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Prehistoric Era Italy was inhabited as early as the Paleolithic period. The first settlements in Apulia go back to about 250,000 years ago. The photo above shows the remains of Delia, a woman hominid found at Ostuni (In the south of Apulia) she was carrying a fetus in the terminal phase dating to 25,000 years ago, it is the oldest mother's story ever brought to light.

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Paglicci Cave The photos relate to the Paglicci Cave, near Rignano Garganico, (in the nearby of San Giovanni Rotondo) one of the most important Palaeolithic sites in Europe. Here, more than 45,000 artifacts have been found dating back to the Paleolithic era, including these beautiful graffiti.

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The photos relate to the Paglicci Cave, near Rignano Garganico, (in the nearby of San Giovanni Rotondo) one of the most important Palaeolithic sites in Europe. Here, more than 45,000 artifacts have been found dating back to the Paleolithic era, including these beautiful graffiti. Many peoples have inhabited in pre-Roman Italy. Highly commendable were the Etruscans who, with their refined and evolved culture, influenced the Roman world. They have been living in Tuscany since the eighth century BC, leaving many cultural and architectural evidences of their presence. The Pre-roman Times: The Etruscans

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Famous Sarcophagus Of The Spouses The famous Sarcophagus of the Spouses, an Etruscan funerary urn in which in depicted a married couple lying on a triclinium in the act of pouring perfume on his hands. The attitude of man, friendly and affectionate towards the bride, testifies to the profound respect enjoyed by the women in Etruscan society.

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The Greek Colonization The Greeks, around the eighth century BC, landed on the Mediterranean coast of southern Italy searching new fertile lands to cultivate. They founded numerous colonies (the first Pithecusa around 770 BC on the island of Ischia), transmitting to the local population their own culture, philosophy, art and religion. Not without reason, therefore, the Greek Civilization is considered the mother of all Western civilization. Just in a Greek colony, Crotone, the great philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras worked. Taormina The charming greek theater of Taormina, in Sicily, enjoying the background of the Ionian Sea. It is the scenario in which there is the presentation of the prestigious award " David di Donatello ".

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The Valley Of The Temples The Valley of the Temples i n Agrigento, one of the largest archaeological sites in the world (1300 hectares). It is in the UNESCO world heritage list Since 1997.It is characterized by the remains of ten Doric temples: of Hera or Juno Lacinia, of Concord, better preserved because it turned into a Christian church, of Heracles, of Olympian Zeus, the greatest of all the old west, the Dioscuri, of Hephaestus, Athena, built in the historic center of Agrigento, Asclepius temple, Demeter, Isis, etc.

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The Cup Of Nestor The Cup of Nestor, found in the Greek colony of Pithecusa (Ischia the beautiful isle near Capri), is the first witness of the Western alphabetic writing, in this case question of Greek writing.

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The Roman Age La lupa Capitolina is one of the symbols of Rome and its history. According to the legend, it nursed the twins Romulus and Remus, sons of the forbidden love between Mars and the Vestal Virgin Rhea Silvia. After various adventures, the twins intended to found a new settlement: who would have seen more omen signs have traced the line of the wall and gave its name to the new city. Romolus won and he founded Rome on the Palatine hill becaming its first king.

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Canne Della Battaglia Canne della Battaglia (Foggia), it's an archaeological site where the battle took place between the Carthaginians led by Hannibal (victorious) and the Romans in 216 BC, during the Second Punic War. The Carthaginian was the most serious external threat that faced the Roman Republic, that was born in 509 BC after the expulsion of the Tarquins.

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The Colosseum or Flavian Amphitheater The Colosseum or Flavian Amphitheater, was built around 70 AD by Emperor Vespasian, founder of the Flavian dynasty, and was inaugurated in 80 AD Emperor Titus. The Republic, after the death in 44 BC Julius Caesar and some civil wars in 27 BC was transformed into a principality by Octavian Augustus, founder of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. In this period it was considerable the cultural prestige reached by Rome thanks to writers such as Cicero, Virgil, Horace, Ovid and Seneca..

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The Trajan's Column The famous Trajan's Column, erected to celebrate the victory against the invincible Dacia, is the maximun symbol of the power of Rome, which reached its peak in 117 AD, thanks to the military exploits of the emperor Trajan. From here on, the Roman Empire will know a slow but inexorable decline until the division of the Western Roman Empire and Eastern Roman Empire settled by Emperor Theodosius (395 AD). It's important to remember the Empire of Constantine ( 306-337 AD ), who in issued the Edict of Milan on religious tolerance, 313 AD. This favored the spread of the Christian religion, which became the official creed of the Roman Empire in 391- 392 AD thanks to the Emperor Theodosius. The last Western Roman Emperor Romulus Augustus was dethroned by Odoacer in 476 AD, after years of barbarian invasions. The Eastern Roman Empire will endure untill 1453, when the Turks of Mohammed II conquered Costantiinopol i.

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The Longobards About a century after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, a new population of Germanic origin, the Lombards, or Longobardas established in southern Italy, they founded an independent kingdom, that ende 774, with the conquest of the Franks of Charlemagne. They left important signs of their presence, such as the Church of Santa Sofia in Benevento, the capital of the Kingdom, built around 760 and UNESCO in June 2011.

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St. Michael's Basilica Monte SantAngelo The Shrine of St. Michael the Archangel in Monte SantAngelo was built around 490. In 650 it became part of the Lombards domains, who worshiped particularly him because they saw in St. Michael the warrior virtues of the Germanic god Odin. The sanctuary was soon proclaimed the National Shrine of the Lombards, becoming one of the main pilgrimage sites in Christendom.

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The Via Francigena and The via Sacra Langobardorum A this point it's important to remember The Via Francigena and The via Sacra Langobardorum

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