The history of Italy is central to the European experience. Through the supremacy of Rome, Italy enjoyed its greatest influence, as Roman power stretched from the Atlantic to the borders of Mesopotamia, and from the Scottish Lowlands to the Sahara Desert. A Traveller's History of Italy moves from Italy's pre-historic and Etruscan civilizations, through the Roman Empire and the Renaissance, the creation of modern Italy, fascism and World War II, and the role of Italy in today's Europe, up to present day.