- Bronze Age Celts, Teutonic tribes, and others from the Mediterranean and Asia Minor inhabit the peninsula.
- 1000 B.C. Large colonies of Etruscans settle in Tuscany and Campania, quickly subjugating many of the Latin inhabitants of the peninsula.
- 800 B.C. Rome begins to take shape, evolving from a strategically located shepherds' village into a magnet for Latin tribes fleeing the Etruscans.
- 600 B.C. Etruscans occupy Rome, designating it the capital of their empire. The city grows rapidly, and a major seaport opens at Ostia.
- 510 B.C. The Latin tribes, still centered in Rome, revolt against the Etruscans. Alpine Gauls attack from the north, and Greeks living in Sicily destroy the Etruscan navy.
- 250 B.C. The Romans, allied with the Greeks, Phoenicians, and native Sicilians, defeat the Etruscans. Rome flourishes and begins the accumulation of a vast empire.
- 49 B.C. Italy (through Rome) controls the entire Mediterranean world.
- 44 B.C. Julius Caesar is assassinated. His successor, Augustus, transforms Rome from a city of brick into a city of marble.
- 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.
- A.D. 395 The empire splits; Constantine establishes a "New Rome" at Constantinople (Byzantium). The Goths successfully invade Rome's northern provinces.
- 410-55 Rome is sacked by barbarians.
- 475 Rome falls, leaving only the primate of the Catholic Church in control. The pope slowly adopts many of the powers once reserved for the Roman emperor.
- 800 Charlemagne is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III. Italy dissolves into a series of small warring kingdoms.
- Late 11th century The popes function like secular princes with private armies.
- 1065 The Holy Land falls to the Muslim Turks; the Crusades are launched.
- 1303-77 The Papal Schism occurs; the pope and his entourage move from Rome to Avignon, France.
- 1377 The papacy returns to Rome.
- 1443 Brunelleschi's dome caps the Duomo in Florence as the Renaissance bursts into full bloom.
- 1469-92 Lorenzo il Magnifico rules in Florence as the Medici patron of Renaissance artists.
- 1499 Leonardo da Vinci completes The Last Supper in Milan.
- 1508 Michelangelo begins work on the Vatican's Sistine Chapel.
- 1527 Rome is sacked by Charles V of Spain, who is crowned Holy Roman Emperor the following year.
- 1796-97 Napoleon's series of invasions arouses Italian nationalism.
- 1861 The Kingdom of Italy is established.
- 1915-18 Italy enters World War I on the side of the Allies.
- 1922 Fascists march on Rome; Benito Mussolini becomes premier.
- 1929 A concordat between the Vatican and the Italian government is signed, delineating the rights and responsibilities of each party.
- 1935 Italy invades Abyssinia (Ethiopia).
- 1936 Italy signs "Axis" pact with Germany.
- 1940 Italy invades Greece.
- 1943 U.S. Gen. George Patton lands in Sicily and soon controls the island.
- 1945 Mussolini is killed by a mob in Milan; World War II ends.
- 1946 The Republic of Italy is established.
- 1957 The Treaty of Rome, establishing the European Community (EC), is signed by six nations.
- 1960s The country's economy grows under the EC, but the impoverished south lags behind.
- 1970s Italy is plagued by left-wing terrorism; former premier Aldo Moro is kidnapped and killed.
- 1980s Political changes in Eastern Europe induce Italy's strong Communist Party to modify its program and even to change its name; the Socialists head their first post-1945 coalition government.
- 1994 A conservative coalition, led by Silvio Berlusconi, wins general elections.
- 1995 Following the resignation of Berlusconi, treasury minister Lamberto Dini is named prime minister to head the transitional government.
- 1996 Dini steps down as prime minister, and President Scalfaro 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.
- 1997-98 Twin earthquakes hit Umbria, killing 11 people and destroying precious frescoes in Assisi's basilica. Romano Prodi survives a neo-Communist challenge and continues to press for budget cuts in an effort to "join Europe."
- 1999 The euro technically becomes the official currency of Italy and other E.U. nations.
- 2000 Italy welcomes Jubilee visitors in the wake of political discontent.
- 2001 Billionaire media magnate Silvio Berlusconi is elected prime minister, winning by a landslide and leading the right wing to sweeping victory.
- 2002 Euro notes are introduced into circulation, and lire are withdrawn from circulation over a transition period.
- 2003 Italy assumes presidency of the E.U.
- 2004 All corruption charges against Berlusconi are dismissed.
- 2005 Pope John Paul II dies at age 84; a German hardliner, Cardinal Ratzinger, succeeds him as Benedict XVI.
- 2006 Italy withdraws troops from Iraq and sends Berlusconi into retirement.
- 2011-2012 Italy is at the center of a European banking crisis which almost brings about the collapse of the euro currency.
- 2013 Former Florence mayor Matteo Renzi becomes Italy’s youngest prime minister—at 39 years old—heading a coalition of the center-left led by his Democratic Party (PD).
- 2016 Renzi resigns as prime minister (to be replaced by Paolo Gentiloni), Virginia Raggi is elected Rome’s first female mayor, and same-sex civil unions are legalized.
- 2017 The Italian government has to bail out Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the world’s oldest bank.
- 2018 In national elections, the populist party M5S and the far-right League gain the most seats in Italy's parliament, but neither is able to form a government, leaving Italy to operate with no clear ruling majority.