Military history of Italy

Part of a series on the
History of Italy
Early Prehistoric Italy Nuragic civilization (18th–3rd c. BC) Etruscan civilization (12th–6th c. BC) Magna Graecia (8th–3rd c. BC)
Ancient Rome Kingdom (753 BC–509 BC) Republic (509 BC–27 BC) Roman expansion in Italy Roman Italy Populares and Optimates Empire (27 BC–286 AD) Western Empire (286 AD–476 AD) Praetorian prefecture of Italy
Romano-Barbarian Kingdoms Odoacer's 476–493 Ostrogothic 493–553 Vandal 435–534 Lombard (independence) 565–774 Lombard (under the Frankish rule) 774–885 Frankish (as part of the Carolingian Empire) 885–961 Germanic (as part of the Holy Roman Empire) 961–1801
Medieval Italy in the Middle Ages Byzantine reconquest of Italy (6th–8th c.) Islam and Normans in southern Italy Maritime republics and Italian city-states Guelphs and Ghibellines
Early modern Italian Renaissance (14th–16th c.) Italian Wars (1494–1559) Catholic revival (1545–1648) Mid-16th c. to early 19th c. Napoleonic Italy (1801–1814) Republic Kingdom Risorgimento (1815–1871) Young Italy
Modern Monarchy (1861–1946) Colonial Empire (1882–1960) Italy in World War I (1914–1918) Fascism (1922–1943) Italy in World War II (1940–1945) Fascist Italian Social Republic, Partisans and Italian Civil War (1943–1945) Republic (1946–present) Years of Lead (1970s–1980s) Maxi Trial (1986–1992) Mani pulite (1992–2001) Great Recession (2007–2009) European migrant crisis (2014–2016) COVID-19 pandemic (2020–present)
By topic Citizenship Currency and coinage Economy Fashion Flags Genetic Historic states Judaism LGBT Military Music Name Postage Railway
Timeline Italy portal
v t e

The military history of Italy chronicles a vast time period, lasting from the ancient Etruscans, to ancient Rome, through the expansion of the Republic of Venice in medieval period, the Renaissance, the defense of the ancient Italian states during the Italian Wars, the Italian unification, the campaigns of the colonial empire, the two world wars, and into the modern day, with world peacekeeping operations under the aegis of NATO or the United Nations. The Italian peninsula has been a centre of military conflict throughout European history due to its geostrategic position: because of this, Italy has a long military tradition.