Italy (Principia Moderni IV Map Game)

Kingdom of Italy Regno d'Italia Regnum Italiae Timeline: Principia Moderni IV (Map Game) OTL equivalent: Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)
. Duchy of Milan 1440 - 1487
Coat of arms
Italian and Neapolitan holdings, 1465
Capital (and city)		Milan
Other cities		Turin, Venice, Florence, Brescia, Verona, Pisa, Vicenza, Parma, Reggio Emilia
Official languages		Italian, Latin
Ethnic groups		Lombard, Venetian, Tuscan
Religion		Roman Catholicism
Demonym		Milanese
Government		Duchy
-	King	Niccolò Maria Visconti
Legislature		Court of Italy
History
-	Establishment	1440
Population
-	1480 estimate	7,500,000
Currency		Italian scudo
Patron saint		Saint Francis of Assisi

The Kingdom of Italy (Italian: Regno d'Italia; Latin: Regnum Italiae) is a large, northern Italian member state of the Holy Roman Empire. Founded in its current form as a united entity in 1440 from the Duchy of Milan, the Kingdom originating in 773 with Charlemagne conquering the Kingdom of the Lombards. It was then held as a title of the Holy Roman Emperor until Wenceslaus V gave it to Niccolò Maria Visconti, who is the current ruler of Italy.

In addition to the Kingdom of Italy, King Matteo is also the King of Naples.

History

Ancient History

The history of the modern Kingdom of Italy begins with the Etruscan civilization that spawned in Tuscany at some point after 800 BC. They are thought to be an indigenous population, but their origins have yet to be proven. Their society was largely tribal, with local chieftains leading villages. Etruscan civilization spread as far as Mantua to Corsica even extending into modern-day Naples.

The Roman Republic was the next major power to establish a foothold in modern Italy. It was during this period of Roman domination that the term Italy came into use for the entirety of the peninsula and the islands of Corsica and Sardinia. Eventually, modern Italy gained recognition of citizenship rights under Julius Ceasar in 45 BC. It was during this period that most of the modern Italian cities, such as Milan ,were established. Under the Roman Empire, Italy would remain the center of power until the Crisis of the 3rd Century split the empire into three.

In 476, the last Western Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustulus was deposed by Odoacer, who's realm was later conquered by Theodoric's Ostrogothic Kingdom. The Lombards were the next to rule over Italy, followed by Charlemagne's Franks. At this point, the Papal States were established.

Medieval History

Charlemagne was crowned King of the Lombards with the Iron Crown of Lombardy, which has since been used to crown the Kings of Italy (and previously, the Holy Roman Emperors).

More to come...

Milanese Dominance and Unification

The meteoric rise of the Visconti family and Milanese influence can be traced back prior to the 1395 elevation of Milan to a Duchy from a comune. The Visconti's domination of Milan began in 1277, when podestà Napoleone Della Torre (whose family led the city for much of its early history) was defeated by Archbishop Ottone Visconti at the Battle of Desio. While the Hohenstaufens opposed Visconti power, suceeding Emperors saw favor in the family. Emperor Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia granted Imperial Vicar Gian Galeazzo Visconti a diploma, creating him as Duke of Milan, including 26 towns between Venice and Savoy.

Gian Galeazzo ... 

1440 - continued recession, loosening of guild anti-production measures

1441 - petitions to leave the HRE, feeler put out to other states, appeals to remain

1442 - formation of Reale Accademia d'Italia to standardize Italian (Boccaccio, Dante, Petrarch), printing press arrives

1445 - ordered design of Biblioteca Italiana

1446 - Death of Brunelleschi, competition within Milan school, standardization of Italian complete

1447 - Literacy/education reforms, construction of Bibiloteca, anti-Semitic pogroms ended

1448 - education reforms (apprenticeships)

1449 - War of Italian Unification (Modena, Ferrara, Mantua, Padua)

1451 - Carlo Ricciardelli emerges

1452 - Austro-Italian War breaks out

1453 - Austro-Italian War continues (with the Red Lions); Treaty of Trieste

1454 - Resolution of Austro-Italian War, Treaty of Trieste (revised)

1455 - Opening of the Biblioteca, return of South Tyrol, Carniola, and Trent (and influx of cash)

1459 - Emergence of Arnolfo Cuccia, who focuses on Renaissance ideals of humanism

1462 - Death of Niccolò Maria, ascension of Matteo, Mediterranean War (seizure of Liguria)

1463 - Repairs of Genoa

1464 - Greek Scholars head to Renaissance Italy, purchase of Corsica and Saluzzo

1466 - Integration of Corsica, Genoa (from Ligurian) and Istria (almost complete)

Renaissance History

1468 - Humanist Reniassance spreads into Italy via Naples and from Greece

Event canceled: Translation of works, new arts

1487 - Application of the Treaty of Genoa, causing the Kingdom of Italy to dissolve.

Military

165,000 men (incl. Sardinia, Malta, Eprius, Albania, and the Morea)

173 ships (incl. Sardinia, Malta, Eprius, Albania, and the Morea)

Culture

Brunelleschi > Donatello > Arnolfo Cuccia

Foreign Relations

Positive

• Naples - Personal Union
• Greece - Alliance
• Bohemia - Alliance
• France - Alliance

Neutral

• Aragon

Negative

• Ottoman Empire
• Austria