The name Italy (Italia) is an ancient name for the country and people of Southern Italy. The word “Italy,” in Greek, stands for the “Land of Cattle Calves or Veal.”
Etruscan was the first major civilization in Italy. Today, the Etruscan civilization is the name given to the culture and way of life of a community of ancient Italy, whom ancient Romans called “Etrusci”. The Etruscans are believed to have spoken a non-Indo-European language. History records state that the Etruscans were a sophisticated community who traded throughout the Mediterranean, from their base in Central Italy. The Etruscans were excellent architects, and this is reflected in their creations. The Etruscans occupied the north of Italy while the Greeks occupied the southern tip. This entire area later came to be known as Magna Grecia. After Magna Grecia, the Etruscan Civilization, especially the Roman Empire, dominated Italy.
Much of RomeÂ’s empire crumbled under attack from invaders as it resulted in a substantial destruction of their cities. The Medieval struggles between the Popes, Emperors and Kings were followed by rivalry amongst the city-states. The Italian Renaissance referred as Rinascimento followed, resulting in some of the worldÂ’s most treasured works of art. Italy had a deep influensce on European science and art during the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
The advent of modern Italy is of recent origin. It began in the 19th century with Napolean Bonaparte as the ruler. Following this, there was a nationalist uprising led by Garibaldi that finally led to the creation of a united Italy, and Vittorio Emmanuele II was declared King of Italy. Monarchy thrived until the Second World War, when Mussolini and his Fascist party took sides with Germany and formed the “Axis “powers. With the downfall of Mussolini and the end of the world- war II, Italy set about a path of reformation and in 1948, the Republic of Italy was established. Italy today, is a charter member of NATO and the European Union. It joined the growing political and economic unification of Western Europe, including the introduction of the Euro currency in 1999.
Italy provides detailed information on Italy, Italy Vacations, Map of Italy, History of Italy and more. Italy is affiliated with Italy Travel Guide.
Human Prehistory 101 Part 2: Weathering The Storm
|
|
She $8.00 Studio: Uni Dist Corp (music) Release Date: 11/28/2006 Run time: 95 minutes… |
|
|
Deep Ancestry: Inside The Genographic Project $7.22 Travel backward through time from today’s scattered billions to the handful of early humans who lived in Africa 60,000 years ago and are ancestors to us all. In Deep Ancestry, scientist and National Geographic explorer Spencer Wells shows how tiny genetic changes add up over time into a fascinating story. Using scores of real-life examples, helpful analogies, and detailed diagrams and illustration… |
|
|
Deep Ancestry: Inside the Genographic Project $23.20 Science tells us we’re all related-one vast family sharing a common ancestor who lived in Africa 60,000 years ago. But countless questions remain about our great journey from the birthplace of Homo sapiens to the ends of the Earth. How did we end up where we are? When did we get there? Why do we display such a wide range of colors and features? The fossil record offers some answers, but exciting n… |
|
|
The Deep Name in History $19.95 This book is part of the Our Name in History series, a collection of fascinating facts and statistics, alongside short historical commentary, created to tell the story of previous generations who have shared this name. The information in this book is a compendium of research and data pulled from census records, military records, ships’ logs, immigrant and port records, as well as other reputable … |
