From the early years, when its cities and towns were self-governing, to the national rise to power of fascism this century, Italy has undergone many upheavals: political, social, economic and cultural. Pinpointing the year A.D. 1000 as a time when European supremacy began to take root, the author traces Italy's progression within its European context. Communes of the 11th century to the birth of the European Renaissance and on to the role of Italy in two world wars, this study of a people's evolution won the author the Viareggio Prize.