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84-588: Modern Egyptian postal service began when Carlo Meratti, an Italian , living in Alexandria , established a post office to send and receive mail to and from foreign countries as early as 1821. Meratti took the responsibility of sending and distributing the letters for a price. He transferred his activity to Cairo and Alexandria through his office in Saint Catherine Square (formerly Qansal Square). After Meratti's departure his nephew, Tito Chini (who agreed with

168-694: A worldwide famous cuisine . Due to comparatively late national unification, and the historical autonomy of the regions that comprise the Italian peninsula, many traditions and customs of the Italians can be identified by their regions of origin. Despite the political and social isolation of these regions, Italy's contributions to the cultural and historical heritage of the Western world remain immense. Famous elements of Italian culture are its opera and music, its iconic gastronomy and food, which are commonly regarded as amongst

252-566: A Napoleonic sister republic of Revolutionary France , took place, on the basis of the events following the French Revolution (1789–1799) which, among its ideals, advocated the national self-determination . This event is celebrated by the Tricolour Day . The Italian national colours appeared for the first time on a tricolour cockade in 1789, anticipating by seven years the first green, white and red Italian military war flag , which

336-449: A decree was issued for all post offices providing all employees with two uniforms : one for work and the other for ceremonies. The decree was amended to specify the model and type of the uniform. In 1919, Law No. 7 was passed for the Ministry of Transportation appropriate the railways, telegraph , telephones, postal authority, ports, and road and air transportation. Comprehensive Law No. 9

420-954: A half million are in Switzerland , as well as in France , the entire population of San Marino . In addition, there are also clusters of Italian speakers in the former Yugoslavia , primarily in Istria , located between in modern Croatia and Slovenia (see: Istrian Italians ), and Dalmatia , located in present-day Croatia and Montenegro (see: Dalmatian Italians ). Due to the wide-ranging diaspora following Italian unification in 1861, World War I and World War II , (with over 5 million Italian citizens that live outside of Italy) over 80 million people abroad claim full or partial Italian ancestry. This includes about 60% of Argentina 's population ( Italian Argentines ), 1/3 of Uruguayans ( Italian Uruguayans ), 15% of Brazilians ( Italian Brazilians ,

504-675: A key role in ushering the Age of Discovery and the European colonization of the Americas. The most notable among them were: Christopher Columbus (Italian: Cristoforo Colombo [kriˈstɔːforo koˈlombo] ), colonist in the name of Spain, who is credited with discovering the New World and the opening of the Americas for conquest and settlement by Europeans; John Cabot (Italian: Giovanni Caboto [dʒoˈvanni kaˈbɔːto] ), sailing for England, who

588-571: A lesser extent in the Middle East ( Italians in the United Arab Emirates ). Italians have influenced and contributed to fields like arts and music , science , technology , fashion , cinema , cuisine , restaurants , sports , jurisprudence , banking and business . Furthermore, Italian people are generally known for their attachment to their locale, expressed in the form of either regionalism or municipalism . Hypotheses for

672-633: A ministerial decree ( Spanish : orden ministerial ) is a regulation issued by any of the government ministries. In the legal hierarchy, it sits below a Real Decreto del Presidente del Gobierno (Royal Decree of the Prime Minister ) and a Real Decreto del Consejo de Ministros (Royal Decree of the Council of Ministers ). Ministerial decrees are produced not only by ministers in affairs relating to their own departments, but also by delegate commissions formed to deal with matters that affect several ministries. In

756-739: A ministerial order ( French : arrêté ministériel ) is a decision made by a Minister of the Crown , that does not necessitate the approval of the Cabinet, or the Lieutenant Governor in Council/ Governor General of Canada . The operations surrounding ministerial orders differs between the federal government and the governments of the provinces of Canada . For instance, in Alberta , ministerial orders are not automatically made public. In Spain ,

840-781: A result of invasions by another Germanic tribe, the Lombards . Much of the peninsula was now politically dominated by the Kingdom of the Lombards ; however, remnants of Byzantine control remained, especially in Southern Italy , where the Byzantine Empire retained control into the 11th century until the Norman conquest of Southern Italy . In addition to the Normans , Arabs conquered parts of Southern Italy in

924-733: Is Marco Polo , explorer of the 13th century, who recorded his 24 years-long travels in the Book of the Marvels of the World , introducing Europeans to Central Asia and China. The country boasts several world-famous cities. Rome was the ancient capital of the Roman Empire, seat of the Pope of the Catholic Church, capital of reunified Italy and artistic, cultural and cinematographic centre of world relevance. Florence

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1008-411: Is a decree by a ministry . With a ministerial decree the administrative department is delegated the task to impose a formal judgement or mandate. Ministerial decrees are usually imposed under the authority of the department's chief minister, secretary or administrator. In Belgium , a ministerial decree ( Dutch : ministerieel besluit , French : arrêté ministériel ) is a decision of a minister of

1092-538: Is considered the "father of the Italian flag". After the Battle of Waterloo , the reaction set in with the Congress of Vienna allowed the restoration of many of the old rulers and systems under Austrian domination. The concept of nationalism continued strong, however, and sporadic outbreaks led by such inveterate reformers as Giuseppe Mazzini occurred in several parts of the peninsula down to 1848–49. In this context, in 1847,

1176-620: The Baroque , Neoclassicism , the Risorgimento , Fascism , and European integration . Italy also became a seat of great formal learning in 1088 with the establishment of the University of Bologna , the oldest university in continuous operation , and the first university in the sense of a higher-learning and degree-awarding institute, as the word universitas was coined at its foundation. Many other Italian universities soon followed. For example,

1260-958: The Etruscans , the Rhaetians , the Ligurians , the Adriatic Veneti , and the Italic peoples , including the Latins , from which the Romans emerged and helped create and evolve the modern Italian identity. Foreign influences include the ancient Greeks in Magna Graecia , and the Phoenicians , who had a presence in Sicily and Sardinia , the Celts , who settled in parts of the north,

1344-559: The Germanics and the Slavs. Legally, Italian nationals are citizens of Italy , regardless of ancestry or nation of residence (in effect, however, Italian nationality is largely based on jus sanguinis ) and may be distinguished from ethnic Italians in general or from people of Italian descent without Italian citizenship and ethnic Italians living in territories adjacent to the Italian peninsula without Italian citizenship. The Latin equivalent of

1428-470: The Kingdom of Sicily . From the 11th century on, Italian cities began to grow rapidly in independence and importance. They became centres of political life, banking , and foreign trade. Some became wealthy, and many, including Florence , Rome , Genoa , Milan , Pisa , Siena and Venice , grew into nearly independent city-states and maritime republics . Each had its own foreign policy and political life. They all resisted, with varying degrees of success,

1512-447: The Nation through emblems , metaphors , personifications , allegories , which are shared by the entire Italian people. Some of them are official, i.e. they are recognized by the Italian state authorities, while others are part of the identity of the country without being defined by law. Traditions of Italy are sets of traditions , beliefs , values , and customs that belongs within

1596-673: The Ostrogoths . Theodoric and Odoacer ruled jointly until 493, when Theodoric murdered Odoacer. Theodoric continued to rule Italy with an army of Ostrogoths and a government that was mostly Italian. After the death of Theodoric in 526, the kingdom began to grow weak. By 553, emperor Justinian I expelled the Ostrogoths, and Italy was included into the Byzantine Empire under the Justinian dynasty . Byzantine rule in much of Italy collapsed by 572 as

1680-518: The Papal States in central Italy. The Lombards remained a threat to papal power, however, until they were crushed by Charlemagne in 774. Charlemagne added the Kingdom of the Lombards to his vast realm. In recognition of Charlemagne's power, and to cement the church's alliance with him, Charlemagne was crowned emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III in 800. After Charlemagne's death in 814, his son Louis

1764-573: The Praetorian prefecture of Italy ( praefectura praetoria Italiae ), and was subdivided into two dioceses. Diocesis Italia annonaria (Italy of the annona , governed from Milan) and Diocesis Italia Suburbicaria (Italy "under the government of the urbs ", i.e. governed from Rome). Christianity became the Roman state religion in AD 380, under Emperor Theodosius I . The last Western emperor, Romulus Augustulus ,

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1848-683: The Schola Medica Salernitana , in southern Italy, was the first medical school in Europe. These great centres of learning presaged the Rinascimento : the European Renaissance began in Italy and was fueled throughout Europe by Italian painters, sculptors, architects, scientists, literature masters and music composers. Italy continued its leading cultural role through the Baroque period and into

1932-554: The Uffizi Gallery . The Catholic Church openly condemned the Mafia, and two churches were bombed and an anti-Mafia priest shot dead in Rome. Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino were named as heroes of the last 60 years in 13 November 2006 issue of Time . Italy is considered one of the birthplaces of Western civilization and a cultural superpower . Italian culture is the culture of

2016-818: The culture of Italian people. These traditions have influenced life in Italy for centuries, and are still practiced in modern times. Italian traditions are directly connected to Italy's ancestors, which says even more about Italian history . Folklore of Italy refers to the folklore and urban legends of Italy . Within the Italian territory, various peoples have followed one another over time, each of which has left its mark on current culture. Some tales also come from Christianization , especially those concerning demons , which are sometimes recognized by Christian demonology . Italian folklore also includes Italian folk dance , Italian folk music and folk heroes . Ministerial decree A ministerial decree or ministerial order

2100-564: The federal government . The Belgian Constitution stipulates that the King of Belgium , in practice the federal government as a whole, is responsible for the execution of laws adopted by the federal parliament. This is done by royal order . For more detailed measures, the minister responsible can act alone by ministerial order. Ministerial orders must be published in the Belgian Official Journal before they can enter into force. In Canada,

2184-689: The four great powers after the victory of the Allies . In the decades following unification, Italy began creating colonies in Africa , and under Benito Mussolini 's fascist regime conquered Ethiopia , founding the Italian Empire in 1936. The population of Italy grew to 45 million in 1940 and the economy, which had been based upon agriculture until that time, started its industrial development, mainly in northern Italy. World War II soon severely damaged Italy and destroyed its colonial power. Between 1945 and 1948,

2268-535: The term Italian had been in use for natives of the geographical region since antiquity. The majority of Italian nationals are native speakers of the country's official language, Italian, a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin , or a variety thereof, that is regional Italian . However, many of them also speak a regional or minority language native to Italy,

2352-847: The " Maxi Trial ", and of the new anti-mafia measures launched by the government. In 1992, two major dynamite attacks killed the judges Giovanni Falcone (23 May in the Capaci bombing ) and Paolo Borsellino (19 July in the Via D'Amelio bombing ). One year later (May–July 1993), tourist spots were attacked, such as the Via dei Georgofili in Florence, Via Palestro in Milan, and the Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano and Via San Teodoro in Rome, leaving 10 dead and 93 injured and causing severe damage to cultural heritage such as

2436-527: The 14th century, and led to an unparalleled flourishing of the arts, literature, music, and science. However, the city-states were often troubled by violent disagreements among their citizens. The most famous division was between the Guelphs and Ghibellines . The Guelphs supported supreme rule by the pope, and the Ghibellines favoured the emperor. City-states often took sides and waged war against each other. During

2520-532: The 9th century, establishing an Emirate of Sicily that lasted until it was also eventually overtaken by the Normans in the 11th century. The subsequent interaction between Latin, Byzantine, Arab, and Norman cultures resulted in the formation of a Norman-Arab-Byzantine culture in Southern Italy. During the 5th and 6th centuries, the popes increased their influence in both religious and political matters in Italy. It

2604-701: The Egyptian Post Authority, and in 1970 Law No. 16 was passed regulating the Egyptian post. 1982 saw the issuance of Law No. 19 establishing the National Post Authority, replacing the General Post Authority and attaching it to the Ministry of Transportation. Ministerial Decree No. 70, in 1982, was a special regulation concerning Post Authority's personnel; Decree No. 55 that same year regulated

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2688-764: The Elder 's Origines , the first work of history composed in Latin , described Italy as the entire peninsula south of the Alps . According to Cato and several Roman authors, the Alps formed the "walls of Italy". In 264 BC, Roman Italy extended from the Arno and Rubicon rivers of the centre-north to the entire south. The northern area of Cisalpine Gaul was occupied by Rome in the 220s BC and became considered geographically and de facto part of Italy, but remained politically and de jure separated. It

2772-416: The European kings who opposed France. After the French king was overthrown and France became a republic, secret clubs favouring an Italian republic were formed throughout Italy. The armies of the French Republic began to move across Europe. In 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte led a French army into northern Italy and drove out the Austrian rulers. Once again, Italy was the scene of battle between the Habsburgs and

2856-417: The French. Wherever France conquered, Italian republics were set up, with constitutions and legal reforms. Napoleon made himself emperor in 1804, and part of northern and central Italy was unified under the name of the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as king. The rest of northern and central Italy was annexed by France. Only Sicily, where the Bourbon king had taken refuge upon the French invasion of Naples, and

2940-421: The Italian economy which, until the late 1960s, enjoyed a period of sustained economic growth commonly called the " Economic Miracle ". In 1957, Italy was a founding member of the European Economic Community (EEC), which became the European Union (EU) in 1993. Italy faced several terror attacks between 1992 and 1993 perpetrated by the Sicilian Mafia as a consequence of several life sentences pronounced during

3024-423: The Italians and is incredibly diverse spanning the entirety of the Italian peninsula and the islands of Sardinia and Sicily . Italy has been the starting point of phenomena of international impact such as the Roman Republic , Roman Empire , the Roman Catholic Church , the Maritime republics , Romanesque art , Scholasticism , the Renaissance , the Age of Discovery , Mannerism , the Scientific revolution ,

3108-503: The Italians, is medieval and was used alternatively with Italicus during the early modern period . After the fall of the Western Roman Empire , which was caused by the invasion of the Ostrogoths , the Kingdom of Italy was created. After the Lombard invasions, "Italia" was retained as the name for their kingdom , and for its successor kingdom within the Holy Roman Empire , which nominally lasted until 1806, although it had de facto disintegrated due to factional politics pitting

3192-404: The Middle Ages to the early modern period, with its intricate canal system attracts tourists from all over the world especially during the Venetian Carnival and the Biennale . Naples , with the largest historic city centre in Europe and the oldest continuously active public opera house in the world ( Teatro di San Carlo ). Bologna is the main transport hub of the country, as well as the home of

3276-399: The Pious succeeded him. Louis divided the empire among his sons, and Frankish Italy became part of Middle Francia , extending as far south as Rome and Spoleto . This Kingdom of Italy became part of the Holy Roman Empire in the 10th century, while southern Italy was under the rule of the Lombard Principality of Benevento or of the Byzantine Empire , in the 12th century absorbed into

3360-400: The Renaissance, Italy became an even more attractive prize to foreign conquerors. After some city-states asked for outside help in settling disputes with their neighbours, King Charles VIII of France marched into Italy in 1494; he soon withdrew, showing that the Italian peninsula's delicate equilibrium could be taken advantage of. After the Italian Wars , Spain emerged as the dominant force in

3444-445: The Romantic period, when its dominance in painting and sculpture diminished but the Italians re-established a strong presence in music. Italian explorers and navigators in the 15th and 16th centuries left a perennial mark on human history with the modern "discovery of America", due to the Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus . In addition, the name of " America " derives from the geographer Amerigo Vespucci 's first name. Also noted

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3528-436: The Rulings Council Chief and the Ministers of Interior and Finance. On May 19, 1875 it joined the Ministry of Justice and Trade and the Ministry of Finance again on December 10, 1878. The regulations related to the organization of a post office was issued by the Ministry of Finance on December 21, 1865, stipulating that transferring mail and issuing post stamps was the exclusive job of the Egyptian government. In March 1876

3612-431: The Telephone Authority. In 1934 the 10th conference of the Universal Postal Union was held in Cairo, on the 70th anniversary of the Egyptian Post. After the July 1952 revolution a separate budget was allocated for the post, giving it the right to direct its surplus revenues toward improving and boosting the postal service. In 1957 Presidential Decree No. 710 was issued, establishing the Egyptian Post Authority to replace

3696-451: The United Kingdom a ministerial decree is known as a "ministerial order." Until 2013 there was only one example, the Competition and Service (Utilities) Act 1992 (Commencement No. 1) Order 1992. The order was made under powers contained in section 56(2) of the Competition and Service (Utilities) Act 1992 , which allowed the Secretary of State to provide for the commencement of the Act "by order". However, presumably due to an oversight in

3780-616: The associated Romanization , culminated in 88 BC, when, in the aftermath of the Social War , Rome granted its fellow Italian allies full rights in Roman society , extending Roman citizenship to all fellow Italic peoples . From its inception, Rome was a republican city-state, but four famous civil conflicts destroyed the Roman Republic : Lucius Cornelius Sulla against Gaius Marius and his son (88–82 BC), Julius Caesar against Pompey (49–45 BC), Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus against Mark Antony and Octavian (43 BC), and Mark Antony against Octavian . Octavian,

3864-537: The authority's finances. In 1999 the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology was established to supervise the National Post Authority, Egypt Telecom and the National Communications Institute. Italians Italians ( Italian : italiani , pronounced [itaˈljaːni] ) are an ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region . Italians share a common culture , history , ancestry and language . Their predecessors differ regionally, but generally include native populations such as

3948-405: The beginning of the 14th century. During the 14th and 15th centuries, some Italian city-states ranked among the most important powers of Europe. Venice, in particular, had become a major maritime power, and the city-states as a group acted as a conduit for goods from the Byzantine and Islamic empires. In this capacity, they provided great impetus to the developing Renaissance , began in Florence in

4032-485: The capital of the kingdom. Pope Pius IX , a longtime rival of Italian kings, stated he had been made a "prisoner" inside the Vatican walls and refused to cooperate with the royal administration. Only in 1929 did the Roman Pope accept the unified Italy with Rome as capital. World War I has been interpreted as completing the process of Italian unification, with the annexation of Trieste, Istria , Trentino-Alto Adige and Zara . After World War I, Italy emerged as one of

4116-420: The city was far from the troubled frontiers. The seats of the Caesars became Augusta Treverorum (on the River Rhine frontier) for Constantius Chlorus and Sirmium (on the River Danube frontier) for Galerius , who also resided at Thessaloniki . Under Diocletian, Italy became the Dioecesis Italiciana , subdivided into thirteen provinces, now including Raetia . Under Constantine the Great , Italy became

4200-422: The company established branches in Cairo, Atfe, and Rashid (Rosetta), followed by another two branches (in Damanhour and Kafr El Zayyat) in 1855. When the railway was extended from Kafr El Zayyat to Cairo (via Tanta , Benha and Birket el-Sab), the company exploited this opportunity and used the railways to carry the post between Cairo and Alexandria for a five-year contract beginning in January 1856. The contract

4284-412: The drafting process, the Act did not provide for such an order to be made by statutory instrument as defined by the Statutory Instruments Act 1946 . No other commencement orders have been made under the relevant powers, and until 2013 this remained the only "ministerial order" in existence. In 2013 the ministerial order became a more common type of legislation, as it was used 27 times that year, under

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4368-544: The efforts of noblemen, emperors, and larger foreign powers to control them. The emergence of identifiable Italian dialects from Vulgar Latin , and as such the possibility of a specifically "Italian" ethnic identity, has no clear-cut date, but began in roughly the 12th century. Modern standard Italian derives from the written vernacular of Tuscan writers of the 12th century. The recognition of Italian vernaculars as literary languages in their own right began with De vulgari eloquentia , an essay written by Dante Alighieri at

4452-444: The empire against the ascendant city republics in the 13th century. The Italian peninsula was divided into a multitude of tribal or ethnic territory prior to the Roman conquest of Italy in the 3rd century BC. After a series of wars between Greeks and Etruscans , the Latins , with Rome as their capital, gained the ascendancy by 272 BC, and completed the conquest of the Italian peninsula by 218 BC. This period of unification

4536-412: The etymology of the Latin name "Italia" are numerous. One is that it was borrowed via Greek from the Oscan Víteliú 'land of calves' ( cf. Lat vitulus "calf", Umb vitlo "calf"). Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus , mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides . According to Antiochus of Syracuse ,

4620-460: The existence of which predates the national language. Although there is disagreement on the total number, according to UNESCO , there are approximately 30 languages native to Italy , although many are often misleadingly referred to as "Italian dialects ". Since 2017, in addition to the approximately 55 million Italians in Italy (91% of the Italian national population), Italian-speaking autonomous groups are found in neighboring nations; about

4704-532: The expansion of the Roman Republic , the name was used by Greeks to indicate the land between the Strait of Messina and the line connecting the Gulf of Salerno and Gulf of Taranto , corresponding roughly to the current region of Calabria . The Greeks gradually came to apply the name "Italia" to a larger region In addition to the "Greek Italy" in the south, historians have suggested the existence of an "Etruscan Italy" covering variable areas of central Italy. The borders of Roman Italy are better established. Cato

4788-399: The final victor (31 BC), was accorded the title of Augustus by the Senate and thereby became the first Roman Emperor. Augustus created for the first time an administrative region called Italia with inhabitants called "Italicus populus", stretching from the Alps to Sicily : for this reason historians like Emilio Gentile called him Father of Italians . In the 1st century BC, Italia

4872-409: The first public performance of the song Il Canto degli Italiani , the Italian national anthem since 1946, took place. Il Canto degli Italiani , written by Goffredo Mameli set to music by Michele Novaro , is also known as the Inno di Mameli , after the author of the lyrics, or Fratelli d'Italia , from its opening line . The unification of Italy was brought to a successful conclusion under

4956-416: The guidance of Camillo Benso, conte di Cavour , prime minister of Piedmont. Cavour managed to unite most of Italy under the headship of Victor Emmanuel II of the house of Savoy, and on 17 March 1861, the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed with Victor Emmanuel II as king. Giuseppe Garibaldi , the popular republican hero of Italy, contributed much to this achievement with the Expedition of the Thousand and to

5040-402: The importance of the project) succeeded his uncle with a friend, Giacomo Muzzi. The two partners upgraded the project, naming it the Posta Europea . The post office began sending, receiving and delivering correspondence from the government and individuals, and the Posta Europea earned the public trust. At the inauguration of the first railway between Alexandria and Kafr el-Zayyat in 1845

5124-401: The island of Sardinia, which had been ceded to the Alpine House of Savoy in 1720 and had remained under their rule ever since, were not under French control. French domination lasted less than 20 years, and it differed from previous foreign control of the Italian peninsula. In spite of heavy taxation and frequent harshness, the French introduced representative assemblies and new laws that were

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5208-448: The largest Italian community outside Italy), more than 18 million Italian Americans , and people in other parts of Europe (e.g. Italians in Germany , Italians in France and Italians in the United Kingdom ), the American Continent (such as Italian Venezuelans , Italian Canadians , Italian Colombians and Italians in Paraguay , among others), Australasia ( Italian Australians and Italian New Zealanders ), and to

5292-448: The most popular in the world, its cinema (with filmmakers such as Federico Fellini , Michelangelo Antonioni , Mario Monicelli , Sergio Leone , etc.), its collections of priceless works of art and its fashion (Milan and Florence are regarded as some of the few fashion capitals of the world). National symbols of Italy are the symbols that uniquely identify Italy reflecting its history and culture . They are used to represent

5376-407: The outlines of a new Italy began to appear. Victor Emmanuel III gave up the throne on 9 May 1946, and his son, Umberto II , became king. On 2 June Italy held its first free election after 20 years of Fascist rule (the so-called Ventennio ). Italians chose a republic to replace the monarchy , which had been closely associated with Fascism . They elected a Constituent Assembly , which was formed by

5460-400: The post and on January 2, 1865, the private Posta Europea was transferred to the Egyptian government. This date is noted as Post Day. At its beginning, Egypt Post was affiliated with the Ministry of Occupations; it was then transferred to a succession of ministries, and in 1865 Egypt Post was attached to the Ministry of Finance . On September 28, 1876, Egypt Post was put under the purview of

5544-413: The previous postal authority. In 1959 the civil-services system (including local post offices and agencies) began, and in 1961 a secondary postal school was established by presidential decree. In 1965 the Institute of Postal Affairs was also established; in 1975, it joined the trade department at Helwan University . In 1966 a presidential decree was issued establishing the General Post Authority to replace

5628-440: The region. Venice, Milan, and other city-states retained at least some of their former greatness during this period, as did Savoy -Piedmont, protected by the Alps and well defended by its vigorous rulers. Italian explorers and navigators from the dominant maritime republics, eager to find an alternative route to the Indies in order to bypass the Ottoman Empire , offered their services to monarchs of Atlantic countries and played

5712-425: The representatives of all the anti-fascist forces that contributed to the defeat of Nazi and Fascist forces during the Italian Civil War , to prepare a new democratic constitution. The Assembly approved the new Italian constitution in 1947, which came into force on 1 January 1948. Under the Treaty of Peace with Italy, 1947 , Istria , Kvarner , most of the Julian March as well as the Dalmatian city of Zara

5796-424: The same for all parts of the country. For the first time since the days of ancient Rome, Italians of different regions used the same money and served in the same army. Many Italians began to see the possibility of a united Italy free of foreign control. During the Napoleonic era , in 1797, the first official adoption of the Italian tricolour as a national flag by a sovereign Italian state, the Cispadane Republic ,

5880-441: The service of France, renowned as the first European to explore the Atlantic coast of North America between Florida and New Brunswick in 1524. The French Revolution and Napoleon influenced Italy more deeply than they affected any other outside country of Europe. The French Revolution began in 1789 and immediately found supporters among the Italian people. The local Italian rulers, sensing danger in their own country, drew closer to

5964-462: The subsequent incorporation of the Papal States under the Italian monarch. Cavour handed Savoy and Nice over to France at the Treaty of Turin , a decision that was the consequence of the Plombières Agreement , on 24 March 1860, an event that caused the Niçard exodus , which was the emigration of a quarter of the Niçard Italians to Italy, and the Niçard Vespers . Italian troops occupied Rome in 1870, and in July 1871, this formally became

6048-539: The term Italy was used by the Greeks to initially refer only to the southern portion of the Bruttium peninsula corresponding to the modern province of Reggio and part of the provinces of Catanzaro and Vibo Valentia in Southern Italy . Nevertheless, by his time the larger concept of Oenotria and "Italy" had become synonymous and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. According to Strabo 's Geographica , before

6132-433: The whole Italian geographical region . All its inhabitants were considered Italic and Roman . The Latin term Italicus was used to describe "a man of Italy" as opposed to a provincial . For example, Pliny the Elder notably wrote in a letter Italicus es an provincialis ? meaning "are you an Italian or a provincial?". The adjective italianus , from which are derived the Italian (and also French and English) name of

6216-626: Was adopted by the Lombard Legion in 1796. The first red, white and green national flag of a sovereign Italian state was adopted on 7 January 1797, when the Fourteenth Parliament of the Cispadane Republic (1797), on the proposal of deputy Giuseppe Compagnoni , decreed "to make universal the ... standard or flag of three colours, green, white, and red ...": For having proposed the green, white and red tricolour flag, Giuseppe Compagnoni

6300-515: Was annexed by Yugoslavia causing the Istrian-Dalmatian exodus , which led to the emigration of between 230,000 and 350,000 of local ethnic Italians ( Istrian Italians and Dalmatian Italians ), the others being ethnic Slovenians, ethnic Croatians, and ethnic Istro-Romanians , choosing to maintain Italian citizenship . In 1949 Italy became a member of NATO . The Marshall Plan helped to revive

6384-461: Was as a monopolistic franchise to transport the post to northern Egypt, where it stipulated a fine to be paid to the Posta Europea by anyone caught pilfering mail. Khedive Ismaiel realized the importance of the Posta Europea and purchased it from Muzzi (after the departure of his partner, Tito Chini) on October 29, 1864. The Egyptian government offered Muzzi the position of general manager of

6468-465: Was deposed in 476 by a Germanic foederati general in Italy, Odoacer . His defeat marked the end of the Western Roman Empire , and the end of the political unification of Italy until the establishment of the modern Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Odoacer ruled well for 13 years after gaining control of Italy in 476. Then he was attacked and defeated by Theodoric , the king of another Germanic tribe,

6552-616: Was followed by one of conquest in the Mediterranean, beginning with the First Punic War against Carthage . In the course of the century-long struggle against Carthage, the Romans conquered Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. Finally, in 146 BC, at the conclusion of the Third Punic War , with Carthage completely destroyed and its inhabitants enslaved, Rome became the dominant power in the Mediterranean. The process of Italian unification, and

6636-484: Was issued later to set fees for transporting the post and the postal-management headquarters was moved from Alexandria to Cairo, to its building in Al Aataba Square. Since its establishment, the post (in addition to its regular postal activity) has sold salt and soda stamps (discontinued in 1899), steamboat tickets, debt and shares coupons, stamped paper, and telegraph and telephone service in return for fees paid to

6720-478: Was legally merged into the administrative unit of Italy in 42 BC by the triumvir Octavian as a ratification of Julius Caesar 's unpublished acts ( Acta Caesaris ). Under Emperor Diocletian the Roman region called "Italia" was further enlarged with the addition in 292 AD of the three big islands of the western Mediterranean Sea : Sicily (with the Maltese archipelago ), Sardinia and Corsica , coinciding with

6804-707: Was still a collection of territories with different political statuses. Some cities, called municipia , had some independence from Rome, while others, the coloniae , were founded by the Romans themselves. Around 7 BC, Augustus divided Italy into eleven regiones . During the Crisis of the Third Century , the Roman Empire nearly collapsed under the combined pressures of invasions, military anarchy and civil wars, and hyperinflation. In 284, emperor Diocletian restored political stability. The importance of Rome declined, because

6888-542: Was the first European to set foot in "New Found Land" and explore parts of the North American continent in 1497; Amerigo Vespucci , sailing for Portugal, who first demonstrated in about 1501 that the New World (in particular Brazil) was not Asia as initially conjectured, but a fourth continent previously unknown to people of the Old World (the name of " America " derives from his first name ); and Giovanni da Verrazzano , at

6972-541: Was the heart of the Renaissance , a period of great achievements in the arts at the end of the Middle Ages. Other important cities include Turin , which used to be the capital of Italy, and is now one of the world's great centers of automobile engineering. Milan is the industrial and financial capital of Italy and one of the world's fashion capitals . Venice , former capital of a major financial and maritime power from

7056-480: Was usually the popes who led attempts to protect Italy from invasion or to soften foreign rule. For about 200 years the popes opposed attempts by the Lombards, who had captured most of Italy, to take over Rome as well. The popes finally defeated the Lombards with the aid of two Frankish kings, Pepin the Short and Charlemagne . Using land won for them by Pepin in 756, the popes established political rule in what were called

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