History of Italy

Italy sits at the centre of Western history in a way few countries can match. The Roman Empire shaped law, language, and architecture across Europe for two thousand years. Pompeii froze a Roman city in volcanic ash in 79 AD and preserved it for us to walk through today. The Renaissance: concentrated in Florence, Rome, and Venice between the 14th and 17th centuries: produced Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Medieval hill towns like Siena, Assisi, and Orvieto have changed little since the 13th century.

For travellers, Italy's history is not a museum piece: it is the fabric of daily life. You eat gelato beside a Roman aqueduct. You drink coffee in a café built into a Renaissance palazzo. We have written detailed guides to the historical sites, periods, and stories that make Italy worth understanding as well as visiting.