achievement with the Expedition of the Thousand and to
11704-433: The introduction of laws regulating divorce (1970), abortion (1978), and the approval in 1975 of the new family code. Today, women have the same legal rights as men in Italy, and have mainly the same job, business, and education opportunities. Sardinia Sardinia ( / s ɑːr ˈ d ɪ n i ə / sar- DIN -ee-ə ; Italian : Sardegna [sarˈdeɲɲa] ; Sardinian : Sardigna [saɾˈdiɲːa] )
11837-472: The island is the coast of Cagliari gulf, with less than 450 mm (17.7 in) per year, the minimum is at Capo Carbonara at the extreme south-east of the island 381 mm (15.0 in), and the wettest is the top of the Gennargentu mountain with almost 1,500 mm (59.1 in) per year. The average for the entire island is about 800 mm (31.5 in) per year, which is more than enough for
11970-431: The island of Corsica , the Italian Peninsula , Sicily , Tunisia , the Balearic Islands , and Provence . The Tyrrhenian Sea portion of the Mediterranean Sea is directly to the east of Sardinia between the Sardinian east coast and the west coast of the Italian mainland peninsula. The Strait of Bonifacio is directly north of Sardinia and separates Sardinia from the French island of Corsica . The coast of Sardinia
12103-462: The island of Sardinia, which had been ceded to the Alpine House of Savoy in 1720 and had remained under their rule ever since, were not under French control. French domination lasted less than 20 years, and it differed from previous foreign control of the Italian peninsula. In spite of heavy taxation and frequent harshness, the French introduced representative assemblies and new laws that were
12236-469: The island's highlands, formed of granite, schist , trachyte , basalt (called jaras or gollei ), sandstone and dolomite limestone (called tonneri or 'heels'), average at between 300 and 1,000 m (984 and 3,281 ft). The highest peak is Punta La Marmora ( Perdas Carpìas in Sardinian language) (1,834 m (6,017 ft)), part of the Gennargentu Ranges in the centre of
12369-800: The island. Other mountain chains are Monte Limbara (1,362 m (4,469 ft)) in the northeast, the Chain of Marghine and Goceano (1,259 m (4,131 ft)) running crosswise for 40 km (25 mi) towards the north, the Monte Albo (1,057 m (3,468 ft)), the Sette Fratelli Range in the southeast, and the Sulcis Mountains and the Monte Linas (1,236 m (4,055 ft)). The island's ranges and plateaux are separated by wide alluvial valleys and flatlands,
12502-592: The island. Sardinia remained in Byzantine hands for the next 300 years aside from a short period in which it was invaded by the Ostrogoths in 551. Under Byzantine rule, the island was divided into districts called mereíai (μερείαι) in Byzantine Greek , which were governed by a judge residing in Caralis and garrisoned by an army stationed in Forum Traiani (today Fordongianus ) under the command of
12635-744: The largest Italian community outside Italy), more than 18 million Italian Americans , and people in other parts of Europe (e.g. Italians in Germany , Italians in France and Italians in the United Kingdom ), the American Continent (such as Italian Venezuelans , Italian Canadians , Italian Colombians and Italians in Paraguay , among others), Australasia ( Italian Australians and Italian New Zealanders ), and to
12768-779: The main ones being the Campidano in the southwest between Oristano and Cagliari and the Nurra in the northwest. Sardinia has few major rivers, the largest being the Tirso , 151 km (94 mi) long, which flows into the Sea of Sardinia , the Coghinas (115 km (71 mi)) and the Flumendosa (127 km (79 mi)). There are 54 artificial lakes and dams that supply water and electricity. The main ones are Lake Omodeo and Lake Coghinas . The only natural freshwater lake
12901-591: The millennium-old Roman imperial structures with relatively little Germanic influence. Although the Judicates were hereditary lordships, the old Byzantine imperial notion that personal title or honor was separate from the state still remained, so the Judicate was not regarded as the personal property of the monarch as was common in later European feudalism . Like the imperial systems, the new order also preserved "semi-democratic" forms, with national assemblies called
13034-448: The most popular in the world, its cinema (with filmmakers such as Federico Fellini , Michelangelo Antonioni , Mario Monicelli , Sergio Leone , etc.), its collections of priceless works of art and its fashion (Milan and Florence are regarded as some of the few fashion capitals of the world). National symbols of Italy are the symbols that uniquely identify Italy reflecting its history and culture . They are used to represent
13167-418: The mountains (−2 to 4 °C (28 to 39 °F) in January, 16 to 20 °C (61 to 68 °F) in July). Rainfall has a Mediterranean distribution all over the island, with almost totally rainless summers and wet autumns, winters and springs. However, in summer, the rare rainfalls can be characterized by short but severe thunderstorms , which can cause flash floods . The climate is also heavily influenced by
13300-532: The name's existence when the Phoenician merchants first arrived. According to Timaeus , one of Plato 's dialogues, Sardinia (referred to by most ancient Greek authors as Sardṓ , Σαρδώ ) and its people as well might have been named after a legendary woman called Sardṓ ( Σαρδώ ), born in Sardis ( Σάρδεις ), capital of the ancient Kingdom of Lydia . There has also been speculation that identifies
13433-497: The needs of the population and vegetation. The Mistral from the northwest is the dominant wind on and off throughout the year, though it is most prevalent in winter and spring. It can blow quite strongly, but it is usually dry and cool. Sardinia has been inhabited by humans since the end of the Paleolithic era, around 20–10,000 years ago. The island's most notable civilization is the indigenous Nuragic , which flourished from
13566-563: The north of the current Community of Madrid and parts of Aragon , it played its most prominent role in the Battle of the Ebro . Mehmet Shehu , future Prime Minister of Albania , was among the volunteers. Other notable Albanian members include Veli Dedi , Petro Marko , Shaban Basha , Thimjo Gogozoto and Asim Vokshi , one of the staff officers of the battalion. Italian people Italians ( Italian : italiani , pronounced [itaˈljaːni] ) are an ethnic group native to
13699-407: The outlines of a new Italy began to appear. Victor Emmanuel III gave up the throne on 9 May 1946, and his son, Umberto II , became king. On 2 June Italy held its first free election after 20 years of Fascist rule (the so-called Ventennio ). Italians chose a republic to replace the monarchy , which had been closely associated with Fascism . They elected a Constituent Assembly , which was formed by
13832-460: The past decades. This includes family laws , the enactment of anti-discrimination measures , and reforms to the penal code (in particular with regard to crimes of violence against women). After World War II , women were given the right to vote in 1946 Italian institutional referendum . The new Italian Constitution of 1948 affirmed that women had equal rights. It was not however until the 1970s that women in Italy scored some major achievements with
13965-482: The purpose of building the monumental Nuraghes. The Nuraghes are not the only Nuragic buildings that stand in place, as there are several sacred wells around Sardinia and other buildings with religious purposes such as the Giants' grave (monumental collective tombs) and collections of religious buildings that probably served as destinations for pilgrimage and mass religious rites (e.g. Su Romanzesu near Bitti ). At
14098-583: The regency of Torchitorio V of Cagliari and his successor, William III , was allied with the Republic of Genoa . Because of this it was brought to an end in 1258, when its capital, Santa Igia , was stormed and destroyed by an alliance of Sardinian and Pisan forces. The territory then was divided between the Republic of Pisa , the Della Gherardesca family from Italy, and the Sardinian Judicates of Arborea and Gallura. Pisa maintained
14231-607: The region. Venice, Milan, and other city-states retained at least some of their former greatness during this period, as did Savoy -Piedmont, protected by the Alps and well defended by its vigorous rulers. Italian explorers and navigators from the dominant maritime republics, eager to find an alternative route to the Indies in order to bypass the Ottoman Empire , offered their services to monarchs of Atlantic countries and played
14364-511: The regional law provides some measures to recognize and protect the aforementioned as well as the island's other minority languages (the Corsican -influenced Sassarese and Gallurese , and finally Tabarchino Ligurian ). Owing to the variety of Sardinia's ecosystems , which include mountains, woods, plains, stretches of largely uninhabited territory, streams, rocky coasts, and long sandy beaches, Sardinia has been metaphorically described as
14497-660: The representatives of all the anti-fascist forces that contributed to the defeat of Nazi and Fascist forces during the Italian Civil War , to prepare a new democratic constitution. The Assembly approved the new Italian constitution in 1947, which came into force on 1 January 1948. Under the Treaty of Peace with Italy, 1947 , Istria , Kvarner , most of the Julian March as well as the Dalmatian city of Zara
14630-551: The same for all parts of the country. For the first time since the days of ancient Rome, Italians of different regions used the same money and served in the same army. Many Italians began to see the possibility of a united Italy free of foreign control. During the Napoleonic era , in 1797, the first official adoption of the Italian tricolour as a national flag by a sovereign Italian state, the Cispadane Republic ,
14763-497: The service of France, renowned as the first European to explore the Atlantic coast of North America between Florida and New Brunswick in 1524. The French Revolution and Napoleon influenced Italy more deeply than they affected any other outside country of Europe. The French Revolution began in 1789 and immediately found supporters among the Italian people. The local Italian rulers, sensing danger in their own country, drew closer to
14896-824: The subsequent incorporation of the Papal States under the Italian monarch. Cavour handed Savoy and Nice over to France at the Treaty of Turin , a decision that was the consequence of the Plombières Agreement , on 24 March 1860, an event that caused the Niçard exodus , which was the emigration of a quarter of the Niçard Italians to Italy, and the Niçard Vespers . Italian troops occupied Rome in 1870, and in July 1871, this formally became
15029-548: The term Italy was used by the Greeks to initially refer only to the southern portion of the Bruttium peninsula corresponding to the modern province of Reggio and part of the provinces of Catanzaro and Vibo Valentia in Southern Italy . Nevertheless, by his time the larger concept of Oenotria and "Italy" had become synonymous and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. According to Strabo 's Geographica , before
15162-409: The time, Sardinia was at the centre of several commercial routes and it was an important provider of raw materials such as copper and lead, which were pivotal for the manufacture of the time. By controlling the extraction of these raw materials and by trading them with other countries, the ancient Sardinians were able to accumulate wealth and reach a level of sophistication that is not only reflected in
15295-652: The vicinity of the Gulf of Genoa (barometric low) and the relative proximity of the Atlantic Ocean. Low pressures in autumn can generate the formation of the so-called Medicanes , extratropical cyclones which affect the Mediterranean basin. In 2013, the island was hit by several cyclones, included the Cyclone Cleopatra , which dumped 450 mm (18 in) of rainfall within an hour and a half. Sardinia being relatively large and hilly, weather
15428-485: The whole Italian geographical region . All its inhabitants were considered Italic and Roman . The Latin term Italicus was used to describe "a man of Italy" as opposed to a provincial . For example, Pliny the Elder notably wrote in a letter Italicus es an provincialis ? meaning "are you an Italian or a provincial?". The adjective italianus , from which are derived the Italian (and also French and English) name of
15561-438: The whole Italian peninsula; their territory was so renamed into the Kingdom of Italy in 1861, and it was reconstituted as the present-day Italian Republic in 1946. Sardinia is one of the most geologically ancient bodies of land in Europe. The island was populated in various waves of immigration from prehistory until recent times. Remains from Corbeddu Cave in eastern Sardinia have been suggested by some authors to represent
15694-410: The wide-ranging diaspora following Italian unification in 1861, World War I and World War II , (with over 5 million Italian citizens that live outside of Italy) over 80 million people abroad claim full or partial Italian ancestry. This includes about 60% of Argentina 's population ( Italian Argentines ), 1/3 of Uruguayans ( Italian Uruguayans ), 15% of Brazilians ( Italian Brazilians ,
15827-582: Was adopted by the Lombard Legion in 1796. The first red, white and green national flag of a sovereign Italian state was adopted on 7 January 1797, when the Fourteenth Parliament of the Cispadane Republic (1797), on the proposal of deputy Giuseppe Compagnoni , decreed "to make universal the ... standard or flag of three colours, green, white, and red ...": For having proposed the green, white and red tricolour flag, Giuseppe Compagnoni
15960-474: Was annexed by Yugoslavia causing the Istrian-Dalmatian exodus , which led to the emigration of between 230,000 and 350,000 of local ethnic Italians ( Istrian Italians and Dalmatian Italians ), the others being ethnic Slovenians, ethnic Croatians, and ethnic Istro-Romanians , choosing to maintain Italian citizenship . In 1949 Italy became a member of NATO . The Marshall Plan helped to revive
16093-474: Was deposed in 476 by a Germanic foederati general in Italy, Odoacer . His defeat marked the end of the Western Roman Empire , and the end of the political unification of Italy until the establishment of the modern Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Odoacer ruled well for 13 years after gaining control of Italy in 476. Then he was attacked and defeated by Theodoric , the king of another Germanic tribe,
16226-644: Was driven out by the Pisans, who occupied the territory. The Judicate of Arborea , having Oristano as its capital, had the longest life compared to the other kingdoms. Its later history is entwined with the attempt to unify the island into a single Sardinian state ( Republica sardisca 'Sardinian Republic' in Sardinian, Nació sarda or sardesca 'Sardinian Nation' in Catalan) against their relatives and former Aragonese allies. In 1297, Pope Boniface VIII established on his own initiative ( motu proprio )
16359-510: Was followed by one of conquest in the Mediterranean, beginning with the First Punic War against Carthage . In the course of the century-long struggle against Carthage, the Romans conquered Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. Finally, in 146 BC, at the conclusion of the Third Punic War , with Carthage completely destroyed and its inhabitants enslaved, Rome became the dominant power in the Mediterranean. The process of Italian unification, and
16492-471: Was founded by people from Tyre , probably in the same time of the foundation of Carthage , in the 9th or 8th century BC. In the 6th century BC, after the conquest of western Sicily, the Carthaginians planned to annex Sardinia. A first invasion attempt led by Malchus was foiled by the victorious Nuraghic resistance. However, from 510 BC, the southern and west-central part of the island were invaded
16625-584: Was headed by the Republican commander Randolfo Pacciardi and Communist political commissars Antonio Roasio, Luigi Longo and socialist Amedeo Azzi. It was part of the XII International Brigade along with André Marty Battalion and Dimitrov Battalion . It had a baptism of fire on the November 13, 1936 at Cerro de los Ángeles during the Siege of Madrid , then the battalion fought by
16758-483: Was legally merged into the administrative unit of Italy in 42 BC by the triumvir Octavian as a ratification of Julius Caesar 's unpublished acts ( Acta Caesaris ). Under Emperor Diocletian the Roman region called "Italia" was further enlarged with the addition in 292 AD of the three big islands of the western Mediterranean Sea : Sicily (with the Maltese archipelago ), Sardinia and Corsica , coinciding with
16891-495: Was often contested by the Sardinian tribes from the mountainous regions. The east Germanic tribe of the Vandals conquered Sardinia in 456. Their rule lasted for 78 years up to 534, when 400 eastern Roman troops led by Cyril, one of the officers of the foederati , retook the island. It is known that the Vandal government continued the forms of the existing Roman Imperial structure. The governor of Sardinia continued to be called
17024-724: Was still a collection of territories with different political statuses. Some cities, called municipia , had some independence from Rome, while others, the coloniae , were founded by the Romans themselves. Around 7 BC, Augustus divided Italy into eleven regiones . During the Crisis of the Third Century , the Roman Empire nearly collapsed under the combined pressures of invasions, military anarchy and civil wars, and hyperinflation. In 284, emperor Diocletian restored political stability. The importance of Rome declined, because
17157-582: Was strengthened by the arrival of the soldiers of Dimitrov battalion and by the volunteers of the dissolved Italian column, and other Italian groups from other formations and many others new volunteers who continue to turn to Spain. The Garibaldi Brigade remained part of the XII International Brigade, under the direction of Randolfo Pacciardi until August 1937; it consisted of four battalions. Then there were five commanders until its dissolution on September 24, 1938. In addition to operations in
17290-444: Was the Iberian Crown of Aragon which, in 1324, succeeded in bringing the island under its control, consolidating it into the Kingdom of Sardinia . This Iberian kingdom endured until 1718, when it was ceded to the Alpine House of Savoy ; the Savoyards would politically merge their insular possession with their domains on the Italian Mainland which, during the period of Italian unification , they would go on to expand to include
17423-433: Was the first European to set foot in "New Found Land" and explore parts of the North American continent in 1497; Amerigo Vespucci , sailing for Portugal, who first demonstrated in about 1501 that the New World (in particular Brazil) was not Asia as initially conjectured, but a fourth continent previously unknown to people of the Old World (the name of " America " derives from his first name ); and Giovanni da Verrazzano , at
17556-434: Was the heart of the Renaissance , a period of great achievements in the arts at the end of the Middle Ages. Other important cities include Turin , which used to be the capital of Italy, and is now one of the world's great centers of automobile engineering. Milan is the industrial and financial capital of Italy and one of the world's fashion capitals . Venice , former capital of a major financial and maritime power from
17689-432: Was usually the popes who led attempts to protect Italy from invasion or to soften foreign rule. For about 200 years the popes opposed attempts by the Lombards, who had captured most of Italy, to take over Rome as well. The popes finally defeated the Lombards with the aid of two Frankish kings, Pepin the Short and Charlemagne . Using land won for them by Pepin in 756, the popes established political rule in what were called
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