Travel through our timeline of major events in Italy's history.

AD 900 B.C.- 500 B.C.:
The Etruscan civilization flourishes.

625 B.C.:
The city of Rome is founded.

27 B.C.:
Augustus becomes the first emperor of the Roman Empire.

395 A.D.:
The Roman Empire splits in two. After the fall of the western empire in 476, many groups vie for control of the Italian peninsula. Numerous city-states rise to power in the 1100s.

1350s-1600:
Rome, Florence and Venice prosper during the Renaissance, attracting renowned painters, musicians, scholars and writers.

1796:
French leader Napoleon Bonaparte invades Italy. The country remains a part of the French Empire until 1814.

1861:
Italy becomes a unified nation under King Victor Emmanuel II.

1922:
Dictator Benito Mussolini takes power.

1939-45:
Italy enters World War II as Germany's ally. With losses mounting, Mussolini is forced to resign in 1943 and is later executed.

1946:
Italians vote to end the monarchy and make their nation a democratic republic. The country struggles to recover from the war. Industrial gains in the north in the early 1950s lead to an economic boom.

1960s:
A time of social and economic change. People move to the cities, and industry grows.

1981:
A Turkish man tries to assassinate Pope John Paul II in Vatican City.

1999:
Mount Etna, Europe's tallest and most active volcano, erupts in Sicily.

1999:
Italy adopts the euro as its new currency.

2001:
Billionaire Silvio Berlusconi becomes prime minister, heading Italy's 61st government.