Though for many the Roman Empire may be the highlight of Italian history, the action started long before the spread of Roman rule. By 1800 BC many tribes speaking Italic languages inhabited the peninsula, including the Latins, but it wasn’t until the 7th century BC that the Etruscans emerged to dominate the entire central region. They continued to expand their growing empire until they clashed with Greek settlements in the south and were defeated in the 6th century BC. They did not disappear, however, and some even became rulers of Rome, around 250 years after its epic founding by Romulus in 753 BC. But the rising power of the Latins in the area soon finished off Etruscan power, and the Latins took over control of the city, establishing a republic and slowly moving out into the surrounding areas.

The government, consisting of separate political and military consuls aided by a Senate, persisted despite not quite living up to ideals of a true republic. Roman power and influence expanded although it took the Romans many years to catch up to the advances made by both the Greeks and the Etruscans; eventually they just adopted the Greek pantheon as the established religion. Newly acquired city-states were allowed to maintain their governments and keep their lands, becoming allies who were required to provide troops in exchange for protection.

Trouble brewed in 264 BC as Rome and Carthage clashed over who would control the island of Sicily. Between the First and Second Punic Wars, Rome was also busy eyeing Greek territory, taking over from the Gauls in France and conquering the rest of the Italian peninsula. Despite the best efforts of Hannibal during the Second Punic War (218-202 BC), Rome eventually won and even managed to gain control of Spain in the process. By 146 BC Greece had fallen to Rome, and soon much of North Africa joined in the now massive Roman Empire.

But the problems of maintaining an empire that large soon emerged. Attacks from Germanic tribes on the empire’s northern border aggravated political troubles taking place at home, and in 82 BC the republic was replaced by a series of military dictators, with Pompey the Great and Julius Caesar among them. Completing the conquest of Gaul in 58-51 BC was not enough to appease Caesar’s enemies (and friends), who took the title “Dictator for Life” seriously and assassinated him in 44 BC.

A civil war ensued over who would fill the power vacuum. Mark Antony fought to avenge Caesar’s death, but the lure of Cleopatra proved a distraction, allowing Octavian the victory. Octavian, later renamed Augustus (Your Eminence), did not want to follow in Caesar’s footsteps, and so proceeded with caution, sharing power with the Senate but for all intents and purposes ruling the empire himself. Political strife took a back seat and Romans responded with a flowering of the arts. Things stayed calm even after Augustus’ 40 year reign until the emperor Nero (ruler 54-68 AD), whose Greek obsession lead to his impeachment by the Senate. But this was no real crisis, and the empire continued to coast through a long period of peace and prosperity.

By the 3rd century AD attacks on the empire were frequent and neighboring nations were growing in size and military strength. During his reign Constantine I (324-337) granted religious tolerance to the growing Christian communities and founded Constantinople to exert more control over the eastern empire. But his attempts to maintain strength failed, and his successors formed the Eastern and Western Roman Empires. The Western Empire fell in 476 after repeated attacks from Germanic tribes from the north. The Eastern Empire tried to win back the lost Roman territories in the following centuries, but by then the papacy had gained considerable political power in the west.

The arrival of the Lombards, a tribe from northern Italy, worried the papacy, and eventually political trouble allowed the Lombards temporary victory in Rome. To get rid of the invaders, Pope Stephen II empowered the Franks to invade Italy, which they did gladly. After ousting the Lombards, in 800 the Frank Charlemagne started his Holy Roman Empire, with the support of a church now completely broken from its Byzantine neighbors in the Eastern Empire. The new empire stretched across much of Western Europe but proved difficult to keep together. Fighting inevitably broke out between the Holy Roman Emperor and the papacy, so that neither was able to hold things together and Italy dissolved into numerous city-states.

People in these newly created states soon began growing wealthy, not from birth or political privilege but from commerce and trade. Cities like Milan, Florence, Venice, Pisa and Genoa saw a merchant class develop who refused control by noble ruling families and the feudal labor system. Meanwhile, Normans invaded Sicily and the south, gaining control but quickly integrating themselves into the existing culture of the area. When a renewed interest in Classical culture and knowledge sparked the Renaissance in the 15th century, Italian states had developed highly localized cultures, each fighting for prominence in the northern peninsula.

After the Reformation shook the foundations of the Church, the repressive Counter Reformation seemed to wipe away the social advancements of the Renaissance. During Napoleon’s reign at the turn of the 19th century, the independent states of Italy fell under French rule. After Napoleon’s defeat, people gained hope of an independent and united Italian nation. When this did not materialize, organized protests joined the revolts of 1848 taking place throughout Europe. Independence finally arrived after the Franco-Austrian War from 1859-61, when the south and northern Lombardy were won back; the remaining Italian regions joined in the years that followed. 

World War I did little to ease the troubles of a newly formed nation, paving the way for the aggressive nationalist philosophies of fascism. After World War II a new commitment to democracy was sealed with the constitution of 1948.

The second half of the 20th century saw exciting and sometimes frightening developments as the country began to modernize. Politics remain scandalous, which seems to be what the Italians expect from the combination of their salacious history and their still relatively recent unification. But through it all the beauty and the lust for life that the world associates with Italy have survived and today shine through brighter than ever before.

 It was only recently that the many regions of Italy joined to form one nation, a fact that is still very visible in the differing traditions found around the country, from the horse races and medieval flag tossing ceremonies of Il Palio festival in Siena to the raucous breaking of social norms taking place behind stone-faced masks during Carnevale in Venice.

Catholicism, though not as powerful a spiritual force as it once was, continues to influence the country socially and culturally, as the many traditions and rituals of the church are practiced.

Though Italy has many amazing cities, lately a movement has begun of city folks taking up residence in the country, revealing nostalgia for an older and slower-paced way of life. That such idyllic locales exist side by side with the flash and style associated with Italy is a testament to the country's reverence of its past and willingness to preserve it for many future generations.

 Though rolling and beautifully cultivated hills are the classic image of the Italian landscape, they make up only a small part of the country. The long boot-shaped peninsula stretches out from southern Europe into four separate seas: the Adriatic in the northeast, the Ionian in the southeast, the Ligurian in the northwest and the Tyrrhenian in the southwest. The islands of Sardinia and Sicily are also a part of Italy. All that water creates 800 km of dazzling coastline and the resources to become one of the world’s great maritime powers. 

Leaving the beach behind, you’ll discover that three quarters of Italy is mountainous, with the Alps running east to west across its northern border and the Apennines and their six active volcanoes trailing from north to south. Winter weather is of course quite cold in the Alps, but Italy’s southern location means that even northern cities like Venice really heat up in summertime. Depending on your interests, any time is a good time to visit.

 Art going as far back as Roman times can be found in Italy, and offers insight into the daily lives of the country’s ancient civilizations. But Italian art really came into its own in the 15th century when it left religious work behind and embraced secular culture during the Renaissance. To be really specific, the Renaissance began in Florence, and it began with one man: Brunelleschi. He and the many geniuses that followed him surpassed the artistic advances of Roman society by developing techniques that allowed them to build unheard of architectural marvels as well as transform art through the use of perspective.

The money pouring into Italian ports allowed rich merchant and banking families to commission art from the masters—da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael. Today, we enjoy the fruits of their labors. While massive stone palazzos offer up room after room of breathtaking and visionary painting and sculpture, you don’t need to visit a museum to feel the power those Renaissance wiz kids still hold in Italy. Cities like Florence smother you in the decadence of a movement centered on the art of being human, and all of the melodrama and sensuality that comes with feeling truly alive.

But the Renaissance artists in no way ignored the religion that continued to shape their lives—beyond Michelangelo’s ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, Brunelleschi’s massive dome that tops Florence’s main cathedral is stunning not only in its beauty but in the genius of its design and construction at a time when the rest of Europe was still emerging from the Middle Ages.

Everyone knows Italian food, and there are few who don’t love it. But a trip to Italy will teach you that there is far more variety in Italian cuisine than you ever knew, and that you love it far more than you would ever have thought possible. From a creamy risotto in northern Italy to spicy shrimp pasta in the south, the common denominator of Italian food is that it is local. You can easily travel from knee to toe without eating anything that was mass produced or that has traveled more than a few miles to make it to your plate. And it is food that is meant to be savored. Luckily, Italian snacks are as carefully crafted as a three-course meal, from a feather-light wedge of focaccia bread adorned with olives to a cup of artisinal pistachio gelato.

A meal in Italy, even a quick and casual one, would not be complete without wine. The wide range available means that your wine, too, probably did not travel far before landing in your glass. A mind boggling array is out there just waiting to be discovered. Once the meal is over, many head out for a quick espresso. But if you need something a little stronger, Italy has the answer. In the north, grappa, a spirit made from grapes, is sure to warm you up on the coldest winter night. In the south it’s limoncello, a super citrusy liqueur served ice cold.

 * Both in cities and the country, it is polite when entering small shops or restaurants to greet the proprietor with hello and to thank them on your way out.

* Cappuccino is a breakfast drink. Although Italians are kind in honoring the request of visitors, they consider it strange (and often downright unhealthy) to drink coffee with milk anytime after noon.

* Italians often dress up slightly when dining out.

* Many establishments still close in the afternoon for a traditional siesta. That means that shops and smaller attractions may be closed for a few hours. It also means that dinner is often served later that you may be used to.

* In the summer, cities can get hot and crowded. It is a good idea to carry water with you, and don’t feel bad about how many gelato breaks you take in a day.

 * Insight Guides: Italy.

* Italy in Mind: An Anthology, edited by Alice Leccese Powers. The thoughts of visitors to Italy from across the centuries, from Lord Bryon to Mark Twain and beyond.

* Made in Italy: A Shopper’s Guide to the Best of Italian Tradition, by Laura Morelli, published by Universe.

* Culinaria: Italy, edited by Claudia Piras and Eugenio Medagliani.

* A Concise History of Italy by Christopher Duggan, published by Cambridge University Press. 

* Daily Life in Ancient Rome by Florence Dupont, translated by Christopher Woodall.

* Renaissance Florence: The Invention of a New Art by Richard A. Turner (2003).