Origins of The Name
The name "Italy" (Italia) can be traced back to ancient times for the peninsula, though it was initially designated for the region of the lower part of Southern Italy by Greek settlers. Mythological roots of the name mention a legendary ancient king named 'Italus', though a more likely origin may be from ancient Oscan VÍTELIÚ, meaning "land of young cattle", as Italy was a rich agricultural country since ancient times. The name Italia was imposed upon the Roman Republic much later by the conquering Italic tribes of the contemporary Abruzzo region, centering in the area of Corfinium (Corfinio). Coins bearing the name Italia were minted by an alliance of Italic tribes (Sabines, Samnites, Umbrians and others) competing with Rome in the 1st century BC. By the time of Emperor Augustus, present-day Italy was included in the Roman Italy (Italia) as a province of the Empire. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the Lombard invasions, "Italy" or "Italia" gradually became the collective name for diverse sovereign entities appearing on the peninsula.
Archaeologist Massimo Pallottino claimed that the name was actually derived from the Italic tribes settled in modern Calabria. The Greeks gradually came to use the name for a wider region, but it was not until the time of the Roman conquests that the term was expanded to cover the entire peninsula. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that Calabria was once called 'Italy' in honour of its inhabitants who were known as the "Itali" and gave the Italian peninsula its name.
Read more about this topic: History Of Italy
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