The major stages of the country's history at a glance
A few milestones to place the major stages in the country's formation and transformation — not an exhaustive summary of its history.
Antiquity
From the legendary founding of Rome to the fall of the Western Roman Empire, this period saw the rise of a city-state that unified the peninsula and then dominated the whole Mediterranean basin.
Milestones
753 BC
Legendary founding of Rome
The traditional date of Rome's founding, used by the ancient authors themselves.
509 BC
Establishment of the Roman Republic
End of Etruscan kingship and establishment of a republican regime in Rome.
27 BC
Beginning of the Empire
Octavian receives the title of Augustus, marking the beginning of the Roman Empire.
476
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
Deposition of the last Western emperor, Romulus Augustulus.