Chronography of Italy, San Marino and Malta
Page last
modified 12/5/2022
See also Sicily
See
also Malta
See also Roman Empire
See Earthquakes for major Italian earthquakes
Venice � see
Appendix ii
San Marino � see
Appendix 2
Vatican City,
Papal States � see Appendix 3; see also Christianity
1/2020, The Rightist League party failed to
defeat ther Leftat a crucial election in Emilia-Romana.
8/2019, The Rightist League Party, led by Matteo Salvini,
withdrew from Government, to trigger early elections in which it hoped to do
well. However the Leftist Five-Star Party formed a workable coalition with
the Centre-Left Democratic Party, and Guiseppe Conte remained as Prime Minister.
14/8/2018, A 200 metre stretch of motorway bridge collapsed in
Genoa, Italy, plunging 45 metres onto a riverbed and factories, killing 43
people. There were suggestions that the bridge, built in 1967, had been poorly
maintained, or badly constructed under Mafia influence.
27/5/2018, Italy�s Populist
Government nominated Paolo Savona as Finance Minister; an economist
who supported Italy quitting the Eurozone. President Sergio Mattarella
vetoed that appointment. The Italian Right
hoped to cut taxes and boost welfare, and cut immigration. However Italy
was forced to scale back its spending after EU objections.
4/3/2018, Elections in Italy, a country still in recession,
with high unemployment and with anti-immigrant feeling running high in some
areas, produced gains for the two Populist-Right Parties, The League in the north and
Five Star in the south.
22/10.2017, Voters in two of
Italy�s wealthiest northern regions, Veneto
and Lombardy, voted overwhelmingly for greater autonomy. On a turnout of 58% in
Veneto and just over 50% in Lombardy, over 95% of votes were for more autonomy.
4/12/2016, Matteo Renzi, Italian Prime Minister, resigned
after a referendum rejected his government reform proposals by over 60%.
Berlusconi Rightist administration
13/2/2011, Women across
Italy protested against Berlusconi.
2007, Prodi
resigned when he failed to secure Senate support for continued US bases in
Italy; however he was asked to form a new Government by the Italian President.
16/4/2006,
Easter Sunday. Romano
Prodi, Centre-Left coalition, was confirmed as winner of the Italian
elections, defeating his rival Silvio Berlusconi by just 25,000 votes.
2005, Conscription into the armed forces ceased in Italy.
10/12/2004,
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was acquitted of charges
that he bribed judges to protect his commercial interests in the 1990s.
1/2002, Italy adopted the Euro, replacing the Lira.
15/12/2001,
The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopened to the public, after works to reduce its
lean by 30cm. the lean had reached dangerous levels, and stabilisation efforts
began in 1990.
20/7/2001, The 3-day 27th
G8 talks began in Genoa, Italy, sparking major protests by anti-globalisation groups.
21/2/2001, In
Sicily Bernardo
Provenza, one of the ten most wanted Mafia men, was arrested after
38 years on the run.
13/5/2000,
Ex-Premier and media magnate Silvio Berlusconi was again elected Prime
Minister of Italy.
22/12/1994, Silvio Berlusconi resigned
after allegations of busoiness corruption.
28/3/1994, Silvio
Berlusconi became Prime Minister of Italy. He led a short-lived
Rightist government. There were concerns over
possible conflicts of interest between Berlusconi�s political responsibilities
and his widespread business� interests.
1992, The Northern League (Lega Nord)
won over 50 seats in the General Election. The Northern League was resentful of taxes generated in the prosperous
north of Italy being used by Rome to support the poorer South, and wanted an
independent State in northern Italy, so-called Padania.
25/5/1992, Oscar Salfaro was elected
President of Italy.
23/5/1992, In Italy, Judge Giovanni Falcone, the principal
anti-Mafia investigator, was killed by a massive car bomb.
7/1/1990. The Leaning
Tower of Pisa was closed to the public for the first time in 807 years so
work could begin to stop it leaning any further; the leaning rate had
accelerated. After nearly 12 years of repairs costing 53 billion lire that
reduced its lean by 44 cm the tower re-opened in December 2001, and was
expected to be safe for another 2 or 3 centuries. Parties of up to 30 are
allowed up on guided visits. The Tower of Pisa is the bell tower for a nearby
cathedral, and its construction began in 1173, and continues with two long
interruptions, for nearly 200 years. Designed to be vertical, a lean developed
during its construction.� The walls at
its base are eight feet thick, and it has 294 steps. Injection of cement into
the base in 1934 had accelerated the lean.
16/12/1987, In Italy, 338 people were convicted in the largest
Mafia trial ever.
3/6/1986, Italy released some 8,000 prisoners, including
suspected terrorists, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the republic.
19/7/1985, In Italy, 261 died when a dam burst, flooding the
tourist resort of Tesero.
1984, Roman Catholicism no longer the
Italian State religion.
23/12/1984. Terrorist bomb killed 29 on a train in Bologna,
Italy.
24/9/1983, In Italy, the executives responsible for the Seveso dioxin disaster were jailed.
4/8/1983. Bettino Craxi became Italy�s first Socialist
Prime Minister.
18/3/1983, King Umberto II of Italy, in exile since 1946,
died in a Geneva
clinic aged 78.
3/9/1982, Anti-Mafia chief murdered in Rome.
26/5/1981, The Italian cabinet resigned amidst allegations of
Freemason influence in the country�s political and judicial system.
17/5/1981, In a referendum, Italy voted to legalise abortion.
23/11/1980, A series of earthquakes in southern Italy killed
4,800 people, and left 300,000 homeless.
2/8/1980, A right-wing terrorist bomb hit the railway
station at Bologna, Italy, killing
85 people and wounding over 200.
3/6/1979, In Italian general elections, the Communists
lost ground.
9/5/1978. The body of former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro
was found in the boot of a car in central Rome, a victim of the Red Brigade.
16/3/1978, In Rome, former Prime Minister Aldo Moro
was kidnapped and murdered by the Red Brigade.
12/1/1978, Italy, the Andreotti government collapsed.
1976, Communist Party support in
Italy peaked at 34% under Enrico Berlinguer, who was a proponent of �moderate�
Communist policies.
11/2/1976, In Italy, Aldo Moro formed a minority Christian Democrat
Government.
1972, Extreme-Right support in
Italy reached a post-War high of 9%. There was a rise in urban terrorism by
both extreme Right and extreme Left.
1970, The Red Brigades, extreme
Left terrorists, were formed.
6/12/1964, Antonio Segni, Italian Prime Minister resigned
for health reasons. He was succeedd on 28/12/1964 by Guiseppe Saragat.
9/10/1963, Three thousand were killed as the Vaijont Dam burst in the Italian Alps.
Despite warnings that the valley sides were being destabilised as the dam
filled, work continued until a rock slide hit the site.
4/12/1962, Pietro Tomasi Della Torretta, Italian
politician and diplomat, died aged 89.
6/5/1962, In Italy, Antonio Segni was elected President on the 9th
ballot.
4/11/1961, Italy's second television network Rai 2 began
broadcasting, joining the original RAI (Radiotelevisione Italiana) which had
begun in 1954.
1957, Italy became a founder
member of the
EEC.
19/8/1954, Alcide de Gasperi, Italian statesman, died
aged 73.
30/8/1953, Italy moved troops into the border areas of
Trieste, near Yugoslavia,
a week after the Italian Prime Minister Guiseppe Pella declared that Trieste was
�important to Italy�.Yugoslavia alleged that these troops had transgressed 50
metres into Yugoslav territory. President Tito of Yugoslavia demanded the internationalisation
of Trieste city and the incorporation of its hinterland into Yugoslavia. The US
and UK, unwilling to see Yugoslavia gain a major influence over the northern
Adriatic, announced they would end the Allied Military Government in the 25-km
coastal strip running NW from Trieste towards Italy and hand the territory over
to Italy. Tito
said if this happened he would send in Yugoslav troops. In early November
Italians demonstrated for unity of Trieste with Italy, and attempted to raise
the Italian flag on Trieste Town Hall. There were rioting and arrests; several
rioters were killed. Italy protested and for the time being both Italy and
Yugoslavia withdrew their troops from the border region, and the Allied
Military Government remained in place.
18/6/1952, Italy
passed a law making the reconstitution of Fascism illegal. The neo-Fascist
Movimento Sociale Italiano *MSI) was allowed to convene on 26/6/1852, where
they adopted a policy of partial acceptance of NATO but with a strong trade
preference for Spain over Britain.
26/11/1951, Ilona Staller, Italian politician (and porn
star) was born.
27/1/1950, In Italy, following the resignation of the
Democratic Socialist Minister in November 1949 and withdrawal of Liberal
support, Alcide
de Gasperi formed a new coalition of Christian Democrats, Democratic
Socialists and� Republicans.
1949, Italy became a founder
member of NATO.
11/5/1948, Luigi Einaudi was elected President of Italy.
18/4/1948, The Christian Democrats won an absolute majority
in Italian elections, securing 305 out of 574 seats.
15/9/1947, The Free Territory of Trieste was created as the Peace Treaty with Italy came into
effect.
17/4/1947, In Rome, a mob of about a thousand unemployed
workers staged a noisy protest outside the Parliament building, stopping
private cars and sometimes beating the occupants. One of those assaulted was Italian Foreign
Minister Carlo Sforza, who was struck by several fists as he stepped
out of his car to go to his office. The Foreign Ministry said that Sforza
had been shaken but not seriously hurt.
1/2/1947, In Italy, Alcide de Gasperi formed a government of
Christian Democrats, Communists and Left-Socialists.
28/6/1946, Enrico de Nicola became first President of Italy.
27/6/1946, Italy ceded the Dodecanese islands to Greece.
1946; End of the Italian monarchy
28/12/1947, Victor Emmanuel III, King of Italy from 1900
until he abdicated in 1946, died.
13/6/1946, Pro-monarchist riots in Rome over the
departure of King Umberto II.
11/6/1946, Italy
was officially declared a Republic.
3/6/1946, King Umberto II left Italy, to join his family in Lisbon.
2/6/1946, A referendum in Italy produced 12.7 million
votes for a Republic and 10.7 million votes for continuing the monarchy.
9/5/1946. King Victor Emmanuel III, monarch of Italy
since 1900, abdicated. He was succeeded by Umberto II. A referendum voted
narrowly for a republic on 2/6/1946. Enrico de Nicola became the first President of Italy on 28/6/1946,
and Umberto
II left Italy on 3/6/1946.
1945, Alcide de Gasperi (born 1881)
organised the Christian Democratic party, and became Prime Minister of Italy.
22/7/1945, Art treasures worth an estimated $500 million U.S.
that had been looted by the Germans during the war were returned to Florence, Italy.
Germany occupies Italy to forestall its defection
to the Allies
For main events of World War Two in Europe see France-Germany
15/9/1943, Three days after freed from imprisonment by
Germany, and seven weeks after his overthrow in July, Benito Mussolini was restored to
leadership of Italy by the Nazi occupiers; German paratroopers also landed in
St. Peter's Square at Vatican City in Rome, despite the Vatican's
neutrality in the war� Mussolini
made his announcement of a return to power from Adolf Hitler's headquarters at
Rastenburg.
11/9/1943, German Field Marshal
Albert Kesselring declared that all Italian territory was under
German military control, which former dictator Benito Mussolini would later
describe as reducing Italy to the status of a German "colony". Adolf Hitler
ordered that the occupied Italian territory be divided into three zones, with
the area around Rome extending south toward the front lines against the Allies,
the Alpine mountain region ("Alpenvorland") and the coast along the
Adriatic Sea ("Adriatische Kusterland"). Hitler also issued orders to
deal with any Italian military units that had gone over to fight for the
Allies, with all officers to be executed, and soldiers and non-combatants to be
deported to Germany as labourers.
9/9/1943.
Allied forces landed at Salerno, Italy. King Umberto of Italy left Rome and fled to
Brindisi in the south. This was seen as an abandonment by many Italians and
contributed to the conversion of the country to a Republic in 1946.
7/9/1943,
Suspecting that Italy was about to make peace with the Allies, German troops
quickly occupied Italy, especially its airfields, to forestall a complete
Allied possession of the country. However the entire Italian navy escaped to
Malta, thereby freeing up Allied ships for combat in the Pacific or Atlantic.
19/7/1943, First
Allied air raid on Rome. The raid was a political warning that Mussolini�s
regime must be overthrown.
1942, The Christian
Democratic Party was founded. It was a clandestine anti-Facist Party, and
in fact largely secular. Until 1993 it formed a large bloc in every post-War
Italian government; however it began to be plagued by acusations of corruption,
and by 1993 its popular support had completely evaporated, The Party
disintegrated after 1993.
For main events of World War Two in Europe see France-Germany
4/5/1941, Emperor Haile Selassie
returned to Ethiopia from exile in England, after the liberation of his country
by British forces.
12/9/1940. Italian forces
advanced on Egypt
from Libya.
19/8/1940, British
Somaliland fell to the Italians.� See
4/8/1940.
12/8/1940. In Albania, a revolt against
Italian occupation began.
9/8/1939, Romano Prodi,
Prime Minister of Italy, was born.
4/8/1940. Italian troops
began to invade British Somaliland from Ethiopia. See 19/8/1940.
4/7/1940, Three weeks after
Italy entered the War, Italian forces invaded Sudan, occupying Kassala, 300
kilometers east pf Khartoum, They also occupied Gallabat, further south.
10/6/1940. Italy declared war
on France and Britain.
2/4/1940. All Italians aged
over 14 were mobilised.
For main
European events of World War Two see
France-Germany
Italian invasion of Albania
8/4/1939, King Zog fled Albania to Greece as Italian
forces entered Tirana.
7/4/1939. Italy mounted a surprise invasion of Albania, seeing it as a bridgehead for
an invasion of the Balkans. King Zog fled the country. They began an
invasion of Greece
from Albania on 28/10/1940. They were driven back by the Greeks who occupied
most of southern Albania. However the Greeks were beaten back in April 1941
when the Germans occupied Yugoslavia, Albania, and Greece. From 1944 on local
partisans, aided by the British, drove Axis forces from much of Albania, also
eliminating anti-communist forces. See 11/1/1946.
25/3/1939, Italy gave Albania an ultimatum demanding that a
protectorate be established over the country and Italian troops be stationed
within Albanian borders.
27/11/1926, Italy and Albania signed the Treaty of
Tirana, effectively making Albania an
Italian Protectorate. Britain formally recognised the Treaty, angering
France, who saw the Balkans as their sphere of influcnce.
11/1/1939. Neville Chamberlain visited Mussolini to discuss recognition of the Franco
regime in Spain.
17/12/1938, Italy denounced
the Franco-Italian agreement of 1935.
14/12/1938, The Italian
Parliament was replaced by a Fascist Chamber.
30/11/1938, Speeches in the
Italian Chamber claimed Nice and Corsica for Italy.
3/5/1938. Hitler and Mussolini met in Rome.
16/4/1938, Chamberlain, British PM, sought to dissuade Italy from
allying with Germany.
11/12/1937. Italy left the
League of Nations.
6/11/1937. Italy joined the
anti-Communist pact between Germany and Japan.�
See 25/11/1936.
2/6/1937, German War
Minister Werner
von Blomberg began a three-day visit to Italy to discuss
German-Italian military ties.
2/1/1937, The UK and Italian
governments made an agreement, to curb dangerous levels of friction between the
two in the Mediterranean.
Period of
sanctions on Italy, imposed and lifted by the League of Nations (for invading
Abyssinia)
1936, The Italian Fascist Party
now had over 2 million members, up from 825,000 in 1931.
15/7/1936, The League of
Nations raised
sanctions against Italy.
1/11/1936. Mussolini announced an anti-Communist �axis� with Germany,
and urged France and Britain to join.
3/3/1936. Mussolini nationalised the Italian banks.
18/12/1935, In
response to League of Nations sanctions, Mussolini
appealed to Italians to donate their gold wedding rings to the government, in
exchange for steel ones, also other gold, to help the invasion effort. Many
Italians responded, and a total of 33,622 metric tonnes of gold was handed in.
21/11/1935, Mussolini redeployed 100,000 soldiers from the
army to work in agriculture and industry for 3 months to counter the effects of
sanctions.
19/10/1935, After Italy�s invasion of Abyssinia,
the League of Nations imposed economic sanctions on Italy. Meanwhile it was apparent that Italy�s
African possessions could not provide economic self-sufficiency for Italy, and
the country would never be self reliant in key raw materials sources such as
oil, coal and metals. This pushed Italy into a
closer partnership with stronger, industrialised, Germany.
2/10/1935, The Italian army invaded Abyssinia
(Ethiopia) after Mussolini�s forces pounded border towns. See 9/5/1936, and
5/12/1934.
2/9/1926, Italy agreed a treaty with Yemen; Italy was attempting to control the eastern
coast of the Red Sea.
24/1/1935. Mussolini dismissed the Italian Cabinet.
18/9/1934. Mussolini said all Italians from the age of 8 must have
military training.
13/6/1934, Adolf Hitler and Mussolini
met for the first time.in Venice, Italy. Hitler frequently quoted from his book Mein Kampf, and Mussolini later referred to him
as a �silly little monkey�.
20/10/1933. Mussolini denounced Roosevelt as a dictator.
21/5/1933. Britain signed a ten-year non-aggression pact
with Italy, France,
and Germany.
19/3/1933, Benito Mussolini, Prime Minister of Italy,
proposed a pact with Britain, France and Germany.
2/1933, Official Italian
unemployment stood at 1,229,000; up from 765,000 in 1931 and 1,147,000 in late 1932. However the true figure was almost
certainly considerably higher, since Mussolini was keener to attack the
unemployment statstics than deal with the problem of unemployment itself. He
kept excluding new categories of jobless from the figues, so as to massage them
downwards. Nevertheless official remained over one million during early 1934,
and Italian public works programmes never employed more than 200,000. But in
1935 300,000 Italians were called up for the invasion of Abyssinia, which also reduced the
unemployment totals.
1931, Mussolini made extemnsive use of
radio broadcasts, however Italy was a pooor country and possessed just
176,000� radios, half of these being in
urban areas. Starace
therefore organised the distribution of 40,000 free radios to Italian schools,
so schoolchildren could hear his broadcasts.
28/10/1932. In Rome the Via dell� Imperio opened. It was part
of a grand plan for the reconstruction of Rome, initiated by Mussolini
in 1931. This was the tenth anniversary of the Fascist March on Rome.
22/12/1931, The Vatican Library suffered considerable damage
when its roof collapsed.
6/11/1931, The Italian government awarded prizes to the
country's biggest families.
12/1/1928, The Italian press was banned from reporting
suicides or sensational crimes.
6/1/1928, Italian Finance Minister Giuseppe Volpi banned industries
from taking out foreign loans without government approval.
5/4/1927, Hungary
signed a �Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation� with the Italian leader, Mussolini.
Hungary needed allies, and Italy strengthened its influence in the Danube
Basin.
Extension of Fascist powers in Italy 1925 - 29
22/5/1929, In Italy, Mussolini banned beauty contests
as immoral.
20/4/1929. The first Italian Parliament composed exclusively of Fascists led by Benito Mussolini was
opened by King
Victor Emmanuel III.
24/3/1929. Mussolini�s single party Fascist state claimed it had won 99%
of the vote in elections.
1928, In Italy,
prefects could prevent people from moving from rural areas to cities. Mussolini
wanted to raise the birth rate, and urban women were more lilely to work and
have fewer children. In 1927 Mussolini had prohibited the Italian media
from promoting slimness in women, as that was also associated with a reduced
birth rate, he believed.
20/9/1928, In Rome the supreme legislative body, the Chamber of
Deputies, was taken over by the Fascists.
12/5/1928. The Italian electorate was reduced from 10 million
to 3 million, under Mussolini. Now only men who paid taxes
of 100 lira or more could vote, and women had no vote at all.
15/1/1927. Winston Churchill met Mussolini in Italy.
1927, The Italian Boy Scouts
were suppressed in favour of the Fascist youth section, the Balilla.
15/12/1926. The Italian fascist party adopted the Roman symbol
of authority, the fasces, or bundle
of sticks, and origin of the word �fascist�, as its symbol.
8/11/1926, Italian Communist Antonio Gramsci was jailed. He had started the Italian Communist Party
in 1921, and by 1924 was party leader and heading the fight against Mussolini�s
Fascism. He was imprisoned as part of a fascist crackdown on its opponents, and
in 1928 Gramsci�s prison term was extended to 28 years. In prison in Rome he
wrote Prison Notebooks, detailing his theory of cultural hegemony, the process
whereby the working class take on the values and interests of the middle and
upper classes. Gramsci
argued that the working class needed to
develop its own distinctive culture before a true Communist revolution was
possible, this process requiring intellectuals from the working class to create
this culture. He died in prison in 1937 and his sister in law, Tatiana,
smuggled his works out of the prison and sent them in a diplomatic bag to
Moscow. His writings were not published until after World War Two had ended.
31/10/1926. An
attempt was made on Mussolini�s life. This gave him the excuse to
remove more civil liberties.
7/10/1926. Mussolini decreed the Fascist party to be the state Party;
all opposition was banned.
29/6/1926. In Italy, Mussolini increased the working day by one
hour.
7/4/1926. Mussolini survived an assassination attempt.
Violet Gibson, Irish aristocrat, shot him but only managed to graze his nose.
3/4/1926, In Italy the Ballilla, a Fascist youth organisation,
was founded. It cultivated Fascist
indoctrination of the Italian youth and promoted patriotism, It hosted youth
clubs, organised sports events and organised basic military training. Its
numbers grew aafter the Catholic Boy Scouts were abolished in 1928.
12/2/1926. Mussolini outlawed strikes in Italy.
4/12/1925, The Italian Chamber of Deputies passed a law
allowing the government to regulate rates of industrial production based on the
needs of the country.
25/9/1926, Italy began a campaign against the Mafia in
Sicily.
4/8/1926, Umberto Nobile was feted in Rome for his part
in the recent North Pole expedition, as 20,000 filled the square in front of
the Palazzo Chigi.
7/1/1926, The Royal Academy of Italy was created.
Consolidation of Fascist power in Italy 1922 - 25
5/11/1925. In Italy, Mussolini banned all
left-wing parties.
3/1/1925. Mussolini assumed full dictatorial control in
Italy.� He nominated his
cabinet on 5/1/1925.
5/12/1924, In
Italy, Mussolini
commenced comprehensive press censorship.
17/9/1924, Italy
abrogated the Treaty of Rapallo (made 12/11/1920).
10/6/1924, Italian
socialist leader Giacomo Matteotti was assassinated by Mussolini�s fascists. He had
replaced Filippo
Turati as leader of Italy�s reformed Socialist Party, and on
30/5/1924 he denounced the Italian elections of April 1924, in which Mussolini�s
Fascists had done well, as fraudulent.
6/4/1924. Mussolini�s
Fascist Party won a sweeping victory in the Italian general election. However
there was widespread voter intimidation so the vote was not free and fair.
28/1/1924,
Campaigning began for a general election in Italy. Benito Mussolini addressed
10,000 Blackshirts in the Palazzo Venezia in Rome, predicting complete victory
at the polls and declaring that the Fascists were "ready to kill or
die."
27/1/1924. Mussolini
signed a pact with Yugoslavia, and Italy annexed the free city of Fiume.
24/1/1924, All non-Fascist Trades Unions were banned
in Italy.
16/7/1923. Mussolini
banned gambling in Italy.
10/7/1923, All
non-Fascist Parties in Italy were abolished.
9/6/1923, In Italy, the Vatican ordered the Catholic Party to disband, and many of its members
joined Mussolini�s Fascist Party. The Catholic Party, or Partito Popolare
Italiano (Italian People�s Party), had been formed in 1919;before then the
Vatican had forbidden Catholics to vote. In Italian elections in 1919 and in
1921 the Catholic Party received 20% of the vote, second only to the Italian
Socialist Party. Following Mussolini�s victory in 1922 Cardinal Gasparri, the Vatican�s
Secretary of State, made a deal with Mussolini that the Catholic Church would
support him; in return Mussolini would restore the historic privileges of the
Catholic Church in Italy. In 1927 Mussolini was baptised as a Catholic, and in
1929 he signed the Lateran Treaty, making the Vatican a separate sovereign
State. He also made Catholicism the State religion of Italy, and paid the
Vatican 750 million lire as compensation for the Vatican�s loss of the ancient
Papal States territory in Italy.
3/6/1923, In
Italy, Mussolini
approved a Bill giving women the vote.
23/4/1923, In
Italy, the Catholic
Party quit from Mussolini�s Government.
2/1923, Fascists were forbidden to be Freemasons; this
helped gain support for Fascism from the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church
was alarmed by the spread of Leftist influence and possible Communist-inspired
anarchy, especially in impoverished southern Italy, and saw the Fascists as
promising welcome stability. The Liberal Left would likely tax Church property.
The Fascists were also anti-contraception and birth control.
21/2/1923, In
Italy the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Vincenzo Cardinal Vanutelli,
said �Mussolini
had been chosen to save the nation and restore her fortune�.
25/11/1922, The
Italian Parliament granted Mussolini temporary emergency powers to force
through reforms.
31/10/1922, Mussolini�s
supporters organised a mass rally in Rome.
10/1922, General Strike in Italy, organised by the Communists. This gave Mussolini
the pretext for hos March on Rome.
14/11/1923, Italy passed a law stating that the Party winning
the greatest number of votes in an election would automatically receive two
thirds of the seats.
28/3/1923, The Italian Air Force was created.
14/1/1922, Antonino Gullotti,
Italian Christian Democrat politician, was born.
26/6/1921, In Italy, Prime Minister Giolitti fell. He was succeeded
by Ivanoe
Bonomi.
21/6/1919. Francesco Nitti became Prime Minister of
Italy.
14/1/1919, Giulio
Andreotti, Italian politician, was born (died 2013).
Mussolini,
Fascists, gain power in Italy 1920 - 22
30/10/1922. Benito
Mussolini took power in Italy.
29/10/1922, King
Victor Emmanuel III of Italy
invited Mussolini
to travel to Rome from Milan to form a government. Mussolini�s Fascist Party had
been founded in March 1919, and was dissolved on 28/7/1943.
28/10/1922, King Victor
Emmanuel III refused the request of Prime Minister Luigi Facta to
declare martial law, on advice from generals that the army might disobey orders
to fire on the Fascists. The king
instead invited Mussolini to come to Rome to
discuss the political situation.
24/10/1922,
A mass rally of 40,000 Fascists
at Naples.
4/8/1922, Fighting in Italy between Fascists
and Socialists in several cities; disturbances continued until 8/8/1922.
31/7/1922, General Strike in Italy began in protest at the
weakness of the State in the face of Fascist agitators. Fascists
used the Strike as a pretext to seize power on several cities, including Milan
and Genoa.
7/11/1921, Benito Mussolini, the 38 year old son of a blacksmith from the
Romagna, became leader of the Italian National
Fascist Party, with its 35 seats in Parliament. Black-shirted Fascist
sqaudristi roamed the country disrupting Communist meetings.
14/5/1921. Fascists
won 35 seats in Italian elections.
27/2/1921. Communists
and Fascists rioted in Italy.
1920, In Italy the Confindustria,
a confederation of industry aimed at countetring working-class agitation, was
established. It contributed large su,ms to the fascist movement who then used
their squadristi to attack the worlkers. From 1922 it was� asignoificant part of Mussolini�s fascist State.
Treaty of Rapallo; Italy, Yugoslavia, territorial
adjustments
5/6/1921, Italy and Yugoslavia signed an agreement over
control of Fiume.
27/11/1920, Italy's Chamber of Deputies voted 221 to 12
to approve the Treaty of Rapallo
with Yugoslavia.
12/11/1920, The first
Treaty of Rapallo was signed,
between Italy and Yugoslavia, settling territorial disputes in the Adriatic and
pledging collaboration to prevent a Hapsburg restoration. Istria, the territory
east of Venice, became part of Italy. The town of Fiume,
seized by Italian Nationalists in September 1919, was to return to Free City
status. However, although the Nationalists were ejected from Fiume by the
Italian Navy, Fiume did not regain this
status and in 1924, when Mussolini came to power, Italy abrogated these terms
and retained control of Fiume
(although Yugoslavia controlled the adjacent port of Susak). After World War
Two, Fiume became part of the
Republic of Croatia, itself a part of Yugoslavia
1919, Italy had made
considerable territorial gains through the Treaty
of Versailles, adding some 14,500 square kilometers of land at Austria�s
expense. Italy gained the provinces of Trentino, South Tyrol and Istria, and in
1924 annexed the Free City of Fiume
(see 12/11/1920). Italy, however had hoped for more, such as some of Germany�s
former colonies.
12/9/1919, An unofficial Italian army under Gabriele
d�Annunzio seized Fiume,
before it was incorporated in Yugoslavia.
Italian
Fascist Party founded, 1919
19/11/1919, In Italy, Benito
Mussolini and 37 Fascists were arrested after rioting at the
election of the Socialists.
16/11/1919, First
Italian elections that were contested by the Fascists. However the Fascists
did badly, receiving just 4657 votes out of 270,000 cast in Milan, supposedly a
Fascist stronghold. In Predappio, Mussolini�s birthplace, not one vote went to
the Fascists. The Socialists,
however, did very well, gaining 1.76 million votes, their best tally to
date; they raised their seats from 52 to 156, and became Italy�s largest single
party. Socialist support had been boosted by the suffering of World War One,
especially in Germany and the troubles in Russia. The Popolari Party, run by Don Sturzo,
representing Catholics, the forerunner of the post-World War Two Christian
Democrats, also did well, gaining 100 seats. The Pope, who had previously
discouraged Catholics from voting, had now informally encouraged Catholic
support for the Popolari. The Socialists
were later undermined by the split in their ranks between the reformists
(riformisti) and the revolutionaries (massimilasti), the latter defecting to
the Communist Party in 1921. This split allowed the fascists to gain power.
23/3/1919 �The Italian Fascist Party (Fascio di Combattimento)
was founded in Milan by Benito Mussolini. The party aimed to fight both Liberalism and
Communism. The Fascists wanted land
for the peasants, abolition of the Senate, a seizure of Church property, and
tax reform. However most of this agenda was already offered by the Socialists
and by December 1919 the Fascists only had 870 members. During 1926 Party
membership rose from 600,000 to 938,000. By the end of 1933 there were 1,400,000
members, a figure that went up to 2,633,000 by 1939.
Italy entered the Great War on the Allied side
4/11/1918, Italian troops occupied Trieste.� Under the Treaty of London (25/4/1915), The UK, France, and Russia agreed to
give Trieste to Italy after the War.
1917, Food riots in Turin put
down by troops; 50 people were killed.
28/10/1917, Vittorio Orlando became Italian Prime
Minister.
28/8/1916. Italy
declared war on Germany.
9/8/1916. Italian troops took Glorizia.
17/6/1916, In Italy a coalition government was formed,
including the Catholics and Reformed Socialists, under Paolo Boselli.
24/5/1915. The Austrian fleet bombarded Ancona, N.E.
Italy.
23/5/1915, Italy
entered the war on the Allied side.
4/5/1915,
Italy denounced the Triple Alliance (Italy, Germany, Austro-Hungary). This was
a preparatory move to her entering the War on the Allied side on 23/5/1915.
For
main European events of World War One
see France-Germany
25/4/1915. Italy
signed a secret treaty, the Treaty of London, with Britain, France, and Russia.� Italy agreed to enter the war on the Allied
side within one month in return for territorial gains.� Italy was to gain the Austrian provinces of
Trentino, South Tyrol, Istria, Gorizia, Gradisca, and Trieste, also a large
stretch of the Dalmatian coast and islands, some Albanian territory around
Valona, full sovereignty over the Turkish-controlled Dodecanese Islands, the
Turkish province of Adalia in Asia Minor, colonial gains in Africa, and a share
of war indemnities.� The Allies agreed to
this because they believed that Italian intervention would soon destroy
Austro-Hungary, opening the �back door to Germany�.� Italy duly entered the war on 24/5/1915, but
the expected breakthrough against Austria never materialised.� When
the Bolsheviks took over in 1917 they revealed the terms of this secret treaty,
which ran totally against the ethnic-determination principles of President Wilson of the USA;
he stated he did not consider the treaty terms as binding.� At the Paris Peace Conference the UK and
France also opposed implementation of the treaty�s terms, and Italy received
far less than originally specified.� This created popular resentment in Italy and
was a factor in the rise of Mussolini and
Fascism in Italy.
25/1/1915, Mussolini formed the Fasci d�Azione Rivoluzionara in Milan.
7/6/1914, In Italy, popular uprisings, the so-called Red
Week, began in the Marches and Romagna. Rebellious landless labourers
confronted strike-breakers hired by the landowners. Revoliutionaries including
Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) incited the labourers, who also opposed military
conscription. Ancona and other towns proclaimed themselves �independent� and
Romagna declared itself a republic 100,000 soldiers had to be deployed to
restore order.
For more on 1911-12 conflict between Italy and Turkey see Greece-Turkey
1912, Electoral reform in Italy extended the vote to all literate
men aged 21 and over, and all men aged over 30. This expanded the Italian
electorate from 3 million to 8.6 million. A subsequent electoral reform soon
after abolished the literacy requirement for man aged 21-30, further expanding
the electorate to 11 million, and was a measure to ensure continued popular
support for the Italian war in Libya. It was estimated that 70% of these new
voters were illiterate.
1911,The Camorra were suppressed. Starting as a band of prisoners
united against their� gaolers in Naples
in the 1820s, the Camorra entered Italian politics in 1848.
29/9/1911. Italy declared war on Turkey, having been assured of the neutrality
of other European countries.� The
Italian Navy bombarded Preveza, and Italian forces landed at Tripoli and in
Cyrenicia. This was in retaliation for the alleged mistreatment of Italians in
Libya. The Italians expected the Arabs to welcome them as liberators from Turkish
rule, but instead the Arabs sided with the Turks in resisting Italian rule. In
May 1912 Italy invaded some islands off Turkey, including Rhodes, to put
further pressure on Turkey. Then Italy had some unexpected good fortune when in
1912 Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece started the Balkan War against
Turkey, forcing the Ottomans to surrender Libya to Italy. However Arab
resistance continued and despite a permanent Italian garrison of 50,000 troops
Italian rule only covered Tripoli and other major towns. At least, though,
Italy could now claim to have its own African colony.
18/3/1911, Italian
Prime Minister Luzzatti
resigned.
19/11/1910, Alessandro
Mussolini, father of the Italian dictator, died, aged 56.
17/5/1904, The
French Ambassador to The Vatican was recalled to Paris. Earlier, on 24/4/1904,
the Vatican had objected to a State visit by the French President to King
Victor Emmanuel III of Italy.
24/4/1904, The
French President Emile Loubert and Foreign Minister Theophile Delcasse visited King
Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. The Papacy was annoyed at the visit.
26/1/1904, Fire
caused major damage at the National Library, Turin, Italy.
1/11/1902, Italy
signed the Franco-Italian entente with Italy. Italy assured France it would
remain neutral if France was attacked.
4/1/1902, Italy was
facing a wave of socialist agitation, as workers campaigned for shorter hours, greater
security of employment, better pay, also non work-related matters such as more
rights for housing tenants. This day a major railway strike was threatened.
Italy was facing a new tendency, the �sympathy strike�.
7/2/1901, The
Italian Government of Guiseppe Saracco was overthrown, for its weak
response to a dock strike in Genoa.
16/12/1900, France and
Italy agreed to respect each other�s sphere of influence in North Africa.
30/7/1900. In Italy, Umberto I, 56, King since 1878, was shot dead
in Monza by an anarchist. Victor Emmanuel III, 30, �succeeded him.
1898, Nearly 100 people died in
riots in Milan sparked by poverty.
7/8/1898, Enrico Cosenz, Italian soldier, died (born
12/1/1812).
24/5/1898, Benedetto Brin, Italian naval engineer who
laid the basis for the Italian navy, died (born 17/5/1833).
6/3/1898, Felice Cavallotti, Italian politician, died
(born 6/11/1842)
24/5/1896, Luigi Menabrea, Italian statesman, died (born
4/9/1809).
12/5/1896, Henri Cernuschi, Italian politician, died
(born 1821).
27/12/1894, Former King Francis II of Naples died/
3/1/1894, The
Italian government ordered the dissolution of the Fasci, and the arrest of their ringleaders. Over 1,000 people were
deported to Italian islands, often without trial. The Fasci were small
alliances, groups of radical or socialist academics and peasants, and some
anarchists, local gentry and Mafiosi. The name derived from the fasces, or
bundle, of sticks used in ancient Rome. Starting in Sicily in 1893 the Fasci
agitated for political ends, with strikes and riots, alarming the larger
landowners.
26/11/1892, Simone St-Bon,
Italian admiral, died (born 20/3/1823).
8/9/1892, Enrico Cialdini,
Italian politician, died (born 10/8/1811).
22/2/1891, Agostino
Magliani, Italian financier, died.
11/4/1890, Birth of Donna Rachele
Mussolini, wife of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini (died 1979)
1/1/1890, The Kingdom of Italy established the colony of Eritrea in Africa.
8/8/1889, Benedetto Cairoli, Italian statesman, died
(born 28/1/1825).
4/10/1888, Cesare Correnti, Italian Revolutionary, died
(born 3/1/1815).
9/4/1888, Lodovico Corti, Italian diplomat, died (born
28/10/1823).
27/2/1888, As
Italian-French relations deteriorated, France imposed selective duties
against Italian products. Italy retaliated in kind on 1/3/1888.
29/7/1887, Agostino
Depretis, Italian politician, died (born 31/1/1813).
10/12/1886, Marco Minghetti,
Italian statesman, died (born 18/11/1818).
30/4/1886, Agostino
Bertani, Italian revolutionary, died (born in Milan 19/10/1812).
14/3/1884, Quintino Sella,
Italian statesman, died (born 7/7/1827).
29/7/1883, Benito Mussolini, Italian
founder of the Fascist party and ally of Hitler, was
born in Predappio, near Forli, a town in the impoverished Romagna region of
east-central Italy.� He was the son of a
blacksmith.
9/3/1882, Domenico Lanza, Italian politician, died (born
15/2/1810)
12/5/1881, Tunisia became a French Protectorate. The French
invaded in April 1881 when the Tunisian first minister made various reforms
taking away French economic privileges. This French move was disturbing to Italy, who had
believed that Britain would never permit an extension of French power in North
Africa.
3/4/1881, Alcide de Gasperi, Italian politician, was
born.
9/1/1878, Victor Emmanuel II, who became the first King of Italy in 1863, died of fever in Rome aged
57. He was succeeded by his son Umberto, aged 33, who ruled until his
assassination in 1900.
5/1/1878, Alfonso
la Marmora, Italian statesman, died (born 18/11/1804).
6/11/1876, Giacomo
Antonelli, Italian Cardinal, died (born 2/4/1806 in Sonnino).
16/12/1873, Nino Bixio,
Italian soldier, died (born 2/10/1821).
1867, Milan�s famous Galleria Vittoria Emmanuele, with its glass roof,
was completed.
1860-72; Garibaldi and achievement of Italian unification and
independence
2/6/1882, Guiseppe Garibaldi, Italian soldier and
politician who helped form the Kingdom of Italy, died aged 74.
7/1872, King Victor Emmanuel of Italy made a
triumphant entry into Rome. A plebiscite had produced 133,681 votes for
unification of the Papal states with Italy, and just 1,507 against.
10/3/1872, Guiseppe Mazzini, Italian
revolutionary who fought for his country�s unity and independence, died in
Pisa.
1871, The Palace of the Quirinal, in the centre of Rome,
became the residence of the Italian Kings.
12/1870, The Tiber river flooded Rome. Victor Emmanuel
capitalised on this as an excuse to make an early visit to the city.
20/9/1870, Taking advantage of the French defeat at Sedan, Italian troops under Victor Emmanuel II
entered Rome
and expelled the Papal troops. Garibaldi had made several attempts to take Rome with his people�s army, the last in 1867,
but had been defeated by the French. Now however Napoleon III had his troops away
from Rome to fight the Prussians.
There was little resistance from Rome;
the walls were shelled, and breached at Porta Pia, and only a few lives were
lost.
29/1/1870, Leopold II,
Grand-Duke of Tuscany, died (born 3/10/1797).
11/11/1869, Victor Emmanuel III, King of Italy, was born.
5/12/1867, France stated that it would never permit the
Italians to occupy Rome. Bismarck of Prussia was not slow to take
advantage of the resultant anti-French sentoiment in Italy, to prevent any
future Franco-Italian alliance against Prussia.
3/11/1867, The Battle
of Mentana. Garibaldi was defeated by French
troops rushed to Italy by Napoleon III to defend Rome. Garibaldi�s
poorly-organised and diplomatically ill-advised attempt to march on the Papal
capital resulted in France revoking the September
Convention, under which French troops had been withdrawn from
Italy in December 1866.
1867-72, Italians wished to include Rome and the
Papal States in their territory.This was resisted by France, but when France
was distracted by the Franco-Prussian War, Garibaldi seized the opportunity.
9/10/1867, Carlo Filangieri, Neapolitan soldier and statesman, died (born 1784).
11/9/1867, Italian General Cadorna marched with
60,000 men into Papal Territory. Cittavecchia surrendered, but the Pope decided
to use his force of 10,000 men in Rome to show that he was at least making some
resistance to this incursion.
9/8/1866, An order from Italian General Lamamora reached Garibaldi; that he was to desist form attacking
the Austrians and evacuate the province of Trentino. Prussia would not allow Italian
expansion into Austria
this far north. Garibaldi now retired again to
Caprera, to plan an attack on Rome (Papal States).
1/8/1866, Luigi Farini, Italian statesman, died (born
22/10/1812).
25/7/1866, The Italians were defeated in a sea battle
against Austria off Lissa.
22/7/1866, A Plebiscite in Venetia produced an
overwhelming majority in favour of unification with Italy; 647,246 votes for,
and only 69 against.
21/7/1866, Italy defeated Austria at Bezzecca.
19/7/1866, Italy defeated Austria at Amploa.
16/7/1866, Italy defeated Austria at Condino.
10/7/1866, Italy defeated Austria at Darso.
7/7/1866, Italy defeated Austria at Lodrone.
3/7/1866, Italy defeated Austria at Monte Saello.
8/4/1866. Bismarck arranged an alliance between
Italy and Germany. Italy promised to join
Germany in was against Austria if war broke out in the next three months.
15/9/1864, Under the �September Convention�, Napoleon III
of France agreed to evacuate Rome
and Italy agreed to move her capital from Turin to Florence.
29/8/1862, The Battle
of Aspromonte. Garibaldi,
frustrated by the reluctance of the Italian forces to take Rome
(see 20/9/1870), tried to march on the city with a force of volunteers from
Sicily. He was opposed by Rattazzi, and Garibaldi was wounded and captured at this battle (southern
Italian mainland) He was detained briefly at La Spezia before receiving a royal
pardon. Garibaldi returned to Caprera, as a national hero; in 1866 he again saw active
serive for the Italian State, defeating the Austrians in several battles in July
that year.
28/8/1862, Garibaldi�s
army landed at Calabria en route to Rome.
29/6/1862, Garibaldii, unhappy at the course of Italian Unification (see
21/10/1860), landed at Palermo and gathered an army under the slogan �Roma o morte�. Cavour�s successor, Ricasoli,
had succeeded in incorporating Garibaldi�s former forces into the regular Italian Army, and Rattazzi,
successor to Ricasoli,
urged Garibaldi to direct his energies in favour of supporting the Hungarians
(against Austria). However Garibaldi decided
to try and gain Rome (Papal States)
instead (see 21/10/1860). Rattazzi
made a stand against Garibaldi�s forces at Messina (Sicily), but Garibaldi circumvented
Rattazzi�s
forces, entered Catania (Sicily) and then crossed to Melito (Italian mainland,
25/8/1860). See 29/8/1862.
6/6/1861, Count Cavour, the politician primarily
responsible for the unification of Italy, died.
17/3/1861, Victor Emmanuel was proclaimed King of Italy at Turin by the
country�s first Parliament.
2/1861, The formerly independent Grand-Duchy of Tuscany declared itself part
of Italy.
18/2/1861, The Italian Parliament opened at Turin.� The Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed.
12/2/1861, Gaeta, previously held by Naples, capitulated to Garibaldi. The withdrawal of the French fleet
had permitted bombardment of Gaeta from the sea also.
6/11/1860, The siege
of Neapolitan forces at Gaeta by Garibaldi�s
army began.
26/10/1860, Guiseppe Garibaldi,
soldier and fighter for Italian unification, proclaimed Victor
Emmanuel as King of Italy.
21/10/1860, Several
territories in Italy voted with large majorities to join the emerging Kingdom
of Italy under King Victor Emmanuel, including the Marches and Umbria, as well as the
territories conquered by Garibaldi.
This deprived Garibaldi of political momentum.
This was a relief to the rest of Europe,
who had feared that Garibaldi would overrun the Papal
Territories, destabilising other States in Europe. Garibaldi
handed power to Victor Emmanuel (see 26/10.1860) and retired to the island of Caprera. However Garibaldi was later to object to the
cession of Nice to France, and returned to Italian politics, see 29/6/1862.
1/10/1860, Garibaldi�s forces
decisively defeated the Royalist forces of Naples at the Battle
of Volturno.
6/9/1860, Francis II, last King of Naples., left the city which had
fallen to Garibaldi�s army and went to Gaeta.
Naples ceased to be a separate state and came under the Italian rule of King Victor
Emmanuel.
21/8/1860, Neapolitan forces were defeated by Garibaldi at Reggio, Italian mainland.
20/8/1860, Garibaldi�s forces,
having conquered all of Sicilyeasily (he was percieved as a liberator), crossed
the Straits of Messina to attack the Italian (Neapolitan) mainland.
20/7/1860, Neapolitan forces were defeated by Garibaldi at Milazzo.
6/6/1860, Garibaldi took
Palermo.
15/5/1860, Neapolitan forces were defeated by Garibaldi at Calatafimi.
11/5/1860, Italian
revolutionary Garibaldi landed at Marsala, Sicily.
5/5/1860, The
radical Italian, Garibaldi, striving for
Italian Unification, set sail from Genoa with his army of redshirts for the
port of Marsala in Sicily.
16/4/1860, Bartolommeo
Borghesi, Italian antiquarian, died in San Marino (born near Rimini
11/7/1781).
1860-72; Garibaldi and
achievement of Italian unification and independence. See also Sicily
for history pre-Italian unification
Map of Italian Unification here � Source,
Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol.15, p.38, 1910
1846-60; Start of movement
towards unified, independent, Italy.
2/4/1860, The first
Italian parliament met, in Turin.
22/5/1859, Ferdinand II,
King
of the Two Sicilies, died (born 12/1/1810). Francis II became King.
Austro-Piedmont War 1859
10/11/1859, A peace treaty signed at Zurich ended the
war between France, allied to Piedmont, and Austria. The effects of the treaty were crucial in the unification of Italy.
Under its terms, Lombardy passed from Austria to Piedmont, with the exception
of the Quadrilateral forts (see 24/6/1859) which were retained by Austria.
Piedmont compensated France 60 million lire for the cost of the war
with Austria. Plebiscites were held in various territories to determine which
State they would join.
10/7/1859, The Treaty of Villafranca was signed, see
24/6/1859. The war between France (allied with Piedmont) and Austria was
finally concluded by the peace treaty signed at Zurich on 10/11/1859.
See
also Austrian
history
24/6/1859, At the Battle of Solferino, Lombardy, Italy, the French under Napoleon III
allied to Piedmont defeated the
Austrians. However the victory was costly for the French. Napoleon III knew that his
armies must next face the Austrians at the �Quadrilateral�, the four fortresses
of Legnano, Mantua, Peschiera and Verona, where the Austrians had retreated
northwards to, and opposition to the French would increase in this region.
Within France, the war against Austria was becoming unpopular as army
casualties, and deaths from a typhus epidemic within the ranks, mounted. The
war was expensive to France, There was also the question of what Britain might
do, being opposed to the extension of French power in Italy. Prussia�s
intentions, with its 400,000 strong army, were also uncertain. Therefore
Napoleon, without consulting his Piedmont ally, signed the Treaty of Villafranca, see 10/7/1859.
8/5/1859, The Austrians were defeated by the Italians
at Casale.
26/4/1859, The
Austro-Piedmontese war began. Piedmont was backed by France, who was more interested in
weakening Austria than in the ambitions of Piedmont.
23/4/1859, Austria
issued an ultimatum to Piedmont to disarm. This followed an agreement between France
and Piedmont to ally against Austria. This agreement was strengthening the
power of Italy (see 14/1/1858) and was a significant threat to the southern
flank of Austria.
14/1/1858, An Italian assassin threw a bomb at French Emperor
Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie as they drove to the Paris
Opera. The bomb, thrown by Felici Orsini, missed its target but killed
eight bystanders and injured 100. Orsini planned the attack in London,
causing anti-British sentiment in France. Napoleon III, now convinced of the magnitude of nationalist sentiment in Italy,
invited Count
Cavour to the spa town of Plombieres in the Vosges Mountains where
the Plombieres Agreement of July
1858 was worked out. This Agreement provided that Piedmont would provide
100,000 men along with 200,000 French to fight Austria. After victory against
Austria, three kingdoms would be set up in Italy. 1) Northern Italy would include
Lombardy, Romagna, Sardinia and Venetia. 2) Central Italy would include Tuscany and the
Duchy of Parma. 2)a)
The Papal lands however would continue under the rule of the Pope. 3) Thirdly,
southern Italy, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, would be ruled by Luciano Murat,
if its current ruler, Ferdinand II, abdicated. A secret agreement of
24/1/1859 between France and Piedmont provided that both would respect the
sovereignty of the Pope.
10/7/1858, Napoleon III of France secretly met Count Cavour
at Plombieres. The two agreed to jointly attack Austria.
Austro-Piedmont
War 1859
12/1857, Large area east of Naples, Italy,
devastated by an earthquake.
11/11/1854, Mussolini�s
father, Alessandro,
was born in Montemaggiore, close to Predappio.
8/8/1849, Ugo Bassi,
Italian patriot, was executed.
28/7/1849, Albert Charles,
King of Sardinia, died (born 2/10/1789).
23/3/1849, Victor Emmanuel
II became King of Sardinia,
on the abdication of his father, Charles Albert (1789-1849), following the
defeat of Charles
at the Battle of Novara, against Austria.
Charles
had been assisting the Lombards in a rebellion against Austrian rule, and had
been defeated once before by Austria, at the Battle of Custozza (25/7/1848), by forces under Radetzky (following
this 1848 defeat, the Salasco Armistice
was signed).
9/2/1849, The
Republic of Rome was proclaimed by Garibaldi.
His Nationalist Army came under attack (from 30/4/1849) from a combined force
of French, Austrian, Tuscan, Spanish and Neapolitan troops.
10/1849, The Italian campaign in
northern Italy had completely failed, with the surrender of Venice this month.
Venice had held out, besieged, several months after everywhere else had
surrendered to the Austrians under Radeztky.
26/8/1848. Garibaldi was defeated by the
Austrians at Morrazone.
26/7/1848, Battle of Volta; along with Custozza 24-55
July), Italians being forced back by Austrians
9/6/1848, Austrian forces recaptured Vicenza from the
Italians.
30/5/1848, Battle of Goito (also fighting at
Curtatone,29/5), Italians fighting Austrians.
6/5/1848, Battle of St Lucia di Verona, Italian
forces attempting to force back Austrians
29/4/1848, Italian forces halted at Pastrengo by
Austrians.
19/4/1848, Wednesday An Italian attack on Mantua was repulsed by the
Austrians
14/4/1848, Italian troops began a siege of Austrian
forces at Peschiera; the town held out until end-May.
9/4/1848, Italian troops fighting Austria forced a
passage across the River Mincio to its eastern bank.
18/3/1848, Revolution
broke out in Milan. This was the Cinque Giornate, �Five Days� of street
fighting that heralded the start of the anti-Austrian Revolution in Lombardy. Radetzky
was driven from Milan, and a provisional government established under Carlo Cattaneo.
12/1/1848, In Palermo, an uprising began against the
misrule of Ferdinand
II of Naples.
1847, The Italian newspaper Il Risorgimento was founded in Turin by Cavour.
1847, In the Papal States,
the National Guard was set up to
keep civil order, by Pope Pius IX.
10/12/1846, Frederico Confalioneri, Italian Revolutionary,
died (born 1785). Italians were now
seeking their own State, free of foreign domination.
1846-60; Start of movement
towards unified, independent, Italy.
20/2/1846, Francis IV, Duke of Modena, died
11/3/1841, Luigi Luzzatti, Italian financier, was born.
30/5/1845, Ferdinando Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, Italy, was
born (died 18/1/1890).
14/3/1844, Umberto I, King of Italy, was born in Turin,
the son of King
Victor Emmanuel I.
6/11/1842, Felice Cavallotti, Italian politician, was
born (died 6/3/1898).
27/10/1842, Giovanni Giolitti, Italian statesman, was
born.
27/6/1835, Domenico Comparetti, Italian scholar of
mediaeval studies, was born in Rome (died 1929).
28/8/1834, Mussolini�s paternal grandfather, Luigi Mussolini,
was born.
17/5/1833, Benedetto Brin, Italian naval engineer who
laid the basis for the Italian navy, was born (died 24/5/1898).
1831, Italy adopted the current
red, green and white flag. Before then it was a red, blue and black Flag of
Revolution.
7/7/1827, Quintino Sella, Italian statesman, was born
(died 14/3/1884).
8/8/1826, Count Nicolas Robilant, Italian diplomat, was
born (died 17/10/1888).
28/1/1825, Benedetto Cairoli, Italian statesman, was born
(died 8/8/1889).
4/1/1825, Ferdinand I, King of
the Two Sicilies, died aged 73. He was succeeded 47-year old son, Francesco I.
24/1/1824, Ercole Consalvi,
Italian statesman, died (born 8/6/1757).
28/10/1823, Lodovico Corti,
Italian diplomat, was born (died 9/4/1888).
2/10/1821, Nino Bixio,
Italian soldier, was born (died 16/12/1873).
8/4/1821, The
revolt in Piedmont was suppressed, its leaders defeated at the Battle of Novara.
10/3/1821, Revolt in
Piedmont against the rule of King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia (Piedmont
was then a part of the Kingdom of Sardinia).See 8/4/1821.
14/3/1820, Victor Emmanuel II, King of Sardinia and first King
of a united Italy, was born.
4/10/1819, Francesco Crispi, Italian statesman, was born
(died 12/8/1901).
18/11/1818, Marco Minghetti, Italian statesman, was born
(died 10/12/1886).
17/3/1817, Pasquale Mancini, Italian statesman, was born
(died 26/12/1888).
12/12/1816, King Ferdinand of Naples abolished the
Sicilian Constitution and proclaimed himself King
of the Two Sicilies (Naples and Sicily). As a monarch he had made
himself virtually an Austrian vassal (see 23/1/1806), even having an Austrian, Count Nugent,
as Commander in Chief of the Army. Ferdinand�s ruthless
suppression of opposition in Sicily led to the emergence of the Carbonari, who
eventually penetrated large sections of the Army. A Sicilian military revolt
under General
Pepe did intimidate Ferdinand into making some
constitutional reforms; however a pro-independence revolt in Sicily was harshly
suppressed with Neapolitan troops.
13/10/1815, Joachim Murat,
King of the Two Sicilies, was executed.
Murat � see also Napoleonic France
28/9/1815, Joachim Murat,
former
King of Naples, landed with only 30 men at Pizzon to try and regain the throne.
He was soon captured.
3/1/1815, Cesare Correnti,
Italian Revolutionary, was born (died 4/10/1888).
1814, The Italian Carabinieri were established by Victor Emmanuel
I, newly-restored King of Piedmont.
31/1/1813, Agostino
Depretis, Italian politician, was born (died 29/7/1887). They would
become an elite 83,000 strong paramilitary force, with distinctive cocked hats.
19/11/1812, Agostino
Bertani, Italian revolutionary, was born in Milan (died 30/4/1886).
22/10/1812, Luigi Farini,
italian statesman, was born (died 1/8/1866).
12/1/1812, Enrico Cosenz,
Italian soldier, was born (died 7/8/1898).
10/8/1811, Enrico Cialdini,
Italian politician, was born (died 8/9/1892).
10/8/1810, Count Cavour, Italian politician who played a
major role in the unification of Italy, born in Turin.
15/2/1810, Domenico Lanza, Italian politician, was born
(died 9/3/1882)
12/1/1810, Ferdinand II, King
of the Two Sicilies, was born (died 22/5/1856).
4/9/1809, Luigi Menabrea, Italian statesman, was born
(died 24/5/1896).
4/7/1807, Giuseppe Garibaldi,
soldier who played a major role in the unification of Italy, was born.
2/4/1806, Giacomo Antonelli, Italian Cardinal, was born
in Sonnino (died 6/11/1876).
23/1/1806, King Ferdinand of Naples fled to Palermo,
Sicily, as Napoleon invaded Italy. Ferdinand had signed a treaty of neutrality
with France as war between France and Austria broke out; however a few days
later he allied himself with Austria, and allowed an Anglo-Russian force to
land at Naples.
22/6/1805, Guiseppe Mazzini, Italian patriot,
was born (died 10/3/1872).
18/11/1804, Alfonso la Marmora, Italian
statesman, was born (died 5/1/1878).
4/4/1804, Nicola Fabrizi, Italian patriot, was born
(died 31/3/1885).
For Napoleonic campaign in Italy against the Austrians, 1790s, 1800s, see France
23/2/1802, Luigi Cibrario, Italian politician, was born
(died 10/1870).
30/6/1799, Francesco Caracciolo, Neapolitan Admiral and revolutionary, died (born 18/1/1732).
2/10/1798, Albert Charles, King of Sardinia, was born
(died 28/7/1849).
4/6/1798, Casanova, Italian adventurer, lover, and
romancer, died at his Castle of Waldstein, Bohemia.
3/10/1797, Leopold II, Grand-Duke of Tuscany, was born
(died 29/1/1870).
3/2/1792, Guiseppe Cerutti, Italian politician, died (born
13/6/1738).
11/7/1781, Bartolommeo Borghesi, Italian antiquarian, was
born near Rimini (died in San Marino 16/4/1860).
1778, Inauguration of La Scala opera
house, Milan.
4/11/1768, Maria Francesco Appendini, Italian historian,
was born (died 1837).
25/3/1767, Joachim Murat, king
of Naples, was born.
8/6/1757, Ercole Consalvi, Italian statesman, was born
(died 24/1/1824).
16/6/1752, Giulio Alberoni, Italian statesman, died (born
31/5/1664 near Piacenza).
12/1/1751, Ferdinand IV, King of Naples, was born (died 4/1/1825).
8/6/1743, Alessandro Cagliostro, Italian alchemist and
impostor, was born (died 1795).
1739, Archeological excavations
began at Herculaneum, near the town of Pompeii buried by an eruption of Vesuvius.
Excavation of Pompeii itself began in 1748.
13/6/1738, Guiseppe Cerutti, Italian politician, was born
(died 3/2/1792).
19/9/1734, The Battle of Luzzara.
29/6/1734, The Battle of Parma.
25/5/1734, The Battle of Bitonto.
18/1/1732, Francesco Caracciolo, Neapolitan Admiral and revolutionary, was born (died
30/1/1799).
7/5/1718, Mary of Modena died (born
5/10/1658).
4/7/1714, Antonio Magliabechi, Italian
bibliophile, died (born 28/10/1633).
7/9/1706, Prince Eugene of Savoy defeated the French at
Turin, helped by Prussian forces under Leopold of Dessau. The French were evicted
from Italy, and Charles
III was proclaimed King at Milan.
31/5/1664, Giulio Alberoni, Italian statesman, was born
near Piacenza (died 16/6/1752)
5/10/1658, Mary of Modena was born (died 7/5/1718).
16/7/1647, Tommaso Aniello, fisherman who led the revolt
in Naples against Spanish rule, died.
28/10/1633, Antonio Magliabechi, Italian bibliophile, was
born (died 4/7/1714).
See also Spain-Portugal,
1700-1718, for events related to the War
of the Spanish Succession
12/12/1602, Duke Charles Emmanuel attempted to take the
city of Geneva
by surprise, for the Kingdom of Savoy.�
He failed with heavy losses.
1594, The ancient town of Pompeii was (re)discovered.
1582, The Academia Della Crusca was founded in Florence, for the purpose of
maintaining the purity of the Italian language. In 1612 it published, for this
purpose, the Vocabulario della Crusca.
1/12/1580, Giovanni Morone, Italian Cardinal, died )born
25/1/1509).
10/8/1557, The Battle of St Quentin. Spanish forces under the Duke of Savoy
defeated the French under the Constable of Montmorency. The French were
driven out of Italy.
2/8/1553, Battle of Marciano. A French army invading Tuscany was defeated.
15/4/1542, Leonardo da Vinci was born.� His father, Piero da Vinci, was a notary and
his mother, Caterina
da Vinci, was a peasant
1/2/1542, Girolamo Aleandro, Italian Cardinal, died in
Rome (born 13/2/1480 in Motta, near Venice).
6/1/1537, Alessandro de Medici was assassinated
24/10/1535, Francesco
Sforza II,
Duke of Milan, died aged 45 without a successor. Milan became a suzerainty of Charles V.
23/2/1530, Carlos
I of Spain was crowned Charles V of the Holy Roman
Empire and King
of Italy by Pope Clement V.
5/5/1529, Paulus
Aemilius, Italian historian, died in Paris (born in Verona).
22/6/1527. Nicolo Macchiavelli
died in Florence, Italy, aged 58.
6/5/1527, German mercenaries sacked the city of Rome, an
event considered by many to mark the end of the Renaissance. This occurred
during warfare between the Holy League and the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.
24/7/1526, The Spanish captured Milan.
24/2/1525. The Battle of Pavia.
Pavia, held by the French, had been under siege by Spanish forces since October
1524. Italy itself was a territory being fought over by the rival powers of
France, Germany, Turkey and Spain. The French under King Charles
VIII defended Pavia with cavalry and cannon, but the Spanish had
adopted the arquebus or hackenbushe, an early version of the handgun; this
weapon replaced the Spanish crossbow. The
arquebus meant an unskilled infantryman could kill a skilled knight and Pavia
was the start of the dominance of the handgun as a military weapon.
2/10/1523, Alessandro
Alessandri, Italian jurist, died in Rome.
24/6/1519, Lucrezia Borgia, Italian noblewoman from a
corrupt family, illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VII, died.
12/6/1519, Cosimo I de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, was
born.
2/4/1512, At the Battle of Ravenna, French forces defeated a Spanish
� Papal army.
25/1/1509, Giovanni Morone, Italian Cardinal, was born
(died 1/12/1580).
29/4/1507, Louis XII, King of France, led his troops into
Genoa.
29/12/1503, At the
Battle of Garigliano, near Gaeta, Italy, Spanish forces under Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba
defeated a French-Italian mercenary army under Ludovico II,
Marquis of Saluzzo.� French forces withdrew to Gaeta.
13/5/1503, The Spanish captured
Naples.
21/4/1503, The Battle
of Cerignola, Italy.� The Spanish
under Gonzalo Fernandez de
Cordoba defeated the French under the Duc de Nemoura, who was killed.� This was the first battle considered to have
been won by gunpowder and small arms.
25/9/1496, Piero Capponi, Florentine statesman, died.
7/9/1496, Ferdinand II, King of Naples, died.
18/12/1495, Alfonso II, King of Naples, died.
6/7/1495, At the Battle of Fornovo, the French Army secured
its retreat from Italy by defeating a combined Milanese-Venetian force
under Giobvanni
Francesco Gonzaga, Marquis of
Mantua. France had contested with Spain over who would control Italy. Charles VIII
of France expected support from his one-time allies, the Milanese, but when he
arrived in Italy he found they had joined with Venice, the Papacy and the Holy
Roman Empire to oppose his plans for Italy.
28/6/1495, At the Battle of Seminara, Cordoba and Ferrante were defeated by a
French army under Bernard Stewart, Lord of Aubigny.
26/5/1495, A Spanish army under Gonzalo de Cordoba landed in
Calabria, to oust the French and restore Ferrante II to the throne of Naples.
22/2/1495, King Charles VIII of France entered Naples to
claim the city�s throne.� A few months
later he returned to France with most of his army, leaving a force under his
cousin, Gilbert
Count of Montpensier as viceroy.
14/6/1493, Ermolao Barbaro, Italian scholar, died in Rome
(born in Venice 21/5/1454).
12/1/1492, Andrea Alcati, Italian jurist, was born in
Alzano, near Milan.
8/4/1492, Lorenzo de Medici,
patron of learning and the arts, died aged 43, after a 23 year reign of
cultural enlightenment.
16/10/1483, Gasparo Contarini, Italiun diplomat ad
Cardinal, was born.
10/9/1481, Alphonso II of Naples recaptured the city of Otranto.
18/4/1480, Lucrezia Borgia, Italian noblewoman,
illegitimate daughter of Rodrigo Borgia (later Pope Alexander VI) was born in
Rome.
13/2/1480, Girolamo Aleandro, Italian Cardinal, was born
in Motta, near Venice (died 1/2/1542 in Rome).
1469, Lorenzo de Medici took control
of Florence. He promoted the arts and culture.
3/5/1469, Niccolo Machiavelli,
Italian statesman and historian, was born in Florence.
7/10/1468, Sigismondo Malatesta, tyrant and soldier,
died.
1//8/1464, Cosimo de Medici died aged 75 in Florence. He
was succeeded as head of the banking family by his son, Piero.
9/4/1454, Three rival Italian powers � Venice, Milan, and Florence � agreed to unite in an �Italian league�.
Rome and Milan also seemed likely to join.
11/2/1435, Joanna II, Queen of Naples, died.
1416, At the naval Battle of
Gallipoli, Venice defeated the Ottoman fleet.
7/8/1409, The Council of Pisa was dissolved.
9/10/1406, Florence had long coveted Pisa for an outlet to
the sea. In 1362-4 Pisa had defended its independence with the help of a band
under Sir
John Hawkwood (died 1392), and later secured French protection under
French King Charles VI (13680-1422). However in 1405 Florence persuaded France
to hand over Pisa in return fpor supporting the AntiPope Benedict XIII (Pedro
de Luna). Pisa rebelled against Florentine rule and Florence imposed a six-month
siege by land and sea. Pisa fell to Florence this day, giving it its desired
seaport.
1400, Five separate States, all very
different in culture, economy and politics, dominated the Italian Peninsula.
These were the Republics of Venice and Florence, the Duchy of Milan, the Papal
States,and the Kingdom of Milan
10/4/1389, Cosimo de Medici, Italian ruler, was born.
22/5/1382, Joanna I Queen of Naples was executed.
29/4/1380, Death of Catherine of Siena, who became the patron
saint of Italy. She was born in 1347 in Siena as Caterina Beninasca and became an
ascetic. She campaigned against the Papal split (Avignon) and corruption, and
was canonised by Pope Pius II in 1471, and is a noted Mediaeval women
writer.
1378, Revolt of the Ciompi, in Milan. Following the Black Death, workers
who were esxcluded from the Guilds, and thereby disenfranchised, breofly
overthrew the merchant oligarchy. However their victory was to be only
short-lived.
26/5/1362, Louis, King of Naples, died.
24/7/1358, This day a �Great Company� of roving German
mercenaries was defeated at Scalella Pass by the Florentines. These mercenaries
had originally bene hired by Italian princes fighting Milan, but when their pay
ceased they took to roving and plundering anywhere in the Italian Peninsula.
This day Florence was saved from lootoing and destruction by them.
8/10/1354, Cola di Rienzi, reformer, was murdered.
27/1/1302, Dante was exiled from Florence. His allies had
been overthrown by Charles of Valois.
1299, Construction of the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, began (completed 1301)
1285, Death of Charles of
Anjou (1227-85), Angevin King of Naples and Sicily. Posthumous son
of Louis
VIII of France, he was crowned King by Pope Urban IV
in 1265.
28/11/1284, Florence began to extend its city walls. The first
stone of the new walls was blessed this day.
6/8/1284, Second Battle of Meloria (island off Leghorn).
Genoese ships attacked a Pisan force, over their rival claims to the islands of
Corsoica and Sardinia. Pisa was defeated.
30/3/1282. Peter III of Aragon opened hostilities against
Charles of
Anjou for possession of Naples and Sicily.� This war was ended by the Peace of Caltabellotta in 1302.
1268, Conradin (see Germany,
see Sicily),
Holy Roman Empire, aged 16, was welomed in Rome in July, but his forces were
defeated in August at Tagliacozzo by Charles of Anjou, King of the Two Sicliies.
Agents of Charles
then seized and executed Conradin; he was tried as a traitor and found
guilty and then executed at Naples.
The House of Hohenstaufen was now extinct. The execution had the tacit approval
of Pope Clement IV, but it shocked Europe, especially King Henry III of England
and King Louis IX of France. It began a
long-lasting enmity between Germany and the Roman Catholic Church.
4/9/1260, The Battle of Montaperti. Manfred,
King of Sicily, allied to the Ghibbelines, defeated the Guelphs. He now became
Protetcor of Tuscany.
2/12/1254, The Battle of Foggia.
26/5/1249, The King of Sardinia, Enzio, was captured by the Bolognese at
Fossalta.
Further conflict, Holy Roman Empire against Papal States
1247, Parma fell to a surprise attack by Lombard Guelphs. Frederick II,
Holy Roman Emperor, brought a large army and laid siege to the town. In
February 1248 the Lombards succeeded in breaking the siege., whilst Frederick II
was way hunting.
3/5/1241,
First battle of Meloria (island off Leghorn). Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II
allied with Pisa, attacked ships bringing prelates to a council summoned by Pope Gregory IX.
Several of these Genoese ships were sunk, and a number of prelates wree killed
or taken prisoner.
20/3/1239, Pope Gregory IX
excommunicated Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II a second time.
27/11/1237, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II
destroyed a second Lombard League by his victory at Cortenuova. However in 1238
he failed to capture Brescia.
18/11/1210, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto IV was excommunicated by the Pope, but completed his conquest
of southern Italy anyway.
25/4/1194, Eccelino
da Romano, Ghibelline leader and supporter of Frederick II, was born
(died 7/10/1259).
8/8/1173, The construction of what is now known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa began.
Resistance by North Italian cities against Holy Roman Emperor
24/7/1177, Holy Roman
Emperor Frederick Barbarossa effected a reconciliation with Pope Alexander
III at Venice.
29/5/1176, The Battle of Legnano; Italian city-states
gained autonomy from the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa.
The Lombard League of Italian towns, supported by Pope Alexander III, objected to Barbarossa�s
interference in their internal affairs. Barbarossa had laid waste
to Milan, but was defeated at Legnano, north-west of Milan, and admitted
defeat.
Attack on Italy by Holy Roman Emperor Barbarossa
27/4/1167, Italians from the
cities of Bergamo, Brescia, Cremona, Mantua, Treviso and Verona arrived at the
ruins of Milan to rebuild it. Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa had imposed a
non-native ruler, or Podesta, upon
it, as he had upon other Italian cities he controlled, following the surrender
of Milan to him after his siege of it in 1158. The taxes imposed upon Milan by
the Podesta were heavy and they
revolted. In 1162 Frederick returned to Milan and this time
razed it to the ground, dispersing its inhabitants into the countryside.
Although Frederick
went on to capture Rome in 1167, his army was decimated by malaria and he had
to return to Germany for reinforcements. Facing domestic issues in Germany he
could not return south and deal with this act of defiance in rebuilding Milan.
He was unable to re-enter Italy until 1174, by which time the Lombard League
had consolidated and gained control of the central and eastern Alpine passes.
In 1168 the Lombards founded a new city, called Alessandria in honour of Pope Alexander
II, to defend the western frontier. Alessandria withstood a 6-month
siege by Frederick
(1174-5) and on 29/5/1176 Frederick was decisively defeated at Legnano.
1164, North Italian cities established the Lombard League, to maintain their
independence against the Holy Roman Emperor.
26/11/1160, Holy Roman Emperor Barbarossa
captured the Italian city of Crema. Crema was allied to Milan, a wealthy
city which Barbarossa wished to acquire. Arriving at Crema on 2/7/1159,
Barbarossa laid siege, and both sides used barbarous tactics, tying prisoners
to siege towers, even children, so they were killed by their own side, and
hacking prisoners to pieces in front of the enemy. Hunger eventually forced Crema
to surrender; its defenders lives were spared, but the city was razed to the
ground.
1155, Pisa began constructing fortifications, building a
large ditch around the town this year and a city wall in 1156.
14/2/1014, King Henry III
of Germany was proclaimed proclaimed Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope. Arduin,
considering himself the King of Italy, seized Vercelli, west of Milan amd
besieged Novara and Como; however he was then vanquished by Henry III�s
forces. Arduin
then retired to a monastery� at Fruttuaria,
near Turin, where he died in 1015.
1004, King Henry II of Germany, attempting to
reverse the success of Arduin (see 2/1002), overcame Arduin�s
forces,
and occupied Pavia. The
townspeople resisted Henry, and uncertain of the sustainability of
his position, Henry
fled back to Germany. Arduin now attacked the bishops who had supported Henry.,
with the support of the Italian nobles.
2/1002, Arduin, Marquis of Ivrea, led the Lombards in
NE Italy in a successful revolt agaoinst the rule of Holy Roman Emperor Otto III (980-1002).
Otto
had claimed the title �King of Lombardy�, and planned to create an
�ecclesiatical empire� based on Rome. The Italian bishops supported Otto,
but the lay nobles were loyal to Arduin. Arduin was now proclaimed King of the Lombards
at Pavia, shortly after the death of Otto.
Normans in southern Italy pushed back Muslims
1059, Pope Nicholas II invested the Norman
leader, Robery
Guiscard, with the Dukedoms of Apulia, Catalonia and Sicily. The
Papacy had initially been opposed to the growth of Norman power in southern
Italy, but a Norman victory at Civitato in 1053 forced the Popes to
reconsider.
See also Sicily for history of Norman occupation there
1016, The Normans were �invited� to
help liberate southern Italy from Byzantine rule.
916, Italian forces
succeeded in capturing the Arab Muslim fortress on the River Garigliano, which
was about a third of the way north from Naples towards Rome. This secured
Italy, and the Christian centre of Rome, against Muslim incursions.
10/8/843, The Treaty of Verdun
divided the Holy Roman Empire into three equal shares� The imperial crown and central portion from
Frisia to Italy went to Lothair.� Louis the German received Germany, and Charles the Bald, son of Pepin, received
France.
840,
Muslim Arabs
attacked the mainland of Italy. See 916.
5/5/840, One of the sons of Charlemagne,
Emperor Louis
of Bavaria, died of fright during a solar eclipse.� His other sons quarrelled, causing the
division of his empire into France, Germany, and Italy, see 843.
774,
Charlemagne
defeated Lombardy, adding it to his Empire.
756,
Aistulf
went back on his promises and attacked Rome again. The Pope again allied with
Pepin, Lombardy was defeated again, and at the Treaty of Pavia Lombardy became a Frank fiefdom.
751,
Aistulf,
King of Lombardy,
conquered Ravenna in a programme of territorial expansion. This alarmed the Papacy
under Pope Stephen,
who enlisted the support of Pepin
the Short against Aistulf.
Pepin
invaded Italy in 755, defeated Aistulf,
and made him promise to return the conquered territories. Aistulf died in
the campaigns of 756. These events paved
the way for the Carolingian domination of Italy.
Click here for
maps of Lombardy.
749,
Aistulf
became Kong of Lombardy (died 756).
569, The Lombards established a capital at Pavia.
1/4/568. King Albion
of the Lombards (King since 565,
died 573), a Germanic tribe, assembled an army that included his allies,
20,000 Saxons, in order to cross the Alps and form a settlement in Italy. The
Lombards, from the Danube Valley, may have been invited to attack Italy by the
Byzantine General Narses.
Milan was occupied by the Lombards on 4/9/569 and Lombard rule was established
in northern Italy.
552,
King Totila,
Ostrogoth, killed fighting Byzantium (King Narses) at the Battle of Taginae. In 553 Narses again took
Roma and Naples for Byzantium.
550,
The Ostrogothic King Totila reconquered Rome.
540,
The Ostroghtic King Totila
took Italy from Byzantium.
12/3/538, Vitiges realised that Rome was not being starved, and the arrival of a
Byzantine fleet in the Tiber with 5,000 more men forced him to raise the siege.
Vitiges then marched to Ravenna where he besieged John the Sanguinary in
Rimini.
21/3/537, Defenders of Rome using arrows, catapults and ballistae inflicted
heavy losses on the Goths besieging the city. The
Goth forces were now too depleted to keep a continuous siege ring around the
city.
2/3/537, Vitiges, leader of the Goths, began laying siege to Rome.
2/10/534. Death
of Athalaric, King of
the Ostrogoths in Italy. Grandson of Theodoric, he was
born in 516 and became King in 526; aged ten, his mother Amalasuntha
held the Regency.
15/3/493, Odoacer was killed
by Theodoric,
King of the Ostrogoths.
26/2/493, Ravenna capitulated to Theodoric, King of
the Ostrogoths.
11/8/490, Theodoric defeated Odoacer at the Battle of the Adda. Odoacer fled to Ravenna. Theodoric now laid seige to
Ravenna until a naval blockade forced Odoacer to capitulate.
401, The Visigoths invaded Italy.
For
earlier Italian history pre 400 see Roman Empire
Appendix ii � Venice
1/12/2019, In 1926 Mussolini
merged the constituency of Venice with the mainland towns of Mestre and
Marghera. At the time, Venice was still the largest settlement, but in the 50
years to 2019 the population of Venice fell from 150,000 to 50,000, whereas the
two mainland towns grew to 180,000 over the same period. This political balance
means most money spent in the region now goes to projects in Mestre. Meanwhile
the project to protect Venice from flooding has been put back successively,
from 1995 to, currently, 2021. On 1st December 2019 Venice holds a
referendum on administratively splitting off from the mainland.
12/11/2019, Venice suffered its worst flooding since 1966 as
an acqua alta reached 1.54 metres,
amidst heavy rain.
6/9/1987. The historic Venice
regatta was held without gondoliers for the first time since 1315. The
gondoliers were on strike as a protest against the damage to the fabric of
Venice caused by powerboats.
25/5/1915. The Austrians bombarded Venice.
15/7/1902, The 1,000 year old bell tower at st Mark�s Square,
venice collapsed.
22/9/1857, Daniele Manin, Venetian statesman, died (born
13/5/1804).
13/5/1804, Daniele Manin, Venetian statesman, was born
(died 22/9/1857).
1802, Ludovico Manin,
last Doge of Venice (born 1726), died. He was elected as Doge in March 1789. He
both antagonised the French by allowing sanctuary to those fleeing it, and
refused to join the league of Italian states proposed by Victor Amadeus III to
counter French ambitions. The French forced the Republic of Venice to
capitulate in 1797
with overwhelming military force.
12/5/1797, Ludovico Manin, the last Doge of Venice, abdicated.
2/4/1725. Giovanni Casanova,
Italian adventurer, gambler, secret agent, and �world�s greatest lover�, was
born in Venice.
17/11/1617, A naval battle between Sicily and Venice ended
inconclusively.
1592,The Rialto Bridge, Venice, was completed.
14/5/1509, French victory over Venice at the Battle of
Agnadello, near Milan.
25/8/1499, The
Venetian fleet was defeated at the Battle of Zonchia by the Ottomans. This was
the first time cannon had been used in a naval battle. The Venetian-Ottoman
War, 1499-1503, started. Venetian sea-power in the Mediterranean was an
obstacle to Ottoman expansion. Ottoman Turkey gained the upper hand, and by
1503 Ottoman cavalry raids were reaching into Venetian territory. Venice was
forced to recognise Turkish gains.
14/4/1489, The Queen of
Cyprus, Catherine
Cornaro, sold her kingdom to Venice.
8/1/1465, Lorenzo Giustiniani, Bishop of Venice, died
(born 1380).
1457, Death of Francesco
Foscari, Doge of Venice from 1423. He pursued an aggressive policy
on the Italian mainland, gaining territories for the Republic of Venice.
However his rule was too nepotistic and despotic for the citizens of Venice,
who deposed him in 1457, shortly before his death from grief.
21/5/1454, Ermolao Barbaro, Italian scholar, was born in
Venice (died in Rome 14/6/1493).
1/1/1449, Lorenzo de Medici, statesman,
was born.
5/5/1432, Francesco
Carmagnola, Italian soldier of fortune, was executed in Venice (born
1390).
Venice-Genoa War, 1256-1380
14/6/1380, Venice gained victory
over Genoa, (see 1256) which had to
surrender its fleet. In May 1379, one Venetian fleet had been destroyed by the Genoese;
the rest of the Venetian fleet, under Carlo Zeno, was far away in the eastern
Mediterranean, and Venice seemed open to a Genoese attack. The Genoese fleet
entered the Venetian lagoon, and with its allies Hungary and Padua, blockaded
Venice by land and sea. However Venice struck back and trapped the Geonese
fleet; Carlo
Zeno�s fleet arrived back, and routed the Genoese. Genoa never
recovered,allowing Venice to dominate the eastern Mediterranean.
17/4/1355, Marino Falieri, born 1279, was executed for
plotting to overthrow the government of Venice.
1/7/1346, King Louis I of
Hungary, attempting to secure a seaboard on the Adriatic, against
the wishes of the Venetian Republic who wishes toi control the entire Adriatic,
tried to defend the city of Zara. Zara had declared itself part of Hungary, but
was then besieged by Venice. The Venetians won and took Zara.
1339, Venice conquered Treviso, gaining its first mainland
possession.
15/6/1310, By 1300 the
Governing Council of Venice had become an autocratic oligarchy. In 1300 a
popular rebellion against the Council failed, its leader being hanged. In 1310 Bajamonte
Tiepolo (died 1328) was preparing a further rebellion, conspiring
with the patrician Querini family to
take over the administration of Venice. However the plot was leaked out
compelling the conspirators to act before they were ready, and this day they
seized the public square of Venice. Forces loyal to the Venetian Doge (Chief
Magistrate), Pietro
Gradenigo (1249-1311) soon arrested the rebels, although Tiepolo
himself managed to escape. The Venetian oligarchy then established a secret
tribunal, the Council
of Ten, ostensibly to �protect� Venice from further insurrections by
tracking down rebels. By 1335 this body had become entrenched and took over many
Governmental functions, especially in finance and the military.
11/9/1298, The
Governing Body of Venice, the Great Council, accepted a further amendment (see
5/10/1286) that
entrenched the position of the existing ruling families.
1291, Venice moved its glass
ovens to the island of Murano, initially to limit the risk of fire to the city. However
this also facilitated restrictions on the movement of glass-makers, who were
forbidden under strict penalties to jeopardise Venice�s monopoly in fine
glassware by taking their secrets abroad.
5/10/1286, The
Governing Body of Venice, the Great Council, accepted an amendment that
effectively confirmed membership amongst the families of existing families (an
earlier proposed amendment on 3/10/1286 had failed). The governance of Venice began to become more
exclusive and autocratic, see 11/9/1298.
14/3/1272, Enzio, former King of Sardinia, died in
captivity by the Bolognese.
7/10/1259, Eccelino da Romano, Ghibelline leader and
supporter of Frederick II, died (born 25/4/1194).
1256, Venice and Genoa
began a war that was to last for over a century, see 1380.
15/9/1254, Venetian explorer Marco Polo was born.
1094, First record
of gondolas in Venice.
29/5/1176, The Battle
of Legnano; In Spring 1176 Holy Roman Emperor Barbarossa was campaigning
in Italy, but withdrawal of support by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria,
significantly reduced Barbarossa�s army strength. Meanwhile Milan
and the other cities of the Lombard League had built up their defences. The
Italian foot soldiers maintained a tight formation against Barbarossa�s cavalry, and the
horsemen broke on the foot soldier�s pikes. Then Barbarossa was unhorsed and
disappeared from view; his soldiers believed he had been killed, however he
turned up in Pavia three days later, where they were mourning his death.
However the result was that the Italian city-states gained autonomy from the
Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa. The Lombard League of
Italian towns, supported by Pope Alexander III, objected to Barbarossa�s
interference in their internal affairs. Barbarossa had laid waste to Milan, but was
defeated at Legnano, north-west of Milan, and admitted defeat.
18/6/1053, Battle of Civitate, Italy. The Normans established
domination over southern Italy, defeating a Papal, Byzantine and Swabian force.
828,
Venetians stole the relics of St Mark
from Alexandria.
801,
Venice gained full independence from the Byzantine Empire.
607,
Venice elected its first Doge, and began its rise to become a major power
in the Mediterranean. The fish and salt trade, and Venice�s central location,
helped it become very wealthy. Moreover Venice persistently defied orders from
both the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperors not to trade with Muslim states.
452,
Venice had become a thriving merchant city, founded by
refugees from the Huns invading Italy.
25/3/421,� Venice was founded at twelve o'clock noon
(according to legend) with the dedication of the first church, San Giacomo, on
the islet of Rialto (Italy).
Appendix 2 � San Marino
1992, San Marino joined the UN.
1973, Women gained the right to hold public office.
1960, Women gained the vote.
1945, In San Marino a coalition of Socialists and Communists gained power,
which raised suspicions in surrounding Italy. Italy was displeased further when
Communist San Martino opened casinos, eroding the profits of the Italian
gambling industry. Economic sanctions by Italy forced the closure of these San Marino
casinos by 1951. The Communist regime on San Marino ended in 1957, and relations
with Italy improved.
1944, San Marino was bombed by
the Allies during World War Two.
1862, San Marino signed a Treaty
of Friendship with Italy, but refused to join the newly-uniting nation.
1815, San Marino�s independence
was guaranteed by the Congress of Vienna.
1797, Napoleon Bonaparte, who liked
San Marino as a �model republic�, offered to enlarge its territories. San
Marino refused his offer, explaining that �only in poverty and insignificance
could San Marino hope to remain free and sovereign throughout the centuries�.
1631, The independence of San
Marino was formally recognised by Pope Urban VIII.
3/9/301, The republic of San
Marino was established (traditional date) by stonemasons from Dalmatia, who
took refuge here.
Appendix 3 � Vatican City, Papal
States (See also Christianity,
Papal succession)
11/12/1999,� The Sistine Chapel, Vatican, reopened after
20 years restoration work and cleaning.
9/6/1923, In Italy,
the Vatican ordered the Catholic Party to disband, and many of its members
joined Mussolini�s Fascist party. The Catholic Party, or Partito Popolare
Italiano (Italian People�s Party), had been formed in 1919;before then the
Vatican had forbidden Catholics to vote. In Italian elections in 1919 and in
1921 the Catholic Party received 20% of the vote, second only to the Italian
Socialist Party. Following Mussolini�s victory in 1922 Cardinal Gasparri,
the Vatican�s Secretary of State, made a deal with Mussolini that the Catholic
Church would support him; in return Mussolini would restore the historic
privileges of the catholic Church in Italy. In 1927 Mussolini was baptised as a
Catholic, and in 1929 he signed the Lateran Treaty, making the Vatican a
separate sovereign State. He also made Catholicism the State religion of Italy,
and paid the Vatican 750 million lire as compensation for the Vatican�s loss of
the ancient Papal States territory in Italy.
1870, Italian forces entered Rome, annexing the formerly
extensive Papal States. This left the Pope in self-imposed captivity in the
Vatican City.
4/1848, Pope Pius IX announced that
he would not back war against Catholic Austria; the Papal Allocution.
With this, the Pope lost favour with the Italian Nationalists.
1506, Bologna was incorporated
into the Papal States by Pope Julius II.
1415, The Medici family became
bankers to the Papacy.