The birthplace of the Renaissance and Baroque style, Italy has always been a center of culture. In modern Italy there is a strong pride in the cultural identity that distinguishes Tuscany, Rome, Sicily, Venice and other regions. Summarizing the most important events in the history of Italy from the founding of Rome and the unification of the country to the realities of the fascist regime in the first half of the 20th century and beyond to the present day, authoritative British historian Jeremy Black explores the origins of the cultural influence of Italians throughout the world, as well as the causes and consequences of political events and a division that still exists today. “This book is indispensable for those who are planning to visit Italy and want to learn more about it than can usually be read in concise guidebooks. For many centuries, Italy was fragmented and many of its parts belonged to large, rival powers - the Austrian and Spanish empires. Therefore, it does not have a single centuries-old history, like other countries (for example, France), and writing a brief history of Italy is not an easy task. My story includes both fundamental events in chronological order and information about individual regions.” (Jeremy Black).