European Kingdoms

Villanova Civilis
c.1100 - 700 BC

Located in central and upper Italy, this was probably the first Iron Age culture in Italy. Its uncertain origins lay in the eastern Alps, but its people seem to have migrated from multiple locations further east, and with some links to the Celtic-dominated Halstatt culture of the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.

The culture can be broadly divided into two phases: a proto-Villanovan culture (Villanovan I) from 1100-900 BC and the Villanovan culture proper (Villanovan II) from 900-700 BC, when Etruscan cities began to be founded. The name Villanova comes from site where the first archaeological finds relating to this advanced culture were unearthed. The remnants of a cemetery were found near Villanova (Castenaso, south-east of Bologna) in northern Italy in 1853.

The Villanova culture eventually gave way to an increasingly Greek-influenced eastern Mediterranean cultural dominance and the increasing dominance of the Etruscans. Many of the larger Villanovan settlements were built over in Etruscan times.

c.1100 - 900 BC

Villanovan I Proto-Culture appears, replacing the earlier Apennine culture which seems already to have faded perhaps half a century before this new cultural resurgence.

c.1000 - 700 BC

During this period, according to the archaeological record, the Latins appear to develop along different cultural lines from their Italic cousins to the east. Instead, a Latin variant of Villanovan culture emerges (which is often called Latial culture). Funerary urns are produced in the form of miniature huts known as tuguria, in small numbers at first, during Phase I of the culture (1000-900 BC), but in far greater numbers during Phase II (900-770 BC). The wattle-and-daub huts themselves remain the principle form of dwelling for the Latins until the mid-seventh century BC.

c.900 - 700 BC

Villanovan II Culture. It is during this period that the early Etruscan city of Tarchna (modern Tarquinia) is founded, at least as early as the ninth century BC. This predates the founding of most other Etruscan cities and is the result of late Villanovan decline and a process whereby Villanovan settlements to move towards a nucleus close to the agricultural areas. These concentrated settlements naturally evolve into the early cities of the Etruscan period. At Tarchna there is a cluster of Villanovan tombs immediately predating its appearance.

c.800 BC

Etruscan civilisation begins to flourish and eventually achieves regional dominance in a near-seamless break by which means the Villanova culture is subsumed. An example of this are the Villanovan villages located on the west bank of the River Fiora. Having become stagnant in the early 600s, these slowly expand and merge to form the Etruscan city of Velch (modern Volci) in the mid-500s BC. Elements of the culture may survive for a further two or three hundred years in some areas, as the major centres of Padan Etruria, around Bologna and Modena, are only founded in the sixth century BC.

Iron Age Italy
c.800 BC - AD 400

At the same time as Etruscan civilisation was emerging in north-western central Italy, from 800 BC, various other Italian peoples also rose to prominence, seemingly as part of a process of migration that had been occurring for as much as two centuries before this date. Tribes formed or settled from outside Italy which included the Brutii, Calabri, Chones, Dauni, Iapyges, Itali, Latins, Lucani, Marsi, Messapii, Morgetes, Oenotri, Paeligni, Peucetii, Picentes, Sabini, Samnites, Umbri, Veneti, Vestini, and Volsci. On Sicily were the Elymi, Sicani, and Siculi. On Sardinia were the Sardi, and on Corsica were the Corsi.

From 241 BC and the end of the First Punic War, the Latin city of Rome was undisputed master of Italy. It also became undisputed master of increasingly greater territories outside Italy, until it governed the largest empire the world had ever seen up to that point. Rome dominated Italy for over seven hundred years, but its fade and end led to a series of invasions and relatively short-lived rulers which served to divide the country into a patchwork of states.

509 BC

Etruscan rule of the Latins is ended by an insurrection. The newly-liberated Romans immediately begin to push on Etruscan borders, slowly taking territory in a piecemeal fashion. Etruscan cities are not unified, and often find it hard to support one another, so Rome is able to create treaties with individual Etruscan cities. As if this is not enough, the Etruscans come under increasing pressure from the enthusiastically combative Celts to the north.

265 - 264 BC

Velzna, the last independent Etruscan city, is suffering civil strife, so the Romans are called upon by the city's aristocrats to help calm the situation in their favour. Instead, Roman troops raze the city to the ground, and the fortunate survivors are forced to resettle, leaving the city's ruins abandoned. This point marks the effective end of Etruscan dominance and the beginning of Roman dominance.

27 BC

The office of dictator is offered to Caesar Augustus (Octavian), who wisely declines it. He opts instead for the power of a tribune and consular imperium without holding any office other than that of Pontifex Maximus and Princeps Senatus - a politic arrangement which leaves him as functional dictator without having to hold the controversial title or office itself. The Roman empire is born.

AD 395

The formal partition of the Roman empire into the Eastern and Western sections is undertaken by Honorius and Arcadian. An official register of all the offices, other than municipal, which exist in the Roman empire at this time is compiled in the Notitia Dignitatum.

Medieval & Early Modern Italy
AD 400 - 1861

Since the fall of the Western Roman empire, Italy for the most part remained divided. Various powers such as the Goths, the Ostrogoths, the Eastern Romans in the form of the exarchate of Ravenna, and then the Lombards vied for power until the country was conquered by the Carolingian empire. It was the wars between Ravenna and the Ostrogoths and then the Lombards which effectively ensured Italy's division into separate states throughout the medieval and early modern periods. The Carolingian empire subsequently fragmented, with Francia Media controlling Italy and power passing from that to the Holy Roman Empire in 961.

Following the Lombard invasion of northern Italy in the sixth century, small city states and duchies sprang up, such as Lugano, Savoy, and Venice, some of which were outside the later HRE's control. In the 1790s they were all conquered by France's First Republic and subsequent First Empire, including Naples & Sicily and Sardinia.

476

On 4 September, a Gothic general of the Roman army takes Ravenna, killing Orestes and deposing Emperor Romulus. By this time the western Roman army has ceased to exist, starved to death by a steady decrease in recruiting grounds and a severe lack of funds to pay those troops who still remained, so that they have drifted off. The Roman empire comes to an end in the West.

493

On 2 February, Theodoric and Odoacer sign a treaty that divides Italy between them, but at a banquet to celebrate the terms, Theodoric murders Odoacer with his own hands. Now unopposed, he is able to found a Romanised Ostrogothic kingdom of Italy based at the imperial capital of Ravenna. His accession is viewed by most Italians, Roman and Gothic, as a legitimate succession.

552

The death of Totila of the Ostrogoths at the Battle of Taginae allows Rome to be retaken by Byzantium, which governs Italy from Ravenna. A final defeat in battle near Mount Vesuvius in 553 means the death of the last Ostrogothic king and the end of their rule in Italy. The city of Rome remains under domination by Byzantium until the eighth century but a civil government slowly emerges to take control of Roman regional affairs in the late ninth century, often vying for power with the pope

568 - 569

The Lombards enter northern Italy, intent on conquering it and creating their own kingdom. The first Roman city to fall is that of Forum Iulii (now Cividale de Friuli), with small Eastern Roman defensive forces from Ravenna unable to offer any viable opposition (and perhaps not even bothering to try). The first Lombard duchy is created here, the duchy of Friuli. In the same year, Vicenza, Verona and Brescia also fall to Alboin, followed by a great prize in the capture of Milan.

755 - 756

The exarchate of Ravenna is briefly re-captured by the resurgent Lombards in 755, but the following year the Carolingian Franks recapture the territory. The ex-Byzantine exarchate is handed back to Rome as the Papal States and northern Italy becomes part of the Carolingian empire. The Papal States are autonomously controlled by the archbishops of Ravenna until 1218.

774 - 781

Daufer, king of the Lombards, invades the papal territories, and Pope Adrian is forced to call upon the Frankish King Charlemagne for support and aid. Charlemagne enters Italy and breaks the Lombards, taking the title of 'king of the Lombards' for himself. Rome gains part of the Lombard duchy of Benevento out of the conquest while the rest signals its independence as a continuation of the Lombard kingdom.

In 781, Pepin, son of Charlemagne, is given command of the Italian portion of the Frankish empire, which includes the former Lombard territories. He also gains the iron crown of the rex Langobardum (king of the Lombards), and it remains in use by the Frankish kings of Italy.

973

With the rise to power of the Saxon Otto I, control of Italy falls permanently to the non-Frankish Holy Roman Emperors.

1797 - 1805

Republican France begins the conquest of Austria's Italian territories, creating a client republic there.

1805 - 1815

The French First Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte consolidates its Austrian acquisitions (including that of Istria) by creating the satellite kingdom of Italy.

1815 - 1860

Austria renews its control of northern Italy.

Kingdom of Italy (House of Savoy)
AD 1861 - 1946

During 1859-1861, Italy was forged by nationalist Giuseppe Garibaldi into a single kingdom during the War of Unification, freeing Italy from Austrian control. The Savoyard king of Sardinia became king of Italy (a title previously held by the Holy Roman Emperors), gaining Parma, Sicily & Naples, and Spoleto, but at the same time losing Savoy to France. In 1866 Venice was annexed, while the Papal States were also seized by the new kingdom in 1870.

1861 - 1878

Victor Emanuel II

Formerly king of Sardinia (1849-1861).

1866

Italy annexes Venice, adding it to the list of its territories.

1870 - 1871

Italy achieves full union under the House of Savoy. In 1871, Rome becomes its capital for the first time since the collapse of the Western Roman empire.

1878 - 1900

Umberto I

Son.

Amadeo / Amadeus

Brother. King of Spain (1870-1873).

1900 - 1946

Victor Emanuel III

Son. Abdicated.

1911

Italy invades Ottoman Libya. An Italian protectorate is declared in 1912, and the region is governed by Italy in this fashion until 1934, when the colony of Libya is formed.

1915

In the secret Treaty of London of 26 April, Italy agrees to abandon its allies, Germany and Austria-Hungary, declaring war on them instead.

1918

With the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire at the end of the First World War, and the agreement of a ceasefire on 3 November, Italy inherits the province of Istria.

1922

The fascist leader Benito Mussolini is dictator of Italy and has the support (officially, at least) of the king. He also seeks to heal the breach between the Papacy and the state, an act that will strengthen his position, but this takes until 1929 to achieve.

1929

The Pope and Mussolini sign the Lateran Treaty, finally settling the breach between the Italian government and the papacy that has existed since the seizure of the Papal States in 1870. The treaty establishes the independent Vatican City State.

1936 - 1939

In 1936 Italy formally annexes Ethiopia after a short military campaign in which mustard gas is used. For much of the Spanish Civil War both Germany and Italy supply weapons and even aircraft to General Franco's forces.

1939 - 1941

Italy invades and occupies Albania in 1939. The following year it demands to be allowed to station troops in Greece, but the Greek king refuses. The resultant Greco-Italian War is a victory for Greece, with southern Albania also being occupied. Nazi Germany is forced to intervene, invading Greece in 1941 and capturing it. In the same year, the USA and Cuba enter the war against Italy on the side of the allies.

1943 - 1945

The Italian fleet surrenders at Valetta, Malta, on 10 September 1943, giving Britain's Royal Navy control of the Mediterranean. With the collapse and surrender of the Italians, much of Italy (especially the north) is occupied by Nazi Germans. Mussolini is summarily executed after being captured by partisans in 1945.

1946

Umberto II

Son. Abdicated in June.

1946

Italy becomes a republic when the king is forced into exile as punishment for his support of Mussolini.

Modern Italy
AD 1946 - Present Day

The modern country of Italy occupies the entire Italian peninsula in southern Europe, along with the major islands of Sardinia and Sicily. It is neighboured to the north-west by France, to the north by Switzerland and Austria, to the north-east by Slovenia, with Albania the closest country to it along the Adriatic Sea, Tunisia approximately 150 kilometres to the south-west of Sicily, and Corsica just off the western coast, across the Tyrrhenian Sea.

With the kingdom of Italy fatally undermined by its association with fascism, the Italian monarchy was formally brought to an end on 12 June 1946. King Umberto II ruled for just thirty-three days before he stepped down and handed power to the the prime minister as interim head of state. Umberto left Italy, never to return, living for another thirty-seven years and becoming 'Europe's grandfather' at many royal weddings over the years. After his death a succession dispute arose concerning the next most senior claimant to the lost Italian throne, although most authorities sided with Victor Emanuel.

The Italian republic was formed in place of the kingdom, with a referendum being held on 2 June 1946 to decide the fact. Within Italian territory, two independent enclaves remain, vestiges of Italy's politically fragmented history from the time of the collapse of the Roman empire onwards. Vatican City is the modern remnants of the Papal States, while San Marino is a republic with origins as far back as AD 301.

Successive claimants to the throne are given a shaded background, while rival claimants are shown in green text.

1946 - 1983

Umberto II

Exiled king of Italy. Died 18 March.

1947 - 1949

Italy loses sections of its eastern border to Yugoslavia under the terms of the Paris Peace Treaties. The following year, the first governmental elections are held with the threat of a possible Communist takeover serving as an incentive to ensure the preservation of democracy. In 1949, Italy joins Nato. Despite the country's now strongly-established democratic credentials, the political stability of each successive government is precarious, and several dozen of them come and go during the second half of the twentieth century.

1957

Italy is a founding member of the European Economic Community, which later evolves into the European Union.

With tourism being one of Italy's biggest industries, the slow sinking of the islets upon which Venice sits presents a serious problem

1983 - Present

Victor Emanuel IV

Son. Prince of Naples. Born 12 Feb 1937.

2003

The hereditary king of Italy, Victor Emanuel, returns to Italy, fifty-six years after the House of Savoy had been forced into exile.

2006 - Present

Prince Amedeo of Savoy

Cousin. Duke of Aosta. Born 27 Sep 1943. Rival claimant.

2006

Prince Amedeo of Savoy is the son of Aimone of Spoleto, Mussolini's puppet king of Croatia (1941-1943). In an attempt to secure the title for himself, Amedeo declares himself head of the House of Savoy and Duke of Savoy on 7 July 2006, claiming that Victor Emanuel had lost his claim when he married without Umberto's permission in 1971. The question of why he didn't make the claim in 1971 has not been answered.

Emanuel Filiberto

Son of Victor Emanuel IV. Born 22 June 1972.