istoryworld
Events relating to italy
Roger I, the first Norman count of Sicily, completes the conquest of the island from the Muslims
Many of the towns of northern Italy acquire virtual independence as self-governing communes
Work begins on the exquisite palace chapel in Palermo, built for the Norman kings of Sicily
Pope Innocent III and the second Lateran council outlaw the crossbow as a weapon causing unacceptable devastation
The fall of Edessa prompts the pope, Eugenius III, to call for a second crusade to defend the Latin kingdom
The Medici move into Florence from their country home in the Mugello valley
The three-year old Frederick II has a claim to the thrones of both Sicily and Germany on the death of his father, the emperor Henry VI
In the cathedral on Torcello, and in St Mark's, Venetian mosaics are a culmination in the west of the Byzantine tradition
The fleet of the fourth crusade departs from Venice - only to be diverted from its purposes by Venetian guile
Venice takes the useful islands of Corfu and Crete as part of the spoils of the fourth crusade
A Latin empire is set up in Constantinople on the same basis as the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem
Many of the treasures adorning the church of San Marco in Venice are loot taken from Constantinople during the fourth crusade
St Francis and eleven companions tell Innocent III of their wish for a life of holy poverty in the bustle of the towns
Participants in the Children's Crusade suffer disaster after the waters of the Mediterranean fail to part for them
St Dominic and his companions tell Innocent III of their wish to teach and preach in the bustle of the towns
The Dominicans are formally established by Pope Honorius III as Ordo Fratrum Praedicatorum, the Order of the Friars Preachers
The Franciscans are formally established by Honorius III as Ordo Fratrum Minorum, the Order of the Friars Minor
Gregory IX sends Dominican friars to root out the remains of the Catharist heresy in France, thus launching the Inquisition
The Palio, in which horses race round the Campo in Siena, is held from this time
Construction begins of two basilicas, one above the other on a hillside in Assisi, in memory of St Francis
The pope, eager to fill the vacant throne of Sicily, offers it to a son of Henry III of England but gets no firm response
Pope Alexander IV establishes a third order of preaching friars, the Augustinians
Nicola Pisano completes a pulpit for Pisa, borrowing details from Roman sarcophagi - an early example of a new interest in the classical past
A new form of poetry is written in northern Italy, described later by Dante as a sweet new style - the dolce stil nuovo
Pope Urban IV offers Sicily to a French prince, Charles of Anjou, who marches south in 1266 to fight for the kingdom
