the romans referred to southern italy as magna graecia.

In 756, the Franks (French) overpowered the Lombards and granted authority over central Italy to the Popes, thus leading to the creation of the Papal States. The Popes also started constructing a sovereign nation. This resulted in the Gothic War which led to another German tribe, the Lombards, creating a kingdom in the north of Italy and three territories in the South in 568. In 493, the Italian peninsula was seized by the Ostrogoths, a tribe from eastern German. This period experienced a number of invasions. After his death, the Italian Peninsula was divided into different kingdoms but was later reunified in 1861. Roman rule, however, ended in 476 AD when Emperor Augustus died. Under the Roman Empire, Italy was able to flourish. The Italian peninsula was named “Italia” by the Romans and the Italians cities north of Emilia-Romagna were believed to be a section of Cisalpine Gaul which was a Roman province.

In the centuries that followed, Rome extended its boundaries into what came to be referred as the Roman Empire. There is no clear history of the Roman Kingdom but legend states that it was established by Romulus and Remus in the core of Etruscan Italy at around 735 BC. The Roman Empire (5th Century BC to 5th Century AD)

They settled in the cities of Calabria, Apulia, and Sicily formerly referred to as Magna Graecia. The Greeks, on the other hand, occupied southern Italy from 700 to 600 BC. Around 8,000 BC, the Etruscan culture took hold of the northern region of Italy. The Bronze Age period was experienced from the 15th century to the 8th century and the Iron Age period from the 8th century to the 5th century. The 37th to the 15th century BC was the Copper Age period and it was characterized by sizable settlements in the region. Numerous rock drawings have been found in the Alpine areas of Lombardy dating from roughly 8,000 BC. Proof of civilization on the Italian peninsula has been found and it dates all the way back to pre-history. With this in mind, the history of Italy will be discussed in brief below. In 1861, a new Kingdom of Italy was formed and it modernized rapidly and established a huge colonial empire and colonized nations along the Mediterranean and some regions of Africa. In the 19th century, the concept of nationalism and nation-state was on the rise, and a result, the peninsula was unified. The states were later seized by the French Empire under Napoleon I, and they were brought under the governorship of the Holy See. The peninsula was eventually divided between the major powers of Austria, Spain and Early Modern Europe after the Italian Wars. The rise of nation-states, more so the powerful maritime nations in the medieval period, however, resulted in political disintegration. The Kingdom was later integrated into Francia and eventually into the Holy Roman Empire.

A Lombard Kingdom of Italy was later formed, but most regions of the peninsula remained under Byzantine influence and rule until the 11th century. The end of the Late Antiquity was marked by the decline and collapse of the Western Empire towards the end of the 5th century. It is the Roman Empire that developed the civilization and culture of Western Europe, even the adoption and spread of Christianity as the nation’s religion towards the end of the 4th century.

The Domitius Ahenobarbus altar, 2nd century ACThe Latins who were part of the Italic peoples were initially located in the Latium territory and their language, Latin, later on, dominated the peninsula in the 3rd century when Italy was conquered by the Roman Empire. Bronze Age in Italy began at around 1500 BC and it corresponded with the arrival of the Indo-European speakers whose ancestors later became the Italic people of the Iron Age. This was followed by the Neolithic Period between 6000-5500 BC and was characterized by Impressed ware and Cardium Pottery. Evidence of settlement by anatomically modern humans in Italy began at around 43,000 years ago. The country’s history began roughly 850,000 years ago when the first hominins arrived and settled at Monte Poggiolo. In numerous ways, Italy’s history is believed to be the history of not only Europe but also the present day world. It shares land borders with the Vatican City, San Marino, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, and France. It is situated at the center of the Mediterranean Sea. Italy, formally referred to as the Italian Republic is a unitary parliamentary nation in Europe.

The romans referred to southern italy as magna graecia.