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Dateline
- Bronze Age Tribes of Celts, Teutonics, and groups from the eastern Mediterranean inhabit the Italian peninsula.
- 1200 B.C. The Etruscans migrate from the eastern Mediterranean (probably Mesopotamia) and occupy territory north and south of Rome.
- 800 B.C. Sicily and southern Italy (especially Naples) flourish under Greek and Phoenician protection; independent of most outside domination, Rome evolves as an insignificant community of shepherds with loyalties divided among several Latin tribes.
- 753 B.C. Rome's traditional founding date.
- 660 B.C. Etruscans occupy Rome as the capital of their empire; the city grows rapidly and a major seaport (Ostia) opens at the mouth of the Tiber.
- 510-250 B.C. The Latin tribes, still centered in Rome, maintain a prolonged revolt against the Etruscans; alpine Gauls attack the Etruscans from the north, and Greeks living in Sicily destroy the Etruscan navy.
- 250 B.C. The Romans and their allies finally purge the Etruscans from Italy; Rome flourishes as a republic and begins the accumulation of a vast empire.
- 250-50 B.C. Rome obliterates its chief rival, Carthage, during two Punic Wars; Carthage's defeat allows unchecked Roman expansion into Spain, North Africa, Sardinia, and Corsica.
- 44 B.C. Julius Caesar is assassinated; his successor, Augustus, transforms Rome from a city of brick to a city of marble and solidifies Rome's status as a dictatorship.
- 40 B.C. Rome and its armies control the entire Mediterranean world.
- 3rd century A.D. Rome declines under a series of incompetent and corrupt emperors.
- 4th century A.D. Rome is fragmented politically as administrative capitals are established in such cities as Milan and Trier, Germany.
- 395 The Empire splits: Constantine establishes a "New Rome" at Constantinople (Istanbul); Goths invade Rome's provinces in northern Italy.
- 410-55 Rome is sacked by barbarians -- Alaric the Goth, Attila the Hun, and Gaiseric the Vandal.
- 475 Rome falls, leaving only the primate of the Catholic church in control; the pope slowly adopts many of the responsibilities and the prestige once reserved for the Roman emperors.
- 731 Pope Gregory II renounces Rome's spiritual and political link to the authorities in Constantinople.
- 800 Charlemagne is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III; Italy dissolves into a series of small warring kingdoms.
- 1065 The Holy Land falls to the Muslim Turks; the Crusades are launched.
- 1303-77 A papal schism occurs when a rival pope is established at Avignon.
- 1377 The "antipope" is removed from Avignon, and the Roman popes emerge as sole contenders to the legacy of St. Peter.
- Mid-1400s Originating in Florence, the Renaissance blossoms throughout Italy; Italian artists receive multiple commissions from the ecclesiastical communities of Rome.
- 1508 Ordered by the pope, Michelangelo begins work on the ceiling of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel.
- 1527 Rome is attacked and sacked by Charles V, who -- to the pope's rage -- is elected Holy Roman Emperor the following year.
- 1796-97 Napoleon's military conquests of Italy arouse Italian nationalism.
- 1861 Rome is declared the capital of the newly established Kingdom of Italy; the Papal States (but not the Vatican) are absorbed into the new nation.
- 1929 A concordat between the Vatican and the Italian government delineates the rights and responsibilities of both parties.
- 1935 Italy invades Abyssinia (Ethiopia).
- 1941 Italy invades Yugoslavia.
- 1943 General Patton lands in Sicily and soon controls the island.
- 1945 Mussolini killed by a mob in Milan.
- 1946 Rome is established as the capital of the newly created Republic of Italy.
- 1960s Left-wing terrorist groups rise; flight of capital from Italy begins; continuing problems of the impoverished south cause an exodus from the countryside into such cities as Rome.
- 1980s Il Sorpasso imbues Rome (and the rest of Italy) with dreams of an economic rebirth.
- 1994 Right-wing forces win in Italian national elections.
- 1996 Dini steps down as prime minister, as the president dissolves both houses of Parliament; in general elections, the center-left coalition known as the Olive Tree sweeps both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies; Romano Prodi becomes prime minister.
- 1997-98 Prodi survives Neo-Communist challenge and continues to press for budget cuts in an effort to join Europe in 1999.
- 1999 Rome officially goes under the euro umbrella as it prepares for the millennium.
- 2000 Italy welcomes Jubilee visitors in wake of political discontent.
- 2001 Silvio Berlusconi, one of the richest men in the world, becomes premier of Italy.
- 2002 Rome says goodbye lire, hello euro.
- 2003 Italy sides with the United States in war against Iraq.
- 2006 Berlusconi ousted as prime minister; loses to Romano Prodi.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before
planning your trip.
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