The Kingdom of Italy (Regnum Italiae or Regnum Italicum) was a creation of the Lombards who invaded the Italian peninsula, following the destruction of the Ostrogothic Kingdom, in 568. The Lombards ( Latin Langobardi, whence the alternative names Langobards and Longobards) were a Germanic people originally from Th Italian Peninsula or Apennine Peninsula (Penisola italiana or Penisola appenninica) is one of the three Peninsulas of Southern Europe The Ostrogothic Kingdom established by the Ostrogoths in Italy and neighbouring areas lasted from 493 to 553. The Lombard kingdom proved to be more stable than its Ostrogothic predecessor, but in 774, on the pretext of defending the Papacy, the Franks, led by Charlemagne, conquered the Lombard kingdom. History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and The Franks or Frankish people (Franci or gens Francorum) were West Germanic tribes first identified in the 3rd century as an Ethnic group Charlemagne (ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus meaning Charles the Great) (747 – 28 January 814 was King of the Franks from 768 to his They kept the Italo-Lombard realm separate from their own, but the kingdom shared in all the partitions, divisions, civil wars, and succession crises of the Carolingian Empire of which it became a part until, by the end of the ninth century, the Italian kingdom was an independent, but highly decentralised, state. Carolingian Empire is a historiographical term sometimes used to refer to the realm of the Franks under the Carolingian dynasty. In 951 the Italian throne was claimed by Otto the Great, already King of Germany. Otto I the Great ( 23 November 912 &ndash 7 May 973) son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke This article lists the German monarchs, ruling over the territory of Germany from the creation of a separate Eastern Frankish Kingdom in 843 until the end of monarchy The two thrones together under one crown formed a basis for the Holy Roman Empire. The Holy Roman Empire ( HRE; German Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI was a union of territories in Central government in Italy disappeared rapidly in the High Middle Ages, but the idea of the kingdom carried on. The High Middle Ages was the period of European history in the 11th 12th and 13th centuries (AD 1000&ndash1299 By the Renaissance it was little more than a legal fiction and the Peace of Westphalia (1648) did away with most of it even in law, but it may have lasted as a titulature until the dissolution of the Empire in 1806, by which time Napoleon Bonaparte had established his own Regno d'Italia with no regard for the medieval ghost. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere The term Peace of Westphalia refers to the two peace treaties of Osnabrück and Münster, signed on May 15 and October 24 of Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. The Kingdom of Italy ( Italian: Regno d'Italia, but also Regno Italico; 17 March 1805 – 11 April
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Lombard kingdom, 568–774
Constituent of the Carolingian Empire, 774–962
The death of the Emperor Lothar in 855 led to his realm of Middle Francia being split among his three sons. The Kingdom of the Lombards or Lombard Kingdom of Italy was an early medieval state on the Italian Peninsula. Lothair I ( German: Lothar, French: Lothaire, Italian: Lotario) (795 &ndash 29 September 855) Events By Place Europe Louis II succeeds Lothar as Western Emperor The eldest, Louis II, inherited the Carolingian lands in Italy, which were now for the first time (save the brief rule of Charlemagne's son Pepin in the first decade of the century), ruled as a distinct unit. Louis II the Younger (825 &ndash 12 August 875) was the King of Italy from 844 and then Emperor from 855 until his death Charlemagne (ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus meaning Charles the Great) (747 – 28 January 814 was King of the Franks from 768 to his Pepin (April 773 &ndash 8 July 810) was the son of Charlemagne and King of Italy (781-810 under the authority of his father The kingdom included all of Italy as far south as Rome and Spoleto, but the rest of Italy to the south was under the rule of the Lombard Principality of Benevento or of the Byzantine Empire. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 For the festival in South Carolina see Spoleto Festival USA. Spoleto ( Latin Spoletium) is an ancient city in the The Lombards ( Latin Langobardi, whence the alternative names Langobards and Longobards) were a Germanic people originally from The Duchy and later Principality of Benevento was the southernmost Lombard duchy in medieval Italy centred on Benevento, a city central in the Mezzogiorno
Following Louis II's death without heirs, there were several decades of confusion. The Imperial crown was initially disputed among the Carolingian rulers of Western Francia (France) and Eastern Francia (Germany), with first the western king (Charles the Bald) and then the eastern (Charles the Fat) attaining the prize. The Holy Roman Empire ( HRE; German Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI was a union of territories in West Francia or the West Frankish Kingdom was a short-lived kingdom encompassing the lands of the western part of the Carolingian Empire that came under the undisputed This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. East ( ern) Francia ( Regnum Francorum orientalium) known variously as Francia Orientalis or the Kingdom of the East Franks, was the Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Charles the Bald ( 13 June 823 – 6 October 877) Holy Roman Emperor (875–877 as Charles II) and King of West Francia Charles the Fat (Carolus Pinguis 13 June 839 – 13 January 888) was the King of Alemannia from 876 King of Italy from Following the deposition of the latter, local nobles — Guy of Spoleto and Berengar of Friuli — disputed over the crown, and outside intervention did not cease, with Arnulf of Eastern Francia and Louis the Blind of Provence both claiming the Imperial throne for a time. Guy of Spoleto (died 12 December 894) sometimes known by the Italian version of his name Guido, or by the German version Wido, was the Arnulf of Carinthia (Arnulf von Kärnten Arnulf Koroški 850 &ndash December 8 899) was the Carolingian King of East Francia from 887 Louis the Blind (c 880 &ndash 28 June 928) was the King of Provence from 887 King of Italy from 900 and briefly Holy Roman Emperor Provence ( Provençal Occitan: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm is a region of southeastern France The kingdom was also beset by Arab raiding parties from Sicily and North Africa, and central authority was minimal at best. Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan
In the 10th century the situation hardly improved, as various Burgundian and local noblemen continued to dispute over the crown. Order was only imposed from outside, when the German king Otto I invaded Italy and seized both the Imperial and Italian thrones for himself in 962. Otto I the Great ( 23 November 912 &ndash 7 May 973) son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke Events By Place Europe February 2 — Pope John XII crowns Otto I the Great Holy Roman Emperor.
Constituent of the Holy Roman Empire, 962–c. 1500
After 962, the Kings of Italy were always also Kings of Germany, and Italy thus became a constituent kingdom of the Holy Roman Empire, along with Germany and (after 1032) Burgundy. Events By Place Europe February 2 — Pope John XII crowns Otto I the Great Holy Roman Emperor. The Holy Roman Empire ( HRE; German Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI was a union of territories in Burgundy is a region of Western Europe which has existed as a political entity in a number of forms with very different boundaries The German king would be crowned by the Archbishop of Milan with the Iron Crown of Lombardy in Pavia as a prelude to the visit to Rome to be crowned Emperor by the Pope. The Iron Crown of Lombardy ( Corona Ferrea) is both a reliquary and one of the most ancient royal insignia of Europe Pavia (pronounced Pavìa,) the ancient Ticinum, is a town and Comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and
In general, the fact that the monarch was generally an absentee, spending most of his time in Germany, left the Kingdom of Italy with little central authority. There was also a lack of powerful landed magnates — the only notable one being the Margraviate of Tuscany, which had wide lands in Tuscany, Lombardy, and the Emilia, but which failed due to lack of heirs after the death of Matilda of Canossa in 1115. The March (or margraviate) of Tuscany or Tuscia was a frontier march in Central Italy, bordering the Papal States to the Tuscany (Toscana is a region in Italy. It has an area of 22990 km² and a population of about 3 Lombardy (Lombardia Latin: Langobardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardìa, Eastern Lombard: Lombardia) is one of the Matilda of Canossa ( Italian: Matilde, Latin: Mathilde; 1046 &ndash 24 July 1115) called la Gran Contessa This left a power vacuum which was increasingly filled by the Pope and the increasingly wealthy cities, which gradually came to dominate the surrounding countryside.
The increasing power of the cities was first demonstrated during the reign of the Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (1152–90), whose attempts to restore imperial authority in the peninsula led to a series of wars with the Lombard League, a league of northern Italian cities, and ultimate to a decisive victory for the Lombard League at the Battle of Legnano in 1176, which forced Frederick to recognize the autonomy of the Italian cities. Frederick I Barbarossa (1122 &ndash 10 June 1190) was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned The Lombard League was an alliance formed around 1167, which at its apex included most of the cities of Northern Italy (although its membership changed in The Battle of Legnano was fought on May 29 1176 between the forces of the Holy Roman Empire, led by emperor Frederick Barbarossa, and the
Frederick's son Henry VI actually managed to extend Hohenstaufen authority in Italy by his conquest of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, which comprised Sicily and all of Southern Italy. Henry VI (November 1165 – 28 September 1197) was King of Germany from 1190 to 1197 Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 to 1197 and King The Kingdom of Sicily (Regnum Siciliae or Sicilie Regno di Sicilia, commonly abbreviated Regno) was a state that existed in the south of Italy Henry's son, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, the first emperor since the 9th century to actually base himself in Italy, attempted to return to his father's task of restoring imperial authority in the northern Italian Kingdom, which led to fierce opposition not only from a reformed Lombard League, but also from the Popes, who were increasingly jealous of their temporal realm in central Italy (theoretically a part of the Empire), and concerned about the universal ambitions of the Hohenstaufen emperors. Frederick II ( December 26, 1194 &ndash December 13, 1250) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was a Pretender to the title The 9th century is the period from 801 to 900 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era.
Frederick II's efforts to bring all of Italy under his control were as unavailing as those of his grandfather, and his death in 1250 marked the effective end of the Kingdom of Italy as a genuine political unit. There continued to be conflict between Ghibellines (Imperial supporters) and Guelfs (Papal supporters) in the Italian cities, but these conflicts bore less and less relation to the origins of the parties in question. The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting respectively the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire in central and northern Italy See also Elder House of Welf The House of Welf (or House of Guelph) is a European Dynasty that has included many German and British
The Kingdom was not wholly meaningless, however. Successive emperors in the 14th and 15th centuries returned to Rome to be crowned, and none forgot their theoretical claims to dominion as Kings of Italy. Nor were the claims of the Emperors to universal dominion forgotten in Italy itself, where writers like Dante and Marsilius of Padua expressed their commitment both to the principal of universal monarchy, and to the actual pretensions of Emperors Henry VII and Louis IV, respectively. Marsilius of Padua ( Italian Marsilio or Marsiglio da Padova; c Henry VII ( Heinrich; c 1275 (or 1279 &ndash 24 August 1313) was the King of Germany (or Rex Romanorum) from 1308 and Louis IV ( 1 April[[ 282]] &ndash 11 October 1347) called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the Duke of Bavaria
The Imperial claims to dominion in Italy mostly manifested themselves, however, in the granting of titles to the various strong men who had begun to establish their control over the formerly republican cities. Most notably, the Emperors gave their backing to the Visconti of Milan, and King Wenceslaus created Gian Galeazzo Visconti Duke of Milan in 1395. Visconti was the family name of two important Italian noble dynasties of the Middle Ages. Milan (Milano Milan (listen) is one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. Wenceslaus (also Wenceslas, Wenzel Václav Venceslao February 26, 1361 – August 16 1419) called the Drunkard, was Gian Galeazzo Visconti (November 1351 – September 3, 1402) son of Galeazzo II Visconti and Bianca di Savoia, was the first Duke of Milan The following is a list of rulers of Milan from the 13th century to 1859 when Milan and the rest of Lombardy were incorporated into the Kingdom of Other families to receive new titles from the emperors included the Gonzaga of Mantua, and the Este of Ferrara and Modena. The Gonzaga family ruled Mantua in Northern Italy from 1328 to 1708. Mantua (Màntova in the local dialect of Lombard language Mantua is a city in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the "Este" redirects here For the city see Este Italy. For Tolkien's fictional character see Estë. Ferrara is a city in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. Modena (ˈmɔːdena Mòdna in Modenese dialect is a city and a Comune ( Municipality) on the south side of the Po valley, in the
Shadow kingdom, c. 1500–1806
By the beginning of the early modern period, the Kingdom of Italy still existed, but was a mere shadow. Its territory had been significantly limited — the conquests of the Republic of Venice, which considered itself independent of the Empire, in the Terrafirma had taken most of northeastern Italy outside the jurisdiction of the Empire, while the Popes claimed full sovereignty and independence in the Papal States in Central Italy. The Most Serene Republic of Venice ((Serenìsima Repùblica Vèneta or Repùblica de Venesia Serenissima Repubblica The Papal States, State(s of the Church or Pontifical States (in Italian Stato Ecclesiastico, Stato della Chiesa, Stati della Chiesa Nevertheless, the Emperor Charles V, owing more to his inheritance of Spain and Naples than to his position as Emperor, was able to establish his dominance in Italy to a greater extent than any Emperor since Frederick II. Charles V (24 February 1500 &ndash 21 September 1558 was He drove the French from Milan, prevented an attempt by the Italian princes, with French aid, to reassert their independence in the League of Cognac, sacked Rome and brought the Medici' pope Clement VII to submission, conquered Florence where he reinstalled the Medici' as Dukes of Florence (and later, Grand Dukes of Tuscany), and, upon the extinction of the Sforza line in Milan, claimed the territory as an imperial fief and installed his son Philip as the new Duke. The War of the League of Cognac (1526–30 was fought between the Habsburg dominions of Charles V —primarily Spain and the Holy Roman Empire Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 For the Antipope (1378&ndash1394 see Antipope Clement VII. Pope Clement VII ( May 26, 1478 &ndash September Roman origins Florence was founded in 59 BCE as a settlement for former soldiers and was named Florentia, allotted by Julius Caesar to his veterans in The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (Granducato di Toscana Magnus Ducatus Tusciae was a state in central Italy that existed from 1569 to 1859 replacing the Duchy of Florence Sforza was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. Philip II (Felipe II de España Filipe I ( May 21, 1527 &ndash September 13 1598) was King of Spain from 1556 until 1598
This new Imperial dominance, however, did not remain with the Empire, in which Charles was succeeded by his brother Ferdinand, but rather was transferred by Charles to his son, who became King of Spain. Ferdinand I Holy Roman Emperor ( Alcalá de Henares (near Madrid) Kingdom of Castile (now Spain) 10 March 1503 &ndash
Nevertheless, the Imperial claims to suzerainty remained, and were actually called forth in the early 17th century when the Duchy of Mantua fell vacant in 1627. As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar The Duchy of Mantua was a Duchy in Lombardy, Northern Italy, subject to the Holy Roman Empire. Emperor Ferdinand II used his rights as feudal overlord to prevent the heir, the French Duke of Nevers, from taking over the Duchy, leading to the War of the Mantuan Succession, a part of the much larger Thirty Years War. Ferdinand II Holy Roman Emperor ( July 9, 1578 &ndash February 15, 1637) of the House of Habsburg, reigned as Ferdinand II is a list of the counts of Nevers, who were the rulers of County of Nevers. The War of the Mantuan Succession ( 1628 - 1631) was a peripheral part of the Thirty Years' War. For the Mauritanian Thirty Years' War see Char Bouba war. For the band see The 30 Years War. In the early 18th century, during the War of the Spanish Succession, imperial claims to suzerainty were used again to seize Mantua in 1708, which was now attached by the Austrian Habsburgs to the newly conquered Duchy of Milan. The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system In the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714 several European powers combined to stop French succession to the Spanish throne and what would likely have been a resulting Suzerainty (ˈsjuːzərənti RP or /ˈsjuːzəreɪnti/ RP) (/ˈsuːzərənti/ GA) is a situation in which a Region or people is a Year 1708 ( MDCCVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich The Duchy of Milan was a state in northern Italy from 1394 to 1797
This was the last notable usage of Imperial power, as such, in Italy. The Austrians retained control of Milan, and intermittently, other territories (notably Tuscany after 1737), but the claims to feudal overlordship had become practically meaningless. Tuscany (Toscana is a region in Italy. It has an area of 22990 km² and a population of about 3 Year 1737 ( MDCCXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The imperial claims to Italy remained only in the secondary title of the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne to be "Arch-Chancellor of Italy". Bishops and Archbishops of Cologne Bishops of Colonia Agrippina, 88–784 All names before Maternus ('II' are to be approached with considerable During the French Revolutionary Wars, the Austrians were driven from Italy by Napoleon, who set up republics throughout northern Italy, and the imperial reorganization carried out in 1799–1803 left no room for Imperial claims to Italy — even the Archbishop of Cologne was gone, secularized along with the other ecclesiastical princes. The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts from 1792 until 1802 fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. Year 1799 ( MDCCXCIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a 1803 ( MDCCCIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The German Mediatisation was the series of mediatisations and secularisations that occurred in Germany in 1795 &ndash 1814, during In 1805, while the Empire was still in existence, Napoleon, by now Emperor Napoleon I, claimed the crown of Italy for himself, putting the Iron Crown on his head at Milan. Year 1805 ( MDCCCV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. The Iron Crown of Lombardy ( Corona Ferrea) is both a reliquary and one of the most ancient royal insignia of Europe Milan (Milano Milan (listen) is one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. The Empire itself was abolished the next year, ending the even theoretical existence of the Kingdom of Italy.
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