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(900 BC) Iron Age: communities
established in river valleys in Etruria
(800 BC) Greeks settled in Southern Italy and Sicily
(753 BC) Legendary founding of Rome by Romulus
(616 BC)
Etruscans became rulers of Rome
(509 BC) Last Etruscan king forced out of Rome; Roman Empire
established
(265 BC)
Romans took over last Etruscan city
(264-241 BC) First
Punic War occurred
(218 BC) Second Punic War; Hannibal crossed Alps
(191 BC) Romans captured Gaulish territory
(146 BC) Third Punic War ended
(44 BC)
Julius Caesar murdered; Roman Republic brought to an
end
(31 BC) Octavian defeats Antony and Cleopatra at Actium, start of the Roman Empire
(27 BC) Augustus became first Roman Emperor
(AD 79)
Pompeii and Herculaneum destroyed by eruption of Mt.
Vesuvius
(80) Coliseum hosted first games
(117-138)
The Roman empire reaches its greatest extent from Iberia Peninsula to Britannia till the territory delimited by Rhine and Danube rivers ; influence of Roman culture and commerce has been discovered even in the Indian cities of Madras and Cochin
(284-385) During Diocletian start the decline of Roman empire
under attacks from outside and revolts within , a new
religious force, Christian, was rapidly spreading in spite
of persecution
(324-337) Emperor Constantine I ends persecution of the Christian and founded Costantinopoli,built on the site of Byzantium, which will become later the strategic center of eastern empire
(476) The western empire ceased to exist under the barbarian invasion ,Odovacar proclaims himself king of Rome
(527-565)
Justinian managed to preserve eastern empire but in spite of some territorial gains such as coastal Spain ,after Justinian death also Eastern Roman empire collapsed
(564) Lombards invaded Italy
(756) Pepins outs the Lombards and recognises the power of
Popes over the Papal States
(800) Charlemagne crowned Holy Roman Emperor
(878)
Saracens took control of Sicily
(1084)
Normans pillaged Rome
(1155) Frederick Barbarossa crowned Holy Roman Emperor
(1204)
Constantinople pillaged
(1220) Frederick II crowned Holy Roman Emperor
(1240-70) Italian cities like
Venice,
Genoa,
Pisa,
Florence and others became, with a
growing development in trade, banking and industries,
powerful cities-states
(1271)
Marco Polo left for China
(1296) Construction on the Duomo in Florence began
(1400-1500) An intellectual revival, stimulated in part by
the freer atmosphere of the cities and in part by the
rediscovery of ancient Greek and Latin writings, gave rise
to the humanist attitudes and ideas that formed the basis of
the Renaissance
(1452) Birth of
Leonardo da Vinci His innovations in the field of
painting influenced the course of Italian art for more than
a century after his death, and his scientific studies—particularly
in the fields of anatomy, optics, and hydraulics—anticipated
many of the developments of modern science
(1492)
Columbus discovers America
(1519) Charles I of Spain became Emperor Charles V of
Holy
Roman Empire
(1541)
Michelangelo completed Last Judgment in Sistine
Chapel
(1564) Birth of
Galileo Galilei he was an Italian physicist, astronomer, astrologer, and philosopher who build the first effective telescope. He used this to prove that the earth moves round the sun
(1626) St. Peter's in Rome consecrated
(1737)
Medici dynasty in Florence comes to an end
(1748) Excavation of Pompeii began
(1778)
La Scala opened in Milan
(1796) Napoleon conquered northern Italy, became part of
French Empire
(1814)
Napoleon abdicated his throne; Italy divided into
small kingdoms
(1820-50) Small revolutions occurred in kingdoms; Venice,
Rome, Tuscany declared themselves Republics
(1830) Birth of
Giuseppe Verdi an Italian composer, mainly of opera.
He was the most influential member of the 19th century's
Italian School of Opera
(1849) Republic of Rome taken over by French troops
(1861)
Kingdom of Italy established excluding Rome, Venice,
San Marino; King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia became King
of Italy
(1866) Italy obtained Venice from Austria
(1870) Italian forces occupied Rome
(1871) Rome named capital of Italy |
