The reason they say all roads lead to Rome is they do (Map of Roman Roads above). Before the Romans, much of today’s Italy was ruled by the Etruscans. DNA research shows the Etruscans were genetically like the Romans and were local to Italy. The early gene pool changed over time as the Roman Empire expanded across the Mediterranean. Italia as the Romans called it, was home to Rome.
Julius Caesar rose to power in 60 BC. At the age of 40, he was elected to consul, the highest position in the Roman Republic . He, along with Pompey and Crassus ruled Rome. Julius Caesar had declared himself a dictator of the Roman Empire in 44BC, a position that lasted less than a year. After his assassination in 44 BC, Augustus Caesar, Caesar's great nephew, restored the republic of Rome. Rome became the Roman Empire again in 27 BC under Caesar Augustus. The Roman Empire ruled Italy from 27 BC until the fall of Rome in 476 AD.
After the fall of Rome, Italy was a fragmented country of city-states. Italy was ruled by the Byzantine Empire until 1453 AD. During the middle ages the city-states continued to rule but in turmoil. Major states were Venice, Milan and Florence in the north, the Papal States or states of the church in the center, and the kingdom of Naples in the south. Italy was constantly at war with itself. The French, Spanish and Austrian monarchs battled over Italy. March 17, 1805, Napoleon created and called an area in Northern Italy the Kingdom of Italy.
Italy’s history is much more tumultuous and complex then we can cover in this short article. Ironically the Romans overthrew the Etruscans in 509BC and established Rome as a republic. Rome was the first state to use the term. After World War II, Italy abolished the monarchy in 1946. Italy had its first public elections in 1948 voting in its first parliment and was a republic again. One of the photos above was taken in Rome in celebration of the 75th anniversary of Repubblica Day in 2023.
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