Excavations throughout Italy reveal a modern human presence dating back to the Paleolithic period, some 200,000 years ago In the 8th and 7th centuries BC Greek colonies were established all along the coast of Sicily and the southern part of the Italian Peninsula, leaving a lasting imprint in Italy and particularly on the culture of ancient Rome.

Ancient Rome was at first a small agricultural community founded circa the 8th century BC that grew over the course of the centuries into a colossal empire encompassing the whole Mediterranean Sea and as far north as Scotland, in which Ancient Greek and Roman cultures merged into one civilization, so influential that parts of it survive in modern law, administration, philosophy and arts, forming the ground that Western civilization is based upon.

Its decline began in the 2nd century AD, and the empire finally broke into two parts, the Western Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire in the East. In the 6th century AD a Germanic tribe, the Lombards, arrived from the north; hence the present-day northern region of Lombardy. The balance of power between them and other invaders such as the Byzantines, Arabs, and Muslim, with the Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy meant that it was not possible to unify Italy. In the south the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, a result of unification of the Kingdom of Sicily with the Kingdom of Naples in 1442, had its capital in Naples. In the north Italy was a collection of small independent city states and kingdoms and would remain so until the 19th century. This is how dynasties such as the Medici in Florence developed, these families became patrons of the arts, allowing Italy to become the birthplace of the Renaissance, with the emergence of men of genius such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.

The Renaissance was so called because it was a "rebirth" of many classical ideas that had long been buried in the chapters of classical Antiquity. The fuel for this rebirth was the rediscovery of ancient texts that had been almost 'forgotten' by Western civilization, but were preserved in some monastic libraries or private libraries of powerful and wealthy patrons, such as the Medici family in Florence. Translations of Greek and Arabic texts into Latin from the Islamic world that found their way into Italy and contributed to the Italian/European Renaissance.

Rome was also a city particularly affected by the Renaissance, this period of reform changed the city's face dramatically. Rome reached the highest point of splendour under Pope Julius II (1503?1513) and his successors Leo X and Clement VII, both members of the Medici family. In this twenty-years period Rome became one of the greatest centres of art in the world. The old St. Peter's Basilica built by Emperor Constantine the Great, was re-built mainly by Michelangelo, who in Rome became one the most famous painters of Italy.

After a century where the fragmented system of Italian states and principalities were able to maintain a relative independence and a balance of power in the peninsula, in 1494 the French king Charles VIII opened the first of a series of invasions, a competition between France and Spain for the possession of the country, ultimately Spain prevailed and for almost two centuries became the authority in Italy. Austria succeeded Spain as rulers in Italy in 1713, having acquired the State of Milan and the Kingdom of Naples. The northern part of Italy, under the direct control of Vienna, gained economic nd intellectual fervour.

The French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars of 1796?1815 stirred the ideas of equality, democracy, law and nation which many in Italy endorsed and even supported as the basis on which they could and eventually would build national unity in Italy.

The creation of the Kingdom of Italy was the result of efforts by Italian nationalists and monarchists loyal to the House of Savoy to establish a united kingdom encompassing the entire Italian Peninsula. In 1848 liberal revolutions swept through Europe, war was declared on Austria. The northern kingdom successfully challenged the Austrians and established Turin as capital of the newly formed state.

In 1870, as France abandoned its positions in Rome, Italy rushed to fill the power gap by taking over the Papal State from French sovereignty. Italian unification finally was achieved, and shortly afterwards Italy's capital was moved to Rome. The Kingdom of Italy lasted from 1861 to 1946.

A small National Fascist Party led by Benito Mussolini attempted a coup with its "March on Rome" in October 1922, which resulted in the King forming an alliance with Mussolini. A pact with Germany was concluded by Mussolini in 1936, and 1938. During the Second World War Italy was invaded by the Allies in June 1943, leading to the collapse of the fascist regime and the arrest, flight, eventual re-capture and death of Mussolini. In September 1943, Italy surrendered, however, fighting continued on its territory for the rest of the war, with the allies fighting those Italian fascists who did not surrender, as well as German forces. In 1946, King Umberto II, was forced to abdicate and Italy became a republic.

From the late 1960s till the late 1980s the country experienced an economic crisis, a fear both inside and outside Italy (particularly in the USA), that the Communist Party, which regularly polled over 20% of the vote, would one day form a government. From 1992 to the present day Italy has faced massive government debt and extensive corruption. There remain significant divisions in Italy, the northern part of the country is richer and more industrialized than the south. Inefficient bureaucracy, relatively low property rights and high levels of corruption, heavy taxes, and heavy public consumption, massive government debt, and organized crime known as the mafia.