History History

The last glaciation completes the process of shaping the land that began with the previous glaciations. The rivers that flowed from the Alps to the Po Valley, shaping entire valleys, were replaced by huge glaciers. As the ice melted, a rocky material was deposited on the ground, the moraine, the same material that made the shores of the Italian lakes so fertile.

The first human settlements of the Neolithic are dated to this period. The rock representations of the Val Camonica (Lake Iseo) attest to this.

The first civilizations settled in the Bronze Age in the Brescia area (Remedello civilization). Other civilizations will settle in the region later, in 2000 BC: Golasecca civilization on Lake Maggiore, Comacina civilization on Lake Como.

Hordes of invaders crossed the Alpine passes. The most notable invasion was that of the Etruscans, around 800 BC. The Etruscans, who had engaged in almost total destruction and gradually absorbed the native cultures, gave rise to an original culture that spread from Lazio to Tuscany, Umbria and Venice. In the 4th century BC, the Celts (Gauls) invaded northern Italy.

After founding Rome (753 BC), the Romans pushed northwards. After the battle of Clastidium in 222, Rome undertook a slow and effective peaceful penetration of Celtic cultural and economic patterns into Cisalpine Gaul, of which Mediolanum was proclaimed capital. However, the main problem of integration and assimilation of Gallic cultures was for the Romans the Celtic religion. Indeed, the druids held an essential place in the administration of power. The issue was abruptly resolved under the government of Augustus, with the prohibition of druids from holding office in the new Gallo-Roman socio-political structure. During this period, numerous works of enlargement of the city were undertaken, which resulted in the construction of a new road network (the current ring structure of Milan is inherited from the works carried out by the Romans). Mediolanum consolidated its position in 286, when the Emperor Diocletian chose it as the residence of the Western Emperor Maximian. It remained the capital until 404, when it was replaced by Ravenna.

The Edict of Milan, promulgated by Constantine, authorized Christians to practice their religion freely. In 391, Theodosius proclaimed Christianity the official religion of the Empire.

^Fifth century. After the division of the Empire on the death of Emperor Theodosius (395), the western part fell into the hands of the Barbarians. The Lombards(Longobardi) settle in Lombardy.

Charlemagne defeats the Lombards and proclaims the birth of the Frankish kingdom in northern Italy.

End of the Carolingian Empire. The Lombards regain control of Lombardy.

The 10th and 11th centuries saw the supremacy of several religious orders, such as the Benedictines and the Cistercians.

Period of the Communes(Comuni or Città-Stato). At the beginning of the 15th century, Milan and Venice clashed.

At the beginning of the 12th century, Milan was already a powerful city and one of the "queens of Padania". In the 14th and 15th centuries, the weakness of the Empire and the distance of the papal court in Avignon favoured internal struggles in the Italian cities between the Guelphs, supporters of the temporal power of the pope, and the Ghibellines, supporters of the Empire. This unstable situation led the cities organized in communes(comuni) to entrust their government to lords and to opt for an increasingly absolute power. Milan consolidated its structure as a city-state. In 1447, Milan fell prey to a condottiere, Francesco Sforza, who established a dynasty that would last until 1535.

The freedom and splendour of the Duchy of Milan came to an end with the descent into Italy of Charles VIII of Valois, King of France, who was called to help by Ludovico himself, and then with that of Francis I. In 1494, Charles VIII, supported by Ludovico il Moro and as heir of the Angevins, recovered the kingdom of Naples. However, the Spaniards and the Habsburgs, worried by the French move, allied themselves with the other Italian states. From 1535 onwards, the Spanish domination of northern Italy began. For more than 150 years, Milan and the lakes of Como and Maggiore were under Spanish rule. Lake Garda and Lake Iseo, on the other hand, were under the control of the Republic of Venice. The Spaniards transformed the former Duchy of Milan into a state run by governors who imposed the worst hardships on the Milanese. Milan suffered famine and epidemics. The only ray of hope for the Milanese in this period came from the Borromeo family.

Originally from a small town near Florence, the Borromeo family had moved to Milan in the 14th century, where they began a flourishing banking business. Allies of the Viscontis, the Borromeos became the lords of Arona, the "isola Madre" and the "isola Bella" on Lake Maggiore. This Milanese family has owned the archipelago of small islands for five centuries and has several important figures. Saint Charles Borromeo (1538-1584), bishop and cardinal, canonized in 1610, led an exemplary life far from the magnificence that his rank would have allowed him. Frederick Borromeo (1564-1631) succeeded his cousin St. Charles as bishop of Milan in 1595. An ardent defender of the Catholic reform, he devoted his life to culture and art. His character is immortalized in the novel The Betrothed, in which Alessandro Manzoni exalts his figure as a humanist.

The end of the War of Spanish Succession saw the Savoys take power over the western part of northern Italy. The Austrians, on the other hand, seized Lake Garda and the Lombardy shore of Lake Maggiore.

The War of the Spanish Succession and the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713 between Philip V of Spain and Emperor Charles VI of Austria precipitated the end of Spanish domination in Italy. After a period of Franco-Piedmontese government, between 1733 and 1736, Lombardy definitively came under Austrian rule. This was a much more beneficial period for the region, mainly due to the reforming actions of Maria Theresa of Austria. Her reforms made Milan one of the most advanced cities in Europe.

Napoleon liberated Northern Italy from the Austrians, who nevertheless regained power in 1815.

The Congress of Vienna, in 1815, decided to create the Kingdom of Lombardy and placed Venetia under Austrian authority. In 1848, Milan, after the outbreak of a revolt in Vienna against Metternich, experienced five days of struggle for freedom, the Cinque Giornate di Milano (Five Days of Milan). On the morning of March 18, liberal bourgeois demonstrate against General Radetzky. The demonstration turned into a popular revolt, which lasted until March 23 and reached its peak with the assault on the Porta Tosa (now Porta Vittoria). The Austrians, fearing a Piedmontese and French intervention, abandoned Milan and several Lombardy towns. On 8 June 1859, Napoleon III and Victor-Emmanuel II entered Milan after the bloody battle of Magenta.

A wind of freedom blew over Italy: Naples, Sicily and Tuscany revolted. From 1861, after the creation of the new Italian state under the authority of Victor-Emmanuel II, the history of Milan will merge with that of the peninsula. The Piedmontese cleaned up the historic centre, forcing the poorer classes to move to the suburbs. The mechanical, chemical and textile industries (birth of the Pirelli and Alfa industries) made their appearance and the luxury industry (carriages, jewellery, arts and crafts) and the food industry strengthened their presence.

It is clear that if Rome is the political centre of Italy, Milan is the economic centre. The CGL (General Confederation of Labour) and the League of Entrepreneurs appeared in 1906. Cars from the Fiat factory in Turin were circulating in large numbers in northern Italy.

The First World War brought this development to a halt. Italy and Milan were going through a period of great political and social unrest. But from 1919 onwards, a group of activist veterans joined the Fasci di Combattimento, based in Milan. A few years later, this organization became a Fascist party and, in 1922, following the march on Rome, its leaders occupied the Palazzo Marino, the center of administration and now the town hall. Northern Italy, like the rest of the country, entered the Mussolini era, an era of contrasts, because it was a source of pain and progress for the country. At that time, the population of Milan quickly reached one million inhabitants.

Mussolini and Hitler sign the Pact of Steel.

It was not until June 1940, when the French and British forces were cornered by German troops, that Italy entered the war. However, the Fascist party was soon faced with a lack of popular support among the country's public. Contestation even reached the ranks of the party itself (the Great Council) which, in July 1943, dismissed Mussolini.

A new government, led by General Badoglio, with the consent of King Victor Emmanuel III, negotiated an armistice with the Allies. Warned, Germany sends its troops to occupy Rome and southern Italy. Once liberated, Mussolini, with the help of the Nazis, reconstitutes a fascist state on the banks of Lake Garda: the Republic of Salò. Once again arrested, Mussolini was summarily executed in Dongo on April 25, 1945, on Lake Como, along with his mistress Clara Petacci. Both were hanged by the feet in Milan, on the present Piazzale Loreto.

King Victor Emmanuel III abdicates. Italy is a republic.

With peace restored, the National Liberation Committee took charge of organising elections and, above all, a referendum on the country's institutions. After the adoption of a new constitution, ratified in 1948, which gave a large place to the President of the Council, head of government and true holder of executive power, Italian political life was mainly marked by the struggle for power between a few major parties that had emerged from the Resistance. A political life that was characterised by constant crises.

The "years of lead", as the media called them, began with theAutunno Caldo (hot autumn) of 1969, during which strikes, demonstrations and riots followed one another. Things gradually got worse, and Italy was faced with violent and uncontrollable activism, involving the Red Brigades and right-wing groups.

It is the return of the Christian democracy to power. Francesco Cossiga was elected president at the age of 56, the youngest president in the country. He governed until 1992. On the European level, Italy was more and more present. Thus, in February 1992, it signed the treaty of Maastricht which institutes the European Union.

Silvio Berlusconi's first election as President of the Forza Italia party and as President of the Italian Council of Ministers.

Legislative elections in which no less than 130 political parties participate. Romano Prodi became Prime Minister (centre-left coalition). He will remain in power for only one and a half years.

After resigning as President of the Council in December 1994, Silvio Berlusconi stood for re-election and began his second term. His government continued until 2006, making it the longest-serving Italian government in the post-war period.

Very close elections between Silvio Berlusconi and Romano Prodi. In the end, it was Prodi who won with the centre-left coalition and became President of the Council.

Romano Prodi's government is experiencing several successive crises as the coalition of forces far removed from each other weakens it. Silvio Berlusconi multiplied his attacks on the Prodi government. Milan was named the city of the 2015 Universal Exhibition.

After the departure of the UDEUR (Catholic party) from the centre-left coalition, the Senate refused to give Romano Prodi its confidence, forcing him to resign.

Silvio Berlusconi and the centre-right coalition, the People of Freedom (PDL), won the early legislative elections against the Democrat Walter Veltroni.

The city of Milan, Silvio Berlusconi's historic stronghold, and Naples went to the left in the municipal elections.

In the space of two and a half years, Italy has had three different governments. The serious consequences of the economic crisis on the country's finances forced the President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, to appoint a government of "technicians".

Milan is the city of the World Fair.

Unemployment in Italy reached a record level of 13.7%

Sergio Mattarella was elected president for 7 years.

Migrant crisis, situation deteriorates at the French-Italian border.

4 December 2016. Victory of the "no" vote in the referendum on the reform of the Constitution and resignation of Council President Matteo Renzi. His replacement is Paolo Gentilioni, also from the Democratic Party.

Matteo Renzi, former Council president, is re-elected as leader of the Democratic Party

¹ June 2018. Giuseppe Conte of the Independent Party is appointed president of the Council of Ministers.

Italy is the first European country to suffer from the Covid-19 health crisis. Lombardy is the first region affected and the city of Bergamo, in particular, is experiencing a very strong wave of cases.

Italy oscillates between confinement and curfew, still very much affected by the health crisis. On the political side, Mario Draghi - the former president of the European Central Bank - became president of the Council of Ministers in February.

On February 3, 2022, Sergio Mattarella was sworn in as President of the Italian Republic for a second seven-year term. On October 22 of the same year, he appointed Giorgia Meloni President of the Council of Ministers, i.e. head of the Italian executive. Since 2014, Meloni has also been president of the far-right, national-conservative party Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy).

Death of Silvio Berlusconi.