Expert: Francesco Marchesani - 8/8/2005

Question
Hello Francesco.
  When Rome had an empire.the citizens of Rome are known as romans,but what about the people who lived in the rest of Italy, what were they called?
How was Italy divided into about twenty odd little states each ruled by a Prince or Duke untill the unification of Italy.
I was born and live in the UK,but through my grandad, my roots are in Italy, and I find it  hard to understand Italian history.

Answer
Hello,
ancient Italy was home to a lot of different populations, here you can find out about them:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Italic_peoples

Here, isntead, you can read about Italy's history during the Renaissance, when she was divided into small city states and feudal lordships:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Renaissance

Feel free to write me again if you need explanations or informations!