List of historical states of Italy


, up until its unification in 1861, was a conglomeration of city-states, republics, and other independent entities. The following is a list of the various Italian states during that period. Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the arrival of the Middle Ages, the Italian Peninsula was divided into numerous states. Many of these states consolidated into major political units that balanced the power on the Italian Peninsula: the Papal States, the Venetian Republic, the Republic of Florence, the Duchy of Milan, the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom of Sicily. Unlike all the other Italian states of the medieval and early modern period, the republics of Venice and Genoa, thanks to their maritime power, went beyond territorial conquests within the Italian Peninsula, conquering various regions across the Mediterranean and Black Seas.

Ancient Italy

The ancient peoples of Italy are broadly referred to in historiography as Italic peoples, although in modern linguistics this term is used to define only the speakers of the Italic languages, namely the Latino-Faliscans and the Osco-Umbrians. They include:

Early Middle Ages

High Middle Ages

States in Central and Northern Italy

States in Southern Italy">List of south Italian principalities">States in Southern Italy

States of the [Holy Roman Empire]

Sardinian Judicates">Sardinian medieval kingdoms">Sardinian Judicates

Late Middle Ages

Major states

Minor states

After the Italian Wars

The Peace of Cateau Cambrésis ended the Italian Wars in 1559. The kingdoms of Sicily, Sardinia, Naples and the Duchy of Milan were left under the control of Spanish Habsburgs. France was in control of several fortresses and in particular of the Marquisate of Saluzzo. All the other Italian states remained independent, with the most powerful being the Venetian Republic, the Medici's Duchy of Tuscany, the Savoyard state, the Republic of Genoa, and the Papal States. The Gonzaga in Mantua, the Este in Modena and Ferrara and the Farnese in Parma and Piacenza continued to be important dynasties. Parts of the north of Italy remained a part of the Holy Roman Empire.

Major states

Minor states

After the Wars of Succession of the 18th century

During the War of the Spanish Succession, Savoy acquired Sicily, while the remaining Spanish dominions in Italy were taken over by the Austrian Habsburgs. In 1720, Savoy exchanged Sicily for Sardinia. Following the extinction of the House of Medici, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany was ruled by the Habsburg-Lorraine. Later on, Southern Italy passed to a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, known as House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Other states such as Genoa, Venice, Modena, the Papal States and Lucca remained with their governments unchanged.

Major states

Minor states

Their populations and other vital statistics stood as follows in the late 18th century:
Total: 18.3 million

During Napoleonic times (1792–1815)

Sister republics of Revolutionary France

Client states of the First French Empire

Other states

From the restoration to the unification

Following the defeat of Napoleon's France, the Congress of Vienna was convened to redraw the European continent. In Italy, the Congress restored the pre-Napoleonic patchwork of independent governments, either directly ruled or strongly influenced by the prevailing European powers, particularly Austria. The Congress also determined the end of two millenary republics: Genoa was annexed by the then Savoyard Kingdom of Sardinia, and Venice was incorporated with Milan into a new kingdom of the Austrian Empire.
At the time, the struggle for Italian unification was perceived to be waged primarily against the Habsburgs, since they directly controlled the predominantly Italian-speaking northeastern part of present-day Italy and were the most powerful force against the Italian unification. The Austrian Empire vigorously repressed nationalist sentiment growing in its domains on the Italian Peninsula, as well as in the other parts of Habsburg domains.

Post-unification states

Post-World War I microstates

Post-1922 states

States during World War II

Post-1946 states