Phoenicians and Greeks established settlements in Italy beginning several centuries before the birth of Christ, and the Greek settlements in particular developed into thriving classical civilizations, for example the cities of Magna Graecia.įrom the Middle Ages to the early modern period the region that is now Italy was divided into numerous independent states, until 1861 when it became a nation-state.

Etruscan and Samnite cultures flourished in Italy before the emergence of the Roman Republic, which conquered and incorporated them.

Italy was home to many well-known and influential civilizations, including Italic peoples such as the Etruscans, the Samnites and the Romans, while also hosting colonies from important foreign civilizations like the Phoenicians and the Greeks. Italy has been the starting point of phenomena of international impact such as the Roman Republic, Roman Empire, the Roman Catholic Church, the Maritime republics, Romanesque art, Scholasticism, the Renaissance, the Age of Discovery, Mannerism, the Scientific revolution, the Baroque, Neoclassicism, the Risorgimento, Fascism, and European integration. Italian culture is the culture of the Italians, a Romance ethnic group, and is incredibly diverse spanning the entirety of the Italian peninsula and the islands of Sardinia and Sicily. Italy is considered one of the birthplaces of Western civilization and a cultural superpower. Roman mosaic of Virgil, the most important Latin poet of the Augustan period.

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