The ancient history of Italy will be found under Rome. The modern
history begins with 476 A. D., when Odoacer, chief of the Herulians,
a German tribe who had invaded the country, was proclaimed king of
Italy. After a reign of twelve years he and his followers were
overpowered by the Ostrogoths under Theodoric the Great. The
Ostrogoths were in turn subdued by Byzantine troops, and Italy came
under the dominion of the Eastern emperors, who ruled through an
exarch residing at Ravenna.
THE LOMBARDS.--In 568 the Lombards (Langobardi), a German people
originally from the Elbe, led by their king, Alboin, conquered the Po
basin, and founded a kingdom which had its capital at Pavia. The kingdom
of the Lombards included Upper Italy, Tuscany and Umbria, with some
outlying districts. But on the northeast coast, the inhabitants of the
lagoons still retained their independence, and in 697 elected their
first doge, and founded the republic of Venice.
Ravenna, the seat of the exarch, with Romagna, Rimini, Ancona, and other
maritime cities on the Adriatic, and almost all the coasts of Lower
Italy, remained unconquered, together with Sicily and Rome. The slight
dependence of this part of Italy on the court of Byzantium disappeared
almost entirely in the beginning of the eighth century.
RISE OF PAPAL POWER.--The power of the pope, though at first recognized
only as a kind of paternal authority of the bishop, grew steadily in
these troubled times, especially in the struggle against the Lombard
kings. In consideration of the aid expected against King Astolphus, Pope
Stephen III. (754) not only anointed the king of the Franks, Pepin, but
appointed him patrician or governor of Rome. In return Pepin presented
the exarchate of Ravenna, with the five maritime cities, to the pope,
thus laying the foundation of the temporal power of the Holy See. At the
invitation of Pope Hadrian I. Charlemagne made war upon Desiderius, the
king of the Lombards, took him prisoner in his capital, Pavia (774), and
united his empire with the Frankish monarchy. Italy, with the exception
of the duchy of Benevento and the republics of Lower Italy, thus became
a constituent part of the Frankish monarchy, and the imperial crown of
the West was bestowed on Charlemagne (800).
PORT OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE.--On the breaking up of the Carlovingian
empire, Italy became a separate kingdom, and the scene of strife between
Teutonic invaders. At length Otto the Great was crowned emperor at Rome
(961), and the year after became emperor of what was henceforth known as
the Holy Roman Empire.
During the following centuries the towns and districts of North and
Middle Italy gradually made themselves independent of the empire, and
either formed themselves into separate republics or fell under the power
of princes bearing various titles. A large part of Middle Italy at the
same time was under the dominion of the popes, including the territory
granted by Pepin, which was afterwards enlarged on several occasions.
VICISSITUDES OF SOUTHERN ITALY.--In southern Italy there were in the
time of Charlemagne several independent states. In the ninth century
this part of the peninsula, as well as Sicily, was overrun by Saracens,
and in the eleventh century by Normans, who ultimately founded a kingdom
which embraced both Lower Italy and Sicily, and which though it more
than once changed masters, continued to exist as an undivided kingdom
till 1282. In that year Sicily freed herself from the oppression of the
then rulers, the French, by the aid of Pedro of Aragon, and remained
separate till 1435. It was again separate from 1458 to 1504, when both
divisions were united with the crown of Spain. With Spain the kingdom
remained till 1713, when Naples and Sicily were divided by the Treaty of
Utrecht, the former being given to Austria, the latter to the Duke of
Savoy. In 1720 they were again united under Austria, but in 1734 were
conquered from Austria and passed under the dominion of a separate
dynasty belonging to the Spanish house of Bourbon.
MEDIÆVAL ITALY.--The history of mediæval Italy is much taken up with the
party quarrels of the Guelfs and Ghibellines, and the quarrels and
rivalries of the free republics of Middle and Upper Italy. In Tuscany
the party of the Guelfs formed themselves into a league for the
maintenance of the national freedom under the leadership of Florence;
only Pisa and Arezzo remained attached to the Ghibelline cause. In
Lombardy it was different, Milan, Novara, Lodi, Vercelli, Asti, and
Cremona formed a Guelf confederacy, while the Ghibelline league
comprised Verona, Mantua, Treviso, Parma, Piacenza, Reggio, Modena, and
Brescia. Commercial rivalry impelled the maritime republics to mutual
wars. At Meloria the Genoese annihilated (1284) the navy of the Pisans,
and completed their dominion of the sea by a victory over the Venetians
at Curzola (1298.)
INFLUENCES OF NAPOLEON.--Up till the time of the Napoleonic wars Italy
remained subject to foreign domination, or split up into separate
republics and principalities. The different states were bandied to and
fro by the changes and intrigues of war and diplomacy between Austria,
Spain and the House of Savoy. During the career of Napoleon numerous
changes took place in the map of Italy, and according to an act of the
Congress of Vienna in 1815 the country was parcelled out among the
following states:--(1) The Kingdom of Sardinia, consisting of the island
of Sardinia, Savoy, and Piedmont, to which the Genoese territory was now
added. (2) Austria, which received the provinces of Lombardy and
Venetia, these having already been acquired by her either before or
during the time of Napoleon. (3) The Duchy of Modena. (4) The Duchy of
Parma. (5) The Grandduchy of Tuscany. (6) The Duchy of Lucca. (7) The
States of the Church. (8) The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. (9) The
Republic of San Marino. (10) The Principality of Monaco.
STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENT NATIONALITY.--The desire for union and
independence had long existed in the hearts of the Italian people, and
the governments at Naples, Rome, Lombardy, and other centers of tyranny
were in continual conflict with secret political societies. The leading
spirit in these agitations in the second quarter was Giuseppe Mazzini.
The year of revolutions, 1848, opened with a street massacre by the
Austrians in Milan, on January 2. In February, 1849, the French Republic
was declared, and then in Italy the party of Mazzini was for a moment
supreme, when Charles Albert abdicated in favor of his son Victor
Emmanuel. Meanwhile the pope had been driven from Rome, and a Roman
republic had been established under Mazzini and Garibaldi, the leader of
the volunteer bands of Italian patriots. Rome was, however, captured by
the French, who came to the aid of the pope (July, 1849), who resumed
his power in April, 1850, under the protection of the French, and the
old absolutism was restored. Similar attempts at revolution in Sicily
and Naples were also crushed, but the secret societies of the patriots
continued their operations.
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PRESENT KINGDOM.--In 1859, after the war of the
French and Sardinians against Austria, the latter power was compelled to
cede Lombardy to Sardinia, and in the same year Romagna, Modena, Parma,
and Piacenza were annexed to that kingdom, which was, however, obliged
to cede the provinces of Savoy and Nice to France. In the south the
Sicilians revolted, and supported by a thousand volunteers, with whom
Garibaldi sailed from Genoa to their aid, overthrew the Bourbon
government in Sicily. Garibaldi was proclaimed dictator in the name of
Victor Emmanuel. In August Garibaldi crossed to Naples, defeated the
royal army there, drove Francis II. to Gaeta, and entered the capital on
the 7th September. Sardinia intervened and completed the revolution,
when Garibaldi, handing over his conquests to the royal troops, retired
to Caprera. A plebiscite confirmed the union with Piedmont, and Victor
Emmanuel was proclaimed king of Italy, thus suddenly united almost in
Mazzini’s phrase, “from the Alps to the sea.”
Only Venice and the Papal State now remained to be joined to the new
kingdom. To obtain Venice, Italy joined Prussia in her war against
Austria in 1866; and though the Italians were beaten on land at Custozza
and on sea at Lissa, the triumph of Prussia was so complete that, by the
peace of Prague, Venice was surrendered to Italy.
CONQUEST OF THE PAPAL STATES.--Rome was less easy to secure, because of
the opposition of Roman Catholic opinion throughout Europe. French
soldiers had protected the pope ever since 1849. In 1862 Garibaldi
prepared to make a dash on the Papal States, but the government felt
obliged to stop him. He was surrounded on Mount Aspromonte and taken
prisoner. The withdrawal of the French troops from Rome (1864) was only
procured by a promise to respect the Papal States, and by the
transference of the capital from Turin to Florence.
In spite of the prohibition of the government, Garibaldi made another
attempt on Rome in 1867; but Napoleon sent more French troops, and
Garibaldi was defeated at Mentana, and had to withdraw. It was not till
the fall of the French Empire in 1871 that the Italian government could
act freely. As Pius IX. refused to give up the temporal power, the
Italian government took the capital by force, and Pius withdrew to the
Vatican, where he remained in voluntary confinement, a course followed
by his successor, Leo XIII. (1878-1903), and by the present Pope, Pius
X.
DIFFICULTIES OF CONSOLIDATION.--The consolidation of Italy, since the
formation of the kingdom, has been slow and difficult owing to the great
social differences between northern and southern Italy. The nation, too,
has been ambitious to be recognized as one of the great powers of
Europe, which involves a vast outlay in expenditure.
[Illustration: =MONUMENT TO VICTOR EMMANUEL II., AT ROME. THIS MEMORIAL
IS EMBLEMATIC OF ITALIAN UNITY AND WAS ERECTED AT AN EXPENDITURE OF
$10,000,000.--THE COSTLIEST MEMORIAL IN THE WORLD, AND POSSIBLY THE MOST
MAGNIFICENT=]
In 1878 Victor Emmanuel died, and was succeeded by Humbert I.; Pius IX.
being succeeded by Leo XIII. in the same year. Humbert’s reign was
marked by electoral reform and foreign colonization. Somaliland, along
the northeast coast of Africa, was acquired between 1880 and 1890, and
the dependency of Eritrea was founded in 1882. Italy’s claims to a
protectorate over Abyssinia led to war, which ended in an Italian defeat
at Adowa, 1896, and the restoration of all land to Abyssinia by the
treaty of Adis Abeba.
In 1883 Italy entered the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria,
largely owing to her distrust of France. In 1900 King Humbert was
assassinated by an anarchist, and was succeeded by his only son, Victor
Emmanuel III. At the beginning of the new century more friendly
relations were secured with France, the Triple Alliance being still
maintained.
In the recent dissensions in Morocco (1906-1911) the government gave its
support to France against Germany, while France acquiesced in Italian
ambitions in Tripoli.
In September, 1911, war broke out between Italy and Turkey in connection
with the rights and privileges of Italian subjects in Tripoli. In
November of the same year the Italian government formally proclaimed the
annexation of Tripoli and Cyrenaica, which was ratified by Turkey in the
treaty of Ouchy in October, 1912. In the Balkan war (1912-1913) Italy’s
sympathies were naturally with the allies against her recent enemies;
the royal family, moreover, is connected with that of Montenegro, Queen
Elena of Italy being the daughter of King Nicholas of Montenegro.
In May, 1915, Italy renounced the Triple Alliance and entered the
European war on the side of Great Britain and France. War was declared
upon Austria-Hungary, and Italian forces dispatched to the Trentino. No
formal declaration of war was made against Germany until Aug. 27, 1916,
subsequently, Italy requisitioned the German steamers interned in
Italian ports.
Early in 1917, an important war conference was held in Rome by
representatives of the Entente allies.
=Books of Reference.=--Gregorovius’s _History of the City of Rome in
the Middle Ages_; Sismondi’s _History of the Italian Republics_;
Symonds’ _Age of the Despots_; Burckhardt’s _Civilization of the
Renaissance in Italy_; Creighton’s _History of the Papacy During the
Reformation_; Ranke’s _History of the Popes_ and his _Latin and
Teutonic Nations_; King’s _A History of Italian Unity_; Stillman’s
_The Union of Italy_; Orsi’s _Modern Italy_.