Key Events in Italian History
•The Italian Renaissance c. 1300 – c. 1600
Italy led the cultural and mental transformation of Europe which became known as the Renaissance. This was a period of great artistic achievement, mostly in urban areas and facilitated by the wealth of the church and the great Italian cities, which both harked back to and was influenced by the ideals and examples of ancient Roman and Greek culture. Contemporary politics and Christian religion also proved an influence, and a new way of thinking emerged called Humanism, expressed in art as much as literature. The Renaissance in turn influenced the patterns of politics and thought.More »•War of Chioggia 1378 – 81
The decisive conflict in the mercantile rivalry between Venice and Genoa occurred between 1378 and 81, when the two fought over the Adriatic sea. Venice won, banishing Genoa from the area, and carried on collecting a large overseas trading empire.•Peak of Visconti Power c.1390
The most powerful state in northern Italy was Milan, headed by the Visconti family; they expanded during the period to conquer many of their neighbours, establishing a powerful army and a large power base in northern Italy which was officially transformed into a dukedom in 1395 after Gian Galeazzo Visconti basically purchased the title from the Emperor. The expansion caused great consternation among rival cities in Italy, especially Venice and Florence, who fought back, attacking Milanese possessions. Fifty years of war followed.•Peace of Lodi 1454 / Victory of Aragon 1442
Two of the most prolonged conflicts of the 1400s finished in the middle of the century: in north Italy, the Peace of Lodi was signed after wars between the rival cities and states, with the leading powers – Venice, Milan, Florence, Naples and the Papal States – agreeing to honour each other’s current borders; several decades of peace followed. In the south a struggle over the Kingdom of Naples was won by Alfonso V of Aragon, a Spanish kingdom.•The Italian Wars 1494 – 1559
In 1494 Charles VIII of France invaded Italy for two reasons: to assist a claimant to Milan (which Charles also had a claim on) and to pursue a French claim on the Kingdom of Naples. When the Spanish Habsburgs joined the battle, in alliance with the Emperor (also a Habsburg), the Papacy and Venice, the whole of Italy became a battleground for Europe’s two most powerful families, the Valois French and the Habsburgs. France was driven out of Italy but factions continued to fight, and the war moved to other areas in Europe. A final settlement only took place with the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559.•The League of Cambrai 1508 - 10
In 1508 an alliance formed between the Pope, the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, the kings of France and Aragon and several Italian cities to attack and dismember Venice’s possessions in Italy, the city-state now ruling a large empire. The alliance was weak and soon collapsed into first disorganisation and then other alliances (the Pope allied with Venice), but Venice did suffer territorial losses and began to decline in international affairs from this point on.•Habsburg Domination c.1530 – c. 1700
The early phases of the Italian wars left Italy under the domination of the Spanish branch of the Habsburg family, with Emperor Charles V (crowned 1530) in direct control of the Kingdom of Naples, Sicily and the Duchy of Milan, and deeply influential elsewhere. He reorganised some states and ushered in, along with his successor Philip, an era of peace and stability which lasted, albeit with some tensions, until the end of the seventeenth century. At the same time the city states of Italy morphed into regional states.•Bourbon vs. Habsburg Conflict 1701 - 1748
In 1701 Western Europe went to war over the right of a French Bourbon to inherit the Spanish throne in the War of the Spanish Succession. There were battles in Italy and the region became a prize to be fought over. Once the succession was finalised in 1714 conflict continued in Italy between the Bourbons and the Habsburgs. 50 years of shifting control was ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which concluded a different war entirely but transferred some Italian possessions and ushered in 50 years of relative peace. Obligations forced Charles III of Spain to renounce Naples and Sicily in 1759, and the Austrians Tuscany in 1790.•Napoleonic Italy 1796 - 1814
French General Napoleon campaigned successfully through Italy in 1796, and by 1798 there were French forces in Rome. Although the republics which followed Napoleon collapsed when France withdrew troops in 1799, Napoleon’s victories in 1800 allowed him to redraw the map of Italy many times, creating states for his family and staff to rule, including a Kingdom of Italy. Many of the old rulers were restored after Napoleon’s defeat in 1814, but the Congress of Vienna, which redrew Italy yet again, ensured Austrian domination.More »•Mazzini Founds Young Italy 1831
The Napoleonic states had helped the idea of a modern, united Italy coalesce. In 1831 Guiseppe Mazzaini founded Young Italy, a group dedicated to throwing out Austrian influence and the patchwork of Italian rulers and creating a single, united state. This was to be il Risorgimento, the "Resurrection/ Resurgence". Highly influential, Young Italy influenced numerous attempted revolutions and caused a reshaping of the mental landscape. Mazzini was forced to live in exile for many years.
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