The medieval Kingdom of Italy was a state originally comprising the northern two thirds of Italy, which formed from the break-up of the Carolingian Empire in the 9th century. Map of Carolingian Empire The term Carolingian Empire is sometimes used to refer to the realm of the Franks under the dynasty of the Carolingians. ...

An independent kingdom, 855-962

The death of the Emperor Lothar in 855 led to his realm of Middle Francia being split among his three sons. The eldest, Louis II, inherited the Carolingian lands in Italy, which were now for the first time (save the brief rule of Charlemagne's son Pepin in the first decade of the century), ruled as a distinct unit. The kingdom included all of Italy as far south as Rome and Spoleto, but the rest of Italy to the south was under the rule of the Lombard Principality of Benevento or of the Byzantine Empire. Lothar (in older English texts, sometimes Lothair) (795 - March 2, 855), Holy Roman Emperor, was the eldest son of the emperor Louis the Pious and his wife Irmengarde (Ermengarde), daughter of Ingramm (Ingerman), the Duke of Hesbaye. ... Events Louis II succeeds Lothar as western emperor. ... Louis II, (825 – 875), Holy Roman Emperor (sole ruler 855 – 875), eldest son of the emperor Lothair I, became the designated king of Italy in 839, and taking up his residence in that country was crowned king at Rome by Pope Sergius II on June 15, 844. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) coordinates: 41°54′N 12°29′E Time Zone: UTC+1 Administration Subdivisions 19 municipi Province Rome Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni ( The Union ) Characteristics Area 1,285 km² Population 2,547,677 (2005 estimate) Density 1983... Spoleto (Latin: Spoletium), 42°44′ N 12°44′ E, an ancient town in the Italian province of Perugia in east central Umbria, at 385 meters (1391 ft) above sea-level on a foothill of the Apennines. ... The Lombards or Longobards or Langobards were the Germanic tribe who gave their name to Lombardy, an administrative entity in Northern Italy. ... Byzantine Empire (native Greek name: - Basileia tōn Romaiōn) is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ...

Following Louis II's death without heirs, there were several decades of confusion. The imperial crown was initially disputed among the Carolingian rulers of Western Francia (France) and Eastern Francia (Germany), with first the western king (Charles the Bald) and then the eastern (Charles the Fat) attaining the prize. Following the deposition of the latter, local nobles - Guy of Spoleto and Berengar of Friuli - disputed over the crown, and outside intervention did not cease, with Arnulf of Eastern Francia and Louis the Blind of Provence both claiming the Imperial throne for a time. The kingdom was also beset by Arab raiding parties from Sicily and North Africa, and central authority was minimal at best. Western Francia was the land under the control of Charles the Bald after the Treaty of Verdun of 843, which divided the Carolingian Empire of the Franks into an East, West, and Middle. ... East Francia was the land of Louis the German after the Treaty of Verdun of 843, which divided the Carolingian Empire of the Franks. ... Charles the Bald - Detail from a painting in the First Bible of Charles the Bald, painted ca. ... Charles the Fat in the Grandes Chroniques de France. ... Guy of Spoleto - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Louis the Blind (c. ... Provence is a former Roman province and is now a region of southeastern France, located on the Mediterranean Sea adjacent to Frances border with Italy. ... Sicilian redirects here. ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent. ...

In the 10th century the situation hardly improved, as various Burgundian and local noblemen continued to dispute over the crown. Order was only imposed from outside, when the German king Otto I invaded Italy and seized both the Imperial and Italian thrones for himself in 962. Emperor Otto I Otto I the Great (November 23, 912 - May 7, 973), son of Henry I the Fowler, king of the Germans, and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of the Germans and arguably the first Holy Roman Emperor. ... Events February 2 - Pope John XII crowns Otto I the Great Holy Roman Emperor. ...

As a constituent kingdom of the Holy Roman Empire, 962-1500

After 962, the Kings of Italy were always also Kings of Germany, and Italy thus became a constituent kingdom of the Holy Roman Empire, along with Germany and (after 1032) Italy. The German king would be crowned by the Archbishop of Milan with the Iron Crown of Lombardy in Pavia as a prelude to the visit to Rome to be crowned Emperor by the Pope. Events February 2 - Pope John XII crowns Otto I the Great Holy Roman Emperor. ... The Holy Roman Empire and from the 16th century on also The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation was a political conglomeration of lands in Central Europe in the Middle Ages and the early modern period. ... Events February 2 - Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor, becomes King of Burgundy. ... The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milan is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Italy. ... The Iron Crown of Lombardy (Corona Ferrea) is both a reliquary and one of the most ancient royal insignia of Europe. ... Church San Michele in Pavia The Old Bridge (Ponte Vecchio) on the Ticino river is a symbol of Pavia Pavìa (the ancient Ticinum) (population 71,000) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) coordinates: 41°54′N 12°29′E Time Zone: UTC+1 Administration Subdivisions 19 municipi Province Rome Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni ( The Union ) Characteristics Area 1,285 km² Population 2,547,677 (2005 estimate) Density 1983... The current Pope is Benedict XVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger), who was elected at the age of 78 on 19 April 2005. ...

In general, the fact that the monarch was generally an absentee, spending most of his time in Germany, left the Kingdom of Italy with little central authority. There was also a lack of powerful landed magnates - the only notable one being the Margraviate of Tuscany, which had wide lands in Tuscany, Lombardy, and the Emilia, but which failed due to lack of heirs after the death of Matilda of Canossa in 1115. This left a power vacuum which was increasingly filled by the Pope and the increasingly wealthy cities, which gradually came to dominate the surrounding countryside. Tuscany (Italian Toscana) is a region in central Italy, bordering on Latium to the south, Umbria and Marche to the east, Emilia-Romagna and Liguria to the north, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. ... Lombardy (Italian: Lombardia) is a region in northern Italy between the Alps and the Po river valley. ... The word Emilia may have many meanings: The name Emilia originated in Italy, and is sometimes confused with the similar-sounding name Amelia. Emilia is an historical region of Italy, now merged with Romagna to form the Emilia-Romagna administrative region. ... Matilda of Tuscany from (1115) Matilda, countess of Tuscany (1046 – July 24, 1115), called La Gran Contessa, was the principal Italian supporter of Pope Gregory VII during the investiture controversy, and is one of the few medieval women to be remembered for her military accomplishments. ... Events Clairvaux Abbey is founded by St. ...

The increasing power of the cities was first demonstrated during the reign of the Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (1152-1190), whose attempts to restore imperial authority in the peninsula led to a series of wars with the Lombard League, a league of northern Italian cities, and ultimate to a decisive victory for the Lombard League at the Battle of Legnano in 1176, which forced Frederick to recognize the autonomy of the Italian cities. Arms of the Hohenstaufen Dynasty The Hohenstaufen (or the Staufer(s)) were a dynasty of Kings of Germany, many of whom were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor and Dukes of Swabia. ... Frederick in a 13th century Chronicle Frederick I (German: Friedrich I. von Hohenstaufen)(1122 – June 10, 1190), also known as Friedrich Barbarossa (Frederick Redbeard) was elected king of Germany on March 4, 1152 and crowned Holy Roman Emperor on June 18, 1155. ... Events March 4 - Frederick I Barbarossa is elected King of the Germans Eleanor of Aquitaine has her marriage to Louis VII annulled May 18 - Eleanor of Aquitaine marries Henry of Anjou Church of Ireland acknowledges Popes authority Almohad Dynasty conquers Algeria Establishment of the archbishopric of Nidaros (Trondheim), Norway... Events March 16 - Massacre and mass-suicide of the Jews of York, England prompted by Crusaders and Richard Malebys kill 150-500 Jews in Cliffords Tower June 10 - Third Crusade: Frederick I Barbarossa drowned in the Saleph River while leading an army to Jerusalem. ... The Lombard League was an alliance formed on December 1, 1167 between 26 (later 30) cities of North Italy, including Cremona, Mantua, Bergamo, Brescia, Milan, Bologna, Padua, Treviso, Vicenza, Verona, Lodi, and Parma. ... The Battle of Legnano, fought in 1176, marked the culmination of the futile attempts of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa to dominate the Italian city states of Lombardia. ... Events May 22 - Murder attempt by the Hashshashin on Saladin near Aleppo Raynald of Chatillon released from prison in Aleppo May 29 - Frederick Barbarossa is defeated in the Battle of Legnano by the Lombard League leading to the pactum Anagninum (the Agreement of Anagni) September 17 - Seljuk Turks defeat Manuel...

Frederick's son Henry VI actually managed to extend Hohenstaufen authority in Italy by his conquest of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, which comprised Sicily and all of Southern Italy. Henry's son, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, the first emperor since the 9th century to actually base himself in Italy, attempted to return to his father's task of restoring imperial authority in the northern Italian Kingdom, which led to fierce opposition not only from a reformed Lombard League, but also from the Popes, who were increasingly jealous of their temporal realm in central Italy (theoretically a part of the Empire), and concerned about the universal ambitions of the Hohenstaufen emperors. Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor (November 1165, Nijmegen – September 28, 1197, Messina) was king of Germany 1190-1197, and Holy Roman Emperor 1191-1197. ... The following is a list of monarchs of Naples and Sicily: See also: List of Counts of Apulia and Calabria Hauteville Counts of Sicily, 1071-1130 Roger I 1071-1101 Simon 1101-1105 Roger II 1105-1130 Hauteville Kings of Sicily, 1130-1198 Roger II 1130-1154 William I 1154... Frederick II (December 26, 1194 – December 13, 1250), Holy Roman Emperor of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was pretender to the title of King of the Romans from 1212, unopposed holder of that monarchy from 1215, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 until his death in 1250. ...

Frederick II's efforts to bring all of Italy under his control were as unavailing as those of his grandfather, and his death in 1250 marked the effective end of the Kingdom of Italy as a genuine political unit. The continued to be conflict between Ghibellines (Imperial supporters) and Guelfs (Papal supporters) in the Italian cities, but these conflicts bore less and less relation to the origins of the parties in question. Events December 13 - Death of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor Louis IX of France is captured by Muslims and has to ransom himself Mabinogion appears Albertus Magnus isolates the element arsenic Vincent of Beauvais writes proto-encyclopedic The Greater Mirror City of Stockholm founded Alphonso III of Portugal takes Algarve... The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting, respectively, the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire in Italy during the 12th century and 13th century. ... The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting, respectively, the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire in Italy during the 12th century and 13th century. ...

The Kingdom was not wholly meaningless, however. Successive emperors in the 14th and 15th centuries returned to Rome to be crowned, and none forgot their theoretical claims to dominion as Kings of Italy. Nor were the claims of the Emperors to universal dominion forgotten in Italy itself, where writers like Dante and Marsilius of Padua expressed their commitment both to the principal of universal monarchy, and to the actual pretensions of Emperors Henry VII and Louis IV, respectively. Dante redirects here. ... Marsilius of Padua (1270 – 1342) was an Italian medieval scholar, born at Padua, and at first studied medicine in his own country. ... Henry VII, (In German: Heinrich), ca. ... Emperor Louis IV Louis IV of Bavaria (also known as Ludwig the Bavarian) of the House of Wittelsbach (born 1282; died October 11, 1347) was duke of Bavaria from 1294/1301 together with his brother Rudolf I, also count of the Palatinate until 1329 and, German king since 1314 and...

The Imperial claims to dominion in Italy mostly manifested themselves, however, in the granting of titles to the various strong men who had begun to establish their control over the formerly republican cities. Most notably, the Emperors gave their backing to the Visconti of Milan, and King Wenceslaus created Gian Galeazzo Visconti Duke of Milan in 1395. Other families to receive new titles from the emperors included the Gonzaga of Mantua, and the Este of Ferrara and Modena. Visconti was a noble family that ruled Milan during the Middle Ages and Early Renaissance period. ... Milan (Italian: Milano; Milanese: Milán) is the main city of northern Italy, and is located in the plains of Lombardy, the most populated and developed region in Italy, being often mistaken with the capital of the country. ... Wenceslaus (German: Wenzel, Czech: Václav IV; sometimes known as the Drunkard) (February 26, 1361 – August 16, 1419), of the house of Luxembourg, was king of Bohemia from 1378 to his death; until 1400, he also headed the Holy Roman Empire (as King of the Romans), and he continued to... A 19th century version of Giangaleazzo Visconti. ... This page lists rulers of Milan from the 13th century to the present. ... Events End of reign of Hungary by Capet-Anjou family. ... The Gonzaga family ruled Mantua in Northern Italy from 1328 to 1708. ... Mantua (in Italian Mantova, in the local dialect of Emiliano-Romagnolo language Mantua) is an important city in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province with the same name. ... For Tolkiens fictional character, see Estë To know more about the city, see Este Este, Italian princely family, rulers of Ferrara (1240–1597), Modena and Reggio (1288–1796). ... Ferrara is a city, an archiepiscopal see in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, capital city of the province of Ferrara. ... Modena (Mòdna in Modenese dialect) is a city and a province on the south side of the Po valley, in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. ...

A shadow, 1500-1806

By the beginning of the early modern period, the Kingdom of Italy still existed, but was a mere shadow. Its territory had been significantly limited - the conquests of the Republic of Venice, which considered itself independent of the Empire, in the Terrafirma had taken most of northeastern Italy outside the jurisdiction of the Empire, while the Popes claimed full sovereignty and independence in the Papal States in Central Italy. Nevertheless, the Emperor Charles V, owing more to his inheritance of Spain and Naples than to his position as Emperor, was able to establish his dominance in Italy to a greater extent than any Emperor since Frederick II. He drove the French from Milan, prevented an attempt by the Italian princes, with French aid, to reassert their independence in the League of Cognac, sacked Rome and brought the Medici' pope Clement VII to submission, conquered Florence where he reinstalled the Medici' as Dukes of Florence (and later, Grand Dukes of Tuscany), and, upon the extinction of the Sforza line in Milan, claimed the territory as an imperial fief and installed his son Philip as the new Duke. The Most Serene Republic of Venice (Venetian: Serenìsima Repùblica Vèneta; Italian: ) was a Venetian city-state in Northeastern Italy, based around the city of Venice. ... The Papal States (Gli Stati della Chiesa or Stati Pontificii, States of the Church) was one of the major historical states of Italy before the boot-shaped peninsula was unified under the Piedmontese crown of Savoy (later a republic). ... Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Aragon and Castile. ... The League of Cognac of 1526 pitted France, England, Pope Clement VII, Venice, Florence, and elements of Milan against the Emperor Charles V. Categories: Stub ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) coordinates: 41°54′N 12°29′E Time Zone: UTC+1 Administration Subdivisions 19 municipi Province Rome Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni ( The Union ) Characteristics Area 1,285 km² Population 2,547,677 (2005 estimate) Density 1983... For the antipope (1378–1394) see antipope Clement VII and other Popes named Clement see Pope Clement. ... Sforza was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

This new Imperial dominance, however, did not remain with the Empire, in which Charles was succeeded by his brother Ferdinand, but rather was transferred by Charles to his son, who became King of Spain. Ferdinand I Habsburg Ferdinand I (10 March 1503–25 July 1564), Holy Roman Emperor (1556–1564), was born in Madrid, the son of Juana the Mad, Queen of Castile (1479–1555), and Philip I the Handsome, King of Castile (1478–1506), who was heir to Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I...

Nevertheless, the Imperial claims to suzerainty remained, and were actually called forth in the early 17th century when the Duchy of Mantua fell vacant in 1627. Emperor Ferdinand II used his rights as feudal overlord to prevent the heir, the French Duke of Nevers, from taking over the Duchy, leading to the War of the Mantuan Succession, a part of the much larger Thirty Years War. In the early 18th century, during the War of the Spanish Succession, imperial claims to suzerainty were used again to seize Mantua in 1708, which was now attached by the Austrian Habsburgs to the newly conquered Duchy of Milan. The Duchy of Mantua was an Italian state that was ruled by the Gonzaga family from 1328 to 1708. ... Events A Dutch ship makes the first recorded sighting of the coast of South Australia. ... Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (July 9, 1578 – February 15, 1637), of the house of Habsburg, ruled 1620-1637. ... The War of the Mantuan Succession (1627-1631) came as a result of the extinction of the main male line of Gonzaga Dukes of Mantua in 1627. ... The victory of Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) The Thirty Years War was a conflict fought between the years 1618 and 1648, principally in the central European territory of the Holy Roman Empire, but also involving most of the major continental powers. ... Charles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain. ... // Events March 23 - James Francis Edward Stuart lands at the Firth of Forth July 1 - Tewoflos becomes Emperor of Ethiopia September 28 - Peter the Great defeats the Swedes at the Battle of Lesnaya Kandahar conquered by Mir Wais In Masuria one third of the population die during the plague J... The Duchy of Milan was a state in northern Italy from 1395 to 1797. ...

This was the last notable usage of Imperial power, as such, in Italy. The Austrians retained control of Milan, and intermittently, other territories (notably Tuscany after 1737), but the claims to feudal overlordship had become practically meaningless. The imperial claims to Italy remained only in the secondary title of the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne to be "Arch-Chancellor of Italy." During the French Revolutionary Wars, the Austrians were driven from Italy by Bonaparte, who set up republics throughout northern Italy, and the imperial reorganization carried out in 1799-1803 left no room for Imperial claims to Italy - even the Archbishop of Cologne was gone, secularized along with the other ecclesiastical princes. In 1805, while the Empire was still in existence, Bonaparte, by now Emperor Napoleon I, claimed the crown of Italy for himself, putting the Iron Crown on his head at Milan. The Empire itself was abolished the next year, ending the even theoretical existence of the Kingdom of Italy. Tuscany (Italian Toscana) is a region in central Italy, bordering on Latium to the south, Umbria and Marche to the east, Emilia-Romagna and Liguria to the north, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. ... Events 12 February — The San Carlo, the oldest working opera house in Europe, is inaugurated. ... The Archbishopric of Cologne was one of the major ecclesiastical principalities of the Holy Roman Empire. ... Combatants Kingdom of Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Spain, Russia, Sardinia France The French Revolutionary Wars occurred between the outbreak of war between the French Revolutionary government and Austria in 1792 and the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. ... Napoleon I Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, King of Italy (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a general of the French Revolution; the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from 11 November 1799 to 18 May 1804; then Emperor of the French (Empereur... 1799 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1803 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1805 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Napoleon I Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, King of Italy (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a general of the French Revolution; the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from 11 November 1799 to 18 May 1804; then Emperor of the French (Empereur... The Iron Crown of Lombardy (Corona Ferrea) is both a reliquary and one of the most ancient royal insignia of Europe. ... Milan (Italian: Milano; Milanese: Milán) is the main city of northern Italy, and is located in the plains of Lombardy, the most populated and developed region in Italy, being often mistaken with the capital of the country. ...

For the history of Napoleon's Kingdom of Italy, see Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic). The flag of the Kingdom of Italy was a rectangular version of the flag of the Italian Republic, with Napoleons emblem on the green field. ...

See also

• King of Italy
• Kingdom of Italy
• History of Italy