Italian dictator Benito Mussolini (1883 - 1945) surveys the new Caselle Airport during a visit to Turin in 1939.

Picture of a street in Gavinana area in Florence after the flood, 04 November 1966. (Credit: RAFFAELLO BENCINI/AFP/Getty Images)

Portrait of Niccolo Machiavelli after a Painting by Santi di Tito (Original Caption) Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527). Italian statesman and political philosopher. Portrait by Santi di Tito (1538-1603). Ca. 16th century.

Detail of 'The Birth of Venus,' c. 1485, by Sandro Botticelli, an Italian painter of the early Renaissance in Florence.

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HISTORY

Crime has been a dark and powerful undercurrent in human society throughout history. Uncover the facts behind some of the most daring robberies, brazen scams and brutal murders ever committed.

Crime

The Renaissance, a vibrant period of European cultural, artistic, political and scientific “rebirth” after the Middle Ages, was led by people including Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Machiavelli and the Medici family.

Renaissance

World War II was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.

World War II

1945

1978

Landmarks and monuments, the physical record of human civilization, include spectacular structures like the Eiffel Tower, Mount Rushmore, the Panama Canal, the Brooklyn Bridge and more.

Landmarks

2001

1963

1900

1908

Explore the wars, battles, leaders, civilizations, regimes, prominent figures and major events from the continent that encompasses 2 percent of the Earth’s surface. From Stonehenge to the Great Awakening to the French Revolution to the rise and fall of Communism in Russia, see how Europe’s often tumultuous history unfolded.

European History

Natural disasters and changes in the environment, such as global warming, the San Francisco Earthquake, Hurricane Katrina, the Galveston Hurricane, the Krakatoa eruption and others, have profoundly shaped human history. Explore both the sudden and long-term impacts of natural and human-made disasters.

Italy

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Machiavelli

Italian Renaissance

Benito Mussolini

Stories

Why America Targeted Italian-Americans During World War II

The Disaster that Deluged Florence’s Cultural Treasures

Why does the Leaning Tower of Pisa lean?

This Day in History

Worst European earthquake ever recorded

Italian American assassinates Italian king

Former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro is found dead

Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens

Benito Mussolini executed

Landslide kills thousands in Italy