1929 - Vatican City becomes an independent territory called the Holy See within the city of Rome.
1935 - Italy invades Ethiopia.
1936 - Italy joins the Axis alliance with Germany.
1938 - Italian scientist Enrico Fermi wins the Nobel Prize in Physics.
1940 - Italy joins World War II on the side of Germany. Italy invades Greece.
1943 - Mussolini loses power and Italy surrenders to the Allies. The new government declares war on Germany.
1944 - Allied forces liberate Rome.
1945 - Mussolini is executed.
1946 - The Italian Republic is formed along with a new constitution. Women gain the right to vote.
1955 - Italy joins the United Nations.
1960 - The summer Olympics are held in Rome.
2002 - The Euro becomes the official currency of Italy.
Brief Overview of the History of Italy
The first advanced civilization to settle in the land of Italy was the Greeks in the 8th century BCE. They set up colonies along the coast of southern Italy and on the island of Sicily. Later, the Phoenicians would do the same.
About the same time in the 8th century BCE, a small agricultural community was forming on the west coast of Italy. It founded the city of Rome which would grow to become one of the world's great civilizations, Ancient Rome. For more on Ancient Rome see Ancient Rome for Kids. Rome would first form the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Its rule would span much of Europe and the Mediterranean. Rome, together with Greek culture, would become influential in forming much of today's western civilization including philosophy, art, and law. In 395 CE, the Roman Empire was divided into the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. Italy was part of the Western Empire which collapsed around 476 CE. For the next several hundreds of years Italy would be made up of a number of small city-states.
The Roman Forum
In the 1400s Italy became the home of the Italian Renaissance. During this period the arts flourished with artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.
In the 1800s much of Italy wanted to unify into a single country. In 1871 Italy became a constitutional monarchy and an independent unified country.
In 1922 Benito Mussolini came to power in Italy. He turned Italy into a fascist state where he was dictator. He sided with the Axis Powers of Germany and Japan in World War II. When they lost the war, Mussolini was removed from power. In 1946 Italy became a republic.
