Rome was a small agricultural community when it was founded in the 8^th century BC.  By the 4^th century BC, the Romans ruled the land.  Rome grew to a massive empire encompassing the entire Mediterranean Sea, and ancient Greek and Roman cultures merged in to one civilization under this empire.  This empire is considered the basis of western civilization.

The empire went in to a slow decline in the 2^nd century AD, and it broke apart in to Eastern and Western empires in 395 AD.  The Western empire dissolved in 476 AD.

The 8^th to 18^th centuries were characterized by rule of France, the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, and Austria.  During these years, the Black Death killed one third of the population in 1348.  However, the recovery from that pandemic stimulated a resurgence that was followed by the Renaissance.  Italy lived in relative peace in the 16^th through 19^th centuries.  The mainland, Sicily, and Sardinia became a united kingdom in 1861.

20^th Century

Italy was aligned with the Allied Forces during World War I.  However, following the war, social unrest in the 1920s enabled the fascist movement which brought Benito Mussolini to power.  Mussolini was a Nazi ally at the onset of World War II, and Italy was defeated by the Allies in 1943.  Italy was proclaimed a republic in 1946.  

Italy made a strong economic recovery in the 1950s, but they experienced political instability from the late 1960s onward.  The 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s are sometimes referred to ‘Years of Lead’ – a period of frequent economic crises and social conflict.  During these years, Italy’s national debt skyrocketed.

21^st Century

Italy today is struggling under its massive foreign debt.  Its economic future remains uncertain.