History of Italy

A smattering of remains attests to Neanderthal presence on the Italian peninsula half a million years ago, but substantial settlement began after the last Ice Age, with evidence of Paleolithic and Neolithic communities dating from around 20,000 BC and 4000 BC. More sophisticated tribes emerged toward the end of the prehistoric period, between 2400 and 1800 BC. Among those leaving the most visible traces were the Ligurians (who inhabited a wider area than modern Liguria), the Siculi of southern Italy and Latium, and the Sards, who farmed and raised livestock on Sardinia. Migrant groups from the eastern Mediterranean introduced copper-working techniques, advancing local cultures.

Later, Bronze Age societies (1600–1000 BC) established networks of farms and villages in the Apennines and along the southern and Sicilian coasts, where populations traded with Mycenaean Greece. Indo-European-speaking tribes also arrived: the Veneti, Latins, and Umbrii moved down the peninsula from the north, while the Piceni and Messapians in Puglia crossed the Adriatic from what is now Croatia. The line between prehistory and history is drawn around the eighth century BC, with the arrival of the Phoenicians and their trade links between Carthage and southern Italy. This soon led to the presence of Carthaginians in Sicily, Sardinia, and along the Latium coast — just as Greek and Etruscan influence was growing.

Etruscans and Greeks (c. 800-400 BC)

Greek settlers began colonizing the Tuscan coast and the Bay of Naples in the eighth century BC, later founding Syracuse in 736 BC. Their colonies in Sicily and southern Italy, known as Magna Graecia, flourished alongside the Etruscan cities to the north, forming Italy’s earliest civilizations with lasting architecture and written records.

Greek settlers introduced the vine and olive, and developed high-yield agriculture. Cities like Syracuse and Tarentum became major Mediterranean powers, trading widely despite Carthaginian rivalry. Their legacy is visible in the temples of Agrigento, the walls of Gela, and the theatres of Syracuse and Taormina. Magna Graecia also influenced Greece itself, producing thinkers like Archimedes and Empedocles.

Internal divisions weakened the colonies. After Sybaris fell in 400 BC, the others declined and were eventually absorbed by Rome.

The Etruscans, Italy’s other major power, occupied the area between the Tiber and Arno rivers. Their origins remain debated — some link them to Anatolia, others to native Etruria — but by the ninth century BC, they had formed a league of twelve cities and became dominant by the sixth.

Etruscan culture was advanced and ritualistic. Tomb frescoes from Cerveteri and Tarquinia depict refined customs and divination practices. Women held status, with names carved on sarcophagi.

Etruscans engineered farmland and built fortified hilltop cities, a pattern still seen across central Italy. Their influence faded after attacks by the Cumans, Syracusans, and Gauls, leading to alliance — and eventual absorption — into the rising Roman state.

Roman Italy (c. 600-31 BC)

Rome, a frontier town between the Etruscans and Latins, began expanding around 600 BC, driven by a coalition of Latin and Sabine communities. The Tarquins, an Etruscan dynasty, oversaw early growth, but in 509 BC the Romans expelled the Etruscan monarchy and established a republic, ruled by two annually elected consuls. A class struggle led to the Law of the Twelve Tables (c. 450 BC), granting legal equality between patricians and plebeians.

With internal stability, Rome began conquering the northern peninsula. After the fall of Veii in 396 BC, they seized towns like Sutri and Nepi — what Livy called the “barriers and gateways of Etruria.” Though briefly overrun by Gauls in 390 BC, who ransomed the city, Rome rebounded, eventually defeating the Samnites and taking Campania and Puglia. In the south, they confronted Greek colonies like Tarentum, whose plea to Pyrrhus of Epirus led to a costly war. After his defeat at Beneventum in 275 BC, Rome controlled most of southern Italy.

In 264 BC, Rome entered the First Punic War after aiding the Mamertines of Messina against Carthage. They gained Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. Victory over the Gauls in 222 BC secured control of the entire peninsula.

The Second Punic War followed. Hannibal crossed the Alps and crushed Roman legions at Lake Trasimeno and Cannae (216 BC), but halted at Capua. Rome’s response, led by Scipio, focused on Spain and then North Africa. Though Carthage fell decades later, Rome also conquered Macedonian Greece during this period.

These conquests brought wealth to Roman elites, deepening social divides. The senatorial class resisted reforms by the popular party, including those of Gaius Gracchus, who was assassinated. With reform blocked, many sought power through the army. General Marius gained influence but was outmaneuvered by Sulla, who seized power, purged rivals, and rewarded his troops with confiscated land — much of it wasted. A major revolt led by Spartacus in 73 BC was suppressed after two years.

Julius Caesar and Augustus (60-27 BC)

After Sulla’s death, Pompey and Crassus took power, later forming the First Triumvirate with Julius Caesar in 60 BC. Caesar became consul in 59 BC and spent eight years campaigning in Gaul. His growing power alarmed Pompey, and in 49 BC, Caesar crossed the Rubicon, defying the Senate. With no resistance in Rome, he assumed control.

Over the next four years, Caesar pursued civil reforms and defeated Pompey’s forces. In 44 BC, he was assassinated by senators, including Brutus. The Second Triumvirate — Octavian, Lepidus, and Mark Antony — emerged in 43 BC but quickly fractured. Antony, aligned with Cleopatra, clashed with Octavian, whose forces won at Actium in 31 BC. Antony committed suicide, leaving Octavian sole ruler.

Now styled Augustus Caesar, he launched reforms and public works while maintaining the modest title of “First Citizen,” establishing the Roman Empire.

The emperors (AD 14-193)

Tiberius (14-37) ruled capably, but decadence soon set in. Caligula’s erratic reign (37-41) was stabilized by the civil service. Claudius (41-54) conquered southern Britain and was succeeded by Nero (54-68), infamous for persecuting Christians. After Nero’s suicide, a chaotic year of four emperors ended with the Flavian dynasty — Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian — ushering in renewed stability.

The following Century of the Antonines — Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius — marked the empire’s peak. These rulers strengthened infrastructure and supported the arts, exemplified by the bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius.

Decline followed under Marcus Aurelius’s son Commodus (180-193), whose weak leadership and unstable successors saw military control wane and economic disparity grow. The agricultural south suffered while the north gained influence.

Barbarians and Byzantines (c. AD 200-600)

In the third century, invasions by Goths, Franks, and Alamanni signaled the empire’s decline. Aurelian (270-275) briefly restored order, and Diocletian (284-305) restructured the empire, doubling the army and splitting it into eastern and western halves. He ruled the west from Milan and persecuted Christians, many of whom became saints.

Christianity rose under Constantine (306-337), who declared it the state religion and founded Constantinople. As the capital shifted east, Rome declined, and feudal patterns began emerging.

Barbarians entered the empire in AD 376, driven by Huns from the east. Visigoths crossed the border and settled. As confidence in the empire eroded, many elites stopped supporting it. By the early fifth century, barbarian generals held high command posts, and loyalty crumbled.

On New Year’s Eve 406, Vandals, Alans, and Sueves crossed the frozen Rhine into Gaul. In 410, Alaric sacked Rome, prompting Saint Jerome’s famous lament: “When the whole world perished in one city, then I was dumb with silence.”

Rome's western empire collapsed after Valentinian III’s assassination in 455. His weak successors were ignored by the Germanic troops, who elected their general Odoacer king. The eastern emperor Zeno opposed him and in 487 encouraged Theodoric, leader of the Ostrogoths, to invade. By 493, Theodoric ruled Italy.

The Byzantine reconquest and the Church (AD 493-600)

Despite the collapse of Roman power, administration and Roman law continued under Ostrogothic rule. In the 530s, Eastern Emperor Justinian launched a campaign to reunify the empire. His general Belisarius captured Sicily in 536 and took the peninsula by 552. The Byzantines retained control in the south and Sardinia for the next five centuries.

During this period of weak central power and constant invasions, the Christian Church gained authority. With the emperor far away in Constantinople, the bishops of Rome emerged as leaders. Pope Leo I (440-461) justified papal primacy, asserting the pope’s right to rule all who were ruled first by Christ.

Amid this confusion, northern armies continued pressing into former imperial lands, shaping the political map of medieval Italy.

Lombards and Franks (6th-10th centuries)

Amid the upheaval of the sixth century, the Lombards, a Germanic tribe, pushed into Italy and steadily expanded their power across the peninsula. By the eighth century, their dominance drew the attention of the Franks, who entered from Gaul. As orthodox Christians, the Franks were accepted by the Gallo-Roman nobility and quickly assumed control of much of the provincial administration. Though nominally ruled by the Merovingian dynasty, real power lay with the Carolingians, particularly Pepin the Short.

Seeking legitimacy, Pepin allied with the papacy, donating land and forcibly converting pagan populations. When he moved to depose the Merovingians and crown himself king, the pope obliged, anointing him with holy oil.

This alliance proved mutually beneficial. In 755, the pope called on Pepin to confront the Lombards. The Franks defeated them, seizing 22 cities and castles, which became the northern portion of the Papal States. Upon Pepin’s death in 768, the Church remained indebted to him. His surviving son, Charles — later known as Charlemagne — soon assumed full control.

Charlemagne defeated the Lombards in 774 and was proclaimed King of the Franks and Lombards, and patrician of the Romans. On Christmas Day in 800, Pope Leo III crowned him Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, cementing a lasting connection between Italy and northern Europe. By his death, Charlemagne controlled most of Italy south of Rome through to Lombardy, including Sardinia. Exceptions were Sicily and parts of the south, then under Arab control or still held by the Byzantines and Greeks.

His successors failed to hold the empire together, and by the early tenth century the Carolingian line was extinct. Italy fractured into rival states, contested by both western (French) and eastern (German) Frankish kingdoms. In 936, power shifted to Otto, king of the eastern Franks. Invited by Italy’s political disunity, he was crowned emperor in 962. His successors, Ottos II and III, reestablished the Holy Roman Empire’s influence in Italy.

Popes and emperors (11th–13th centuries)

After Otto III’s death in 1002, Italy lacked a central ruler. In the north, local nobles competed for dominance, while in Rome, rival aristocratic families vied for control of the papacy. The most significant developments, however, occurred in the south, where the Normans conquered Sicily, Calabria, and Puglia. Effective administrators, they blended their culture with the region’s existing Arab-Italian traditions, and by the eleventh century had made Palermo a leading cultural center of the Mediterranean.

In Rome, reforming popes began asserting the Church’s authority. Gregory VII, elected in 1073, pushed for sweeping reforms, including the right to depose emperors. This brought him into direct conflict with Emperor Henry IV over the appointment of the archbishop of Milan. Henry called Gregory a “false monk”; Gregory excommunicated him, releasing his subjects from allegiance. In 1077, Henry famously submitted at Canossa, standing barefoot in the snow for three days before being granted forgiveness. The feud continued under his son, Henry V, ending in a compromise: the emperor retained control of bishops’ lands, but surrendered the right of investiture.

Following this symbolic win, the papacy evolved into Europe’s most centralized institution in law and finance. Yet its authority was soon challenged again, this time by Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa), who invaded northern Italy from 1154. Pope Alexander III countered by implying that the emperor ruled as a papal vassal. This dispute over supremacy between pope and emperor split Italy for two centuries, with cities and families aligning as Guelphs (papal supporters) or Ghibellines (imperial supporters).

The conflict deepened under Frederick II, son of Henry VI and heir to both the Holy Roman Empire and the Norman Kingdom of Sicily. Though linked to the powerful Hohenstaufen dynasty, his limited power base and growing opposition from both the papacy and the Italian communes led to prolonged civil war. His unexpected death in 1250 marked the decline of imperial ambitions in Italy.

The emergence of city-states (13th-15th centuries)

The Sicilian Vespers and decline of central power

In 1266, Charles of Anjou defeated the heirs of Frederick II and was granted Naples and Sicily by the pope. His oppressive rule provoked the Sicilian Vespers in 1282, when two thousand French soldiers were killed in Palermo. War followed, with Peter of Aragon taking control of Sicily and challenging French influence in the south.

Meanwhile, the papacy weakened. In 1303, Pope Boniface VIII was assaulted by agents of the French king and died shortly after. His successor, Clement V, moved the papal court to Avignon, marking a sharp decline in Rome’s influence.

Rise and consolidation of city-states

As papal and imperial power faded, northern and central Italian cities gained independence. By 1300, nearly 300 city-states had emerged. The Black Death of the mid-14th century devastated Europe, but many Italian cities endured, fostering a new, civic-based political identity.

By the late 1300s, dominant powers — Genoa, Florence, Milan, and Venice — absorbed smaller comuni. Minor states like Mantua and Ferrara remained independent by hiring mercenaries and fortifying their cities.

From republics to princely states

Constant feuds among elite families led citizens to accept signori (strongmen) to restore order. These rulers often received titles from the emperor or pope. By the 15th century, most city-states had adopted princely rule.

In the south, the Kingdom of Naples held sway, while the Papal States stretched from Rome northward. Independent powers like Siena, Modena, Milan, Venice, Genoa, Lucca, and Rimini formed a politically fragmented peninsula.

The Renaissance and cultural shift

The city-states became engines of the Renaissance. Wealthy patrons such as the Medici and rulers like Federico da Montefeltro funded architecture and the arts to reinforce their prestige. The Tuscan dialect, spoken by Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio, gained literary prominence and later became Italy’s standard language.

Toward a balance of power

By the mid-1400s, Naples, the papacy, Milan, Venice, and Florence maintained a fragile balance of power. Still, Italy’s fragmented states became increasingly entangled in broader European politics, foreshadowing future foreign intervention.

French and Spanish intervention (1494–1815)

France invades, Spain settles in

In 1494, the Duke of Milan invited Charles VIII of France to Italy to press his claim to the Kingdom of Naples. Charles marched south, briefly occupied Naples, and returned to France. Soon after, Ferdinand II of Aragon, ruler of Spain, took control of the kingdom.

Spanish dominance was cemented under Charles V (1500–1558), who inherited both the Spanish and Austrian thrones and became Holy Roman Emperor in 1519. His troops sacked Rome in 1527, an event seen as divine punishment for Italy’s internal divisions. France remained a rival but was defeated at Pavia (1526) and Naples (1529). The 1559 Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis left Spain in control of Sicily, Naples, Sardinia, Milan, and several Tuscan fortresses. Most other states became satellites of Spain or France — only the papacy and Venice remained independent.

Economic decline and social strain

While the papacy battled the Reformation, Italy’s economy suffered. The new Atlantic and Indian Ocean trade routes sidelined Italian ports. In the north, recession pushed merchants to invest in land over trade. In the south, heavy taxation and feudal oppression fueled banditry and peasant revolts, brutally crushed by Spanish forces.

Austrian sscendancy and shifting powers

The 17th century was politically stagnant, dominated by Spain and the papacy. But after the War of the Spanish Succession, Spain lost key territories. By the early 1700s, Austria controlled Lombardy, Mantua, Naples, and Sardinia. Power continued to shift: in 1720, Piemonte traded Sicily for Sardinia; by 1734, Naples and Sicily returned to Spanish Bourbon control; in 1737, the House of Lorraine took over Tuscany after the Medici line ended.

Reform and revolutionary shockwaves

The Bourbons governed southern Italy with limited reform, but the north progressed under Maria Theresa (1740-80) and Joseph II (1780-90) of Austria, who laid foundations for early industrial growth.

In 1796, Napoleon invaded northern Italy. Though the French were briefly expelled, by 1810 Napoleon controlled the entire peninsula. His rule drastically reshaped Italy: the papacy’s power was curbed, feudal land rights reformed, and elected assemblies introduced, giving the middle class its first taste of political participation.

Unification (1815–1871)

Revolutions and early resistance

After Napoleon’s fall, the 1815 Congress of Vienna restored much of Italy’s old ruling order under Austrian influence. Austrian Chancellor Metternich worked to preserve fragmentation, but between 1820 and 1849, revolutions erupted across the peninsula.

In Sicily, Naples, and Piemonte, revolts broke out in response to repression and economic hardship. In the south, King Ferdinand crushed the Sicilian uprising with Austrian help. In Piemonte, student protests and army mutinies forced Vittorio Emanuele I to abdicate. His successors, Carlo Felice and Carlo Alberto, alternated between cautious reform and reaction, relying on Austrian troops to suppress dissent.

More uprisings followed in 1831 across Parma, Modena, the Papal States, and the south, but lacked coordination and were quickly suppressed. Still, their influence spread.

Mazzini, Garibaldi, and the Risorgimento

One of the most inspired by these revolts was Giuseppe Mazzini, jailed in 1830 for ties to the radical group Carbonari. After his release, he founded Young Italy, a movement for a unified republic. His ideals deeply influenced Giuseppe Garibaldi, a future military leader of the Risorgimento.

Crop failures in 1846-47 caused famine and unrest. In 1848, revolutionaries gained ground in Sicily, Naples, and Tuscany. In Rome, Pope Pius IX fled, and Mazzini helped form a short-lived republic, defended by Garibaldi.

The uprisings collapsed by 1849. Carlo Alberto abdicated after military defeats, and Austria regained control. However, Piemonte retained its constitution, becoming a refuge for political exiles and a base for future unification.

Cavour and the war against Austria

In 1852, Count Camillo Cavour became prime minister of Piemonte. He aligned with Napoleon III of France during the Crimean War, and in 1858 the two secretly agreed to back a war against Austria — if unification could be achieved without revolution.

In 1859, Cavour provoked Austria into declaring war. Thousands died at Magenta and Solferino, but Napoleon made a separate peace with Austria, prompting Cavour’s resignation. Nonetheless, northern duchies like Tuscany, Modena, and Romagna voted in plebiscites to join Piemonte. In exchange, Savoy and Nice were ceded to France.

Garibaldi and the Southern Campaign

Enraged by the loss of Nice, Garibaldi redirected his energy to Sicily, where he launched his famous Red Shirt campaign in 1860. His small force won support, defeated Neapolitan troops, and captured Sicily, then Naples.

Fearing Garibaldi might provoke unrest in Rome, Cavour sent a Piemontese army to annex the Papal States (excluding the area around Rome). Plebiscites in Sicily, Naples, Umbria, and the Marches formalized annexation.

In February 1861, a new parliament proclaimed the Kingdom of Italy, with Vittorio Emanuele II as king. Cavour died shortly after, before unification was complete.

Final steps to unification

Rome and Venice remained outside the kingdom. Venice was annexed in 1866, after Italy allied with Prussia against Austria. Garibaldi attempted to take Rome in 1862 and again in 1867, but both efforts failed.

In 1870, France withdrew its troops from Rome following defeat by Prussia. Italian forces entered the city, and by 1871, Rome was declared the capital, completing Italian unification.

The World Wars (1914–1945)

Post-unification struggles and early colonialism

Despite unification, Italy remained politically and socially unstable. The ruling class resisted reform, and living standards, especially in Sicily, worsened. When Sicilian peasants formed fasci (early trade unions), the government responded with mass arrests, censorship, and the deployment of 30,000 troops.

Meanwhile, capitalist agriculture in the Po Valley reshaped rural society, concentrating wealth among a few agrari while creating a dependent class of laborers and managers.

Italy’s colonial ventures began in the 1880s, with bloody campaigns in Abyssinia and Eritrea, and later the 1912 conquest of Libya and the Dodecanese from the Ottoman Empire. These imperial ambitions were controversial, even opposed by Benito Mussolini, then a radical socialist.

World War I and the rise of fascism

Italy joined World War I in 1915, aiming to defeat Austria and expand its empire. The army was poorly led and equipped, suffering heavy losses until a final push at Vittorio Veneto in 1918 secured victory. Gains included Trieste, Gorizia, and Trentino-Alto Adige, but at the cost of over 500,000 lives and crippling debt.

Wartime disappointment, inflation, and social unrest fueled support for Mussolini, who founded the Partito Nazionale Fascista in 1921. His squadre terrorized opponents, destroying press and union offices. In 1922, Mussolini staged the symbolic March on Rome and was appointed prime minister after the king refused to back martial law.

Fascist rule and the totalitarian state

By 1925, Mussolini declared a dictatorship. Political opposition and unions were banned, censorship tightened, and local democracy dismantled. Special courts were created, and arrests without trial became common.

In 1929, the Lateran Accords ended decades of Church-State conflict by recognizing the Vatican as an independent state. By the late 1930s, Mussolini’s regime controlled most major industries and every aspect of political life under the motto:
“Everything within the State; nothing outside the State; nothing against the State.”

World War II and collapse

In 1936, Mussolini supported Franco in the Spanish Civil War, aligning Italy with Nazi Germany. Italy entered World War II in 1940, unprepared and poorly equipped. In 1941, Italian forces invaded Yugoslavia, but were soon overwhelmed on multiple fronts. Tens of thousands died on the Russian Front in the harsh winter of 1942.

In July 1943, Allied forces landed in Sicily, and within a month had taken the island. Mussolini was ousted by his Grand Council and replaced by Marshal Badoglio. Italy signed an armistice on September 8, and the Allies advanced north while Germany occupied the country’s center and north.

The Nazis rescued Mussolini, who led a puppet regime, the Republic of Salò, near Lago di Garda. Resistance grew rapidly: by 1945, over 450,000 partisans from Communist, Socialist, and Catholic groups opposed the Fascists.

In April 1945, Mussolini was captured while fleeing to Switzerland. He and his partner Claretta Petacci were executed and hung in Milan’s Piazzale Loreto, marking the end of Fascism in Italy.

The postwar years (1946–1969)

From monarchy to republic

In 1946, a national referendum abolished the monarchy, and Italy became a republic. The Democrazia Cristiana (DC), led by Alcide De Gasperi, formed the first government. With support from the Marshall Plan and a large, low-cost labor force — many from the rural south — Italy entered a period of rapid industrial growth. By the 1950s, firms like Fiat and Olivetti helped double GDP and triple industrial output, establishing Italy as a major industrial power.

Shifts in political power

Initially, the DC governed alongside other right-wing parties, but growing labor activism and leftist pressure forced a realignment. In 1963, the DC formed a coalition with the Partito Socialista Italiano (PSI). The architect of this shift was Aldo Moro, who served as prime minister from 1963 to 1968 and became a key figure in postwar Italian politics.

Moro’s premiership coincided with economic instability, driven by inflation and capital flight, as wealthy Italians reacted to the PSI’s inclusion in government. Tensions culminated in the “autunno caldo” (“hot autumn”) of 1969, when waves of strikes, factory occupations, and demonstrations disrupted the country.

The 1970s and 1980s

Years of terror and violence

The 1970s saw escalating unrest. Far-right extremists were responsible for deadly attacks, including the 1969 Piazza Fontana bombing in Milan and the 1974 bombing in Brescia. The violence peaked in 1980, when a bomb at Bologna train station killed 85 people and injured over 200.

Meanwhile, radical left-wing groups emerged, most notably the Brigate Rosse (Red Brigades), often led by disillusioned intellectuals. In 1978, they kidnapped and murdered Aldo Moro, the leading Christian Democrat who had helped integrate the Socialist Party into government. A police crackdown in the early 1980s largely dismantled the group, but some extremist cells persisted.

The "Strategy of Tension"

The true origins of some attacks remained murky. Accusations surfaced that Italian intelligence and foreign actors may have manipulated violence to destabilize the country. A 2000 report by the PDS (Democratic Left Party) claimed that bombings attributed to extremists were sometimes orchestrated by elements within Italian state institutions and possibly US intelligence, in an alleged “strategy of tension” aimed at preserving conservative control. These claims sparked outrage and firm denials from center-right parties and the US embassy.

Political maneuvering and decline of the left

In 1976, the “historic compromise” between the DC and the Partito Comunista Italiano (PCI) kept a fragile unity: the PCI, with 34% of the vote, agreed to abstain from votes to support a national government. The pact ended in 1979, and after Berlinguer’s death in 1984, the PCI’s popularity declined. With the fall of communism, leader Achille Occhetto transformed the PCI into the Partito Democratico della Sinistra (PDS), a democratic socialist party modeled on European counterparts.

To sideline the left, the DC increasingly relied on deals with minor parties. In 1987, the Radical Party won 18 seats, including one for Ilona Staller (La Cicciolina), a porn star turned politician. Meanwhile, scandals — including the P2 Masonic Lodge affair — exposed links between corrupt bankers, DC leaders, and far-right groups, severely damaging the party’s credibility.

In response, the DC ceded leadership roles: Giovanni Spadolini became the first non-DC prime minister in 1981, and in 1983, Bettino Craxi of the PSI became Italy’s first Socialist premier, serving until 1987.

Economic growth and the shadow economy

Despite political chaos, Italy’s economy expanded, fueling hopes of Il Sorpasso — overtaking France and Britain in GDP rankings. Whether it happened remains debated, due in part to Italy’s vast economia sommersa (underground economy). Widespread tax evasion and illicit financial activity made accurate data elusive.

At the heart of this hidden economy was the Mafia, whose influence extended into business and politics. The full scale of its reach became clear in 1992, when anti-Mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino were assassinated. Their deaths, aided by insider leaks, exposed the Mafia’s infiltration at the highest levels of the state.

Mani Pulite (1992–1999)

A political turning point

The assassinations of judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino in 1992 marked a watershed moment in modern Italian politics. Public outrage over Mafia infiltration and political corruption triggered a collapse in faith in the postwar DC-led establishment. New political forces emerged, including the Lega Nord, led by Umberto Bossi, who tapped into resentment in the north over subsidizing the “corrupt” south. The MSI (Fascist party) rebranded as the Alleanza Nazionale (AN) under Gianfranco Fini, gaining ground as part of a broader right-wing shift.

A crackdown on the Mafia

In 1992, Prime Minister Giuliano Amato, seen as untainted by corruption, launched the largest anti-Mafia offensive in years. It led to the arrest of Salvatore “Toto” Riina, the Mafia’s boss of bosses, believed responsible for ordering Falcone’s and Borsellino’s killings. Supergrasses also implicated senior establishment figures, including former Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti, who was later brought to trial.

The "Clean Hands" investigation

Though Andreotti survived politically for a time, it was Bettino Craxi, former Socialist premier, who became the symbol of collapsing political credibility. In February 1992, the arrest of a minor party official on corruption charges in Milan revealed a vast system of kickbacks, bribes, and illicit contracts across the country — nicknamed Tangentopoli (“Bribesville”).

The scandal snowballed into the Mani Pulite (“Clean Hands”) investigation, led by Judge Antonio Di Pietro. By year’s end, thousands were arrested, and nearly the entire postwar political order came under scrutiny. In 1999, Craxi was convicted of corruption and sentenced to five years in prison. He died the following year in exile in Tunisia.

Italy today: Berlusconi and after (1994–present)

Berlusconi’s rise and rule

The collapse of Italy’s postwar political order in the early 1990s opened the way for a new populist force. In 1994, media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi entered politics with his newly formed Forza Italia, winning national elections in alliance with Lega Nord and the post-fascist Alleanza Nazionale. Many Italians saw Berlusconi — a non-politician — as a fresh alternative to the corrupt establishment.

Berlusconi went on to win three more elections and presided over Italy’s longest-serving postwar government, but his leadership proved ineffective. He refused to divest from his media empire, faced multiple legal investigations — covering corruption, sex scandals, and abuse of power — and passed laws to shield himself from prosecution.

Despite grand promises of reform and prosperity, Italy’s economy stagnated, bureaucracy remained entrenched, and debt mounted. Amid the eurozone crisis, Berlusconi was forced to resign in November 2011. Economist Mario Monti led a temporary technocratic government until the 2013 elections.

Populism and political turmoil

The 2013 election produced deadlock, with Beppe Grillo’s Five Star Movement (M5S) becoming the largest party in the lower house. Grillo refused to join any governing coalition, signaling protest over practicality.

Eventually, Matteo Renzi, the 39-year-old mayor of Florence, formed a center-left government. Seen as a modernizer, Renzi pushed through reforms but lost a constitutional referendum in 2016 and resigned.

In the 2018 election, over half of Italians voted for populist parties. The anti-establishment Five Star Movement and far-right, anti-immigration Lega (formerly Lega Nord), led by Matteo Salvini, formed a coalition. Both parties railed against elites, EU austerity, and immigration.

As Interior Minister, Salvini closed ports to migrant ships. In 2019, he kept the Open Arms rescue ship stranded at sea for 19 days, facing trial for kidnapping and dereliction of duty. Actor Richard Gere, who delivered aid to the ship, agreed to testify against him.

Covid-19 and recovery

Italy became the first Western nation to be overwhelmed by Covid-19 in early 2020, with Lombardy hit hardest. Entire towns were sealed off, but infections spread rapidly. On March 9, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte placed the entire country under lockdown.

Despite swift action and strict enforcement, death rates soared, and Italy endured one of Europe’s worst early outbreaks. The economic toll was severe, especially for a country reliant on tourism.

Yet recovery was unexpectedly resilient. Many family-run hotels, restaurants, and small businesses weathered the storm better than expected, and widespread closures were avoided.

A new right-wing era

In the 2023 general election, Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right Fratelli d’Italia, became prime minister on a platform focused on nationalism and anti-immigration. Her victory marked a dramatic shift in Italy’s political landscape, making her the country’s first female prime minister and its most right-wing leader since World War II.

Today, Italy remains a country of paradoxes: modern yet deeply rooted in tradition, politically volatile yet culturally influential. Its rich and turbulent past continues to inform its future — a nation constantly reinventing itself while carrying the weight of history.