Middle Ages: City-States & Trading Powers

After the fall of Rome, Italy fragmented into a mosaic of dominions: Lombards in the north (hence "Lombardy"), Byzantines in the south and east (Ravenna with its sensational mosaics), Arabs in Sicily (827–1091), and the Papal States in the center. From the 11th century, the city-states began to flourish: Venice, Genoa, Pisa, and Amalfi as maritime republics; Florence, Milan, and Siena as trade and financial centers.

The rivalry between Guelphs (papal supporters) and Ghibellines (imperial supporters) shaped centuries of Italian politics. In southern Italy, the Normans ruled (from 1059), followed by the Hohenstaufen — Emperor Frederick II (1194–1250), the "Stupor Mundi" (Wonder of the World), ruled from Palermo and united Arab, Byzantine, and Western culture.