Italy

There have been humans on the Italian peninsula for at least 200,000 years. The Etruscan civilization lasted from prehistory to the 2nd century BC. The Etruscans flourished in the centre and north of what is now Italy, particularly in areas now represented by northern Lazio, Umbria and Tuscany. Rome was dominated by the Etruscans until the Romans sacked the nearby Etruscan city of Veii in 396 BC. In the 8th and 7th centuries BC, Greek colonies were established in Sicily and the southern part of the Italy and the Etruscan culture rapidly became influenced by that of Greece. This is well illustrated at some excellent Etruscan museums; Etruscan burial sites are also well worth visiting. Ancient Rome was at first a small village founded around the 8th century BC. In time, it grew into one of the most powerful empires the world has ever seen, surrounding the whole Mediterranean, extending from north Africa to as far north as the southern part of Scotland. The Roman Empire greatly influenced Western civilisation. Its steady decline began in the 2nd century AD, with the military and economical Crisis of the Third Century hitting particularly hard, bringing leaders who mostly relied on the military, and were often deposed after just a few years of rule. The empire finally broke into two parts in 395 AD: the Western Roman Empire with its capital in Rome, and the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantine Empire with its capital in Constantinople....