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Italia (Roman province) facts for kids

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Part of Tabula Peutingeriana
A portion of the Tabula Peutingeriana, a Roman map from the 4th century, showing the southern part of Italia.

Italia was the special name for the Italian Peninsula during the time of Ancient Rome. It wasn't just another province like other conquered lands. Instead, it was considered the home territory of the city of Rome itself. This gave it a very important and unique status within the vast Roman Empire. Italia was also the home of the capital of the Roman Empire, which was Rome itself.

Ancient Italy: The Heart of Rome

The land known as Italia was very important to the Romans. It was where their powerful city of Rome was located. Because of this, Italia was treated differently from other areas the Romans conquered. It was seen as the central part of their empire, not just a faraway territory.

How Roman Italy Expanded

The borders of Italia changed a lot over many years. At first, "Italia" referred to a smaller area. But as Rome grew stronger, its influence spread. The famous Roman emperor Augustus made big changes. He officially organized Italia into eleven main regions. These regions stretched from the mighty Alps mountains in the north all the way down to the Ionian Sea in the south.

Later, around 292 AD, another emperor named Diocletian added more islands to Italia. These included Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, and Malta. This made Italia even larger and more important.

The End of Roman Italia

Roman Italia stayed united for a long time, until about the sixth century AD. After that, it began to split apart. The land was divided between the Byzantine Empire and different groups of Germanic peoples. For many centuries after this, Italia remained divided into many smaller states and kingdoms.

It wasn't until 1861 that Italia was finally reunited. This event is known as the Italian unification. It brought all the different parts together to form the modern country we know today as the Kingdom of Italy.

Images for kids

  • Roman Italy

    Roman Italia (in green) as organized by Augustus.

  • La Turbie BW 1

    The Tropaeum Alpium, a victory monument in La Turbie, France, marked the border between Italy and Gaul during Augustus's time.

  • Italia Dioceses in 400 AD

    Italia annonaria and Italia suburbicaria dioceses around 400 AD.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Italia (época romana) para niños

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