Italy

Italy was a country in the continent of Europe on the planet Earth.

The Doctor's travels

The Doctor made several visits to Italy. In his first incarnation, he even lived there for several weeks, taking an extended holiday near Rome with Barbara Wright, Ian Chesterton and Vicki Pallister in the 1st century AD. During this visit he was responsible giving Nero the idea for starting the Great Fire of Rome. (TV: The Romans)

Venice, a city built on marshland by the sea, (TV: The Vampires of Venice) was also of interest to the Doctor. He made several trips to the city in his first, (PROSE: The Empire of Glass) eighth (AUDIO: The Stones of Venice) and eleventh incarnations. (TV: The Vampires of Venice)

Pompeii also attracted the Doctor's attention because of its famed volcanic eruption on 24 August 79. The Seventh (AUDIO: The Fires of Vulcan) and Tenth Doctors were present during the eruption itself. Indeed, the Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble were the proximate cause of the explosion that wiped out the city. (TV: The Fires of Pompeii)

In 493, the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan Jovanka visited Ravenna. (PROSE: Goths and Robbers)

The Third Doctor once spent time on San Stefano Minore — near Sicily — with Sarah Jane, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and the Brigadier's cousin. (AUDIO: The Ghosts of N-Space) The Fourth Doctor visited other parts of Italy, including the city-state of San Martino in the 15th century (TV: The Masque of Mandragora) and the workshop of Leonardo da Vinci in Florence in the 16th century. (TV: City of Death)

Benito Mussolini was a fascist dictator who rose to power in Italy during the 1930s. (AUDIO: The Rapture) Italy was allied with the Third Reich during the Second World War. (PROSE: The Dying Days) Italy invaded Albania in 1939 (PROSE: Deadly Reunion) and in 1941 engaged the Allies in the Sahara Desert alongside the Germans. (PROSE: The Dying Days, COMIC: The Instruments of War).

Italy was invaded by the Allies in 1943. (PROSE: Deadly Reunion) The Italians rose up against Mussolini and a mob strung him up to a lamp post. (PROSE: The Dying Days) Mussolini was executed on 28 April 1945. (PROSE: Just War)

On 11 July 1982, Italy beat Germany 3-1 in the World Cup. The Eighth Doctor and Charley Pollard visited the Italian town of Ferrara during the celebrations there. (AUDIO: Living Legend)

People from Italy

As a populous country with a strong tradition of emigration, Italy had an influence upon the development of the planet Earth that was difficult to quantify. For example, any number of persons of Italian origin passed through the gates at Ellis Island to populate New York City in the 19th and 20th centuries. (TV: Immortal Sins)

Despite the anonymity of the American immigration, a number of specific Italians were known by name. A few of her more famous sons, daughters, and direct descendants included Angelo Colasanto, an immigrant to the United States, and his family, (TV: Immortal Sins) Christopher Columbus, an explorer and sailor, Leonardo da Vinci, a renowned artist (TV: City of Death, Mona Lisa's Revenge) Giuseppe di Cattivo, an artist friendly with Leonardo (TV: Mona Lisa's Revenge) Duke Giuliano, an Italian nobleman, and his friends and enemies (TV: The Masque of Mandragora), Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, who was 1/8th Italian (AUDIO: The Ghosts of N-Space) and Marco Polo, a Venetian who travelled extensively through China. (TV: Marco Polo)

Lucia Moretti of Torchwood Three was Italian. In 1975, she gave birth to Alice Carter, fathered by Jack Harkness. (TV: Children of Earth: Day Three)

Alternate timelines

Rocco Colasanto and his Italian family stayed in Leeds with Donna's family and were sent to a "labour camp" in the alternate reality created by the Time Beetle. (TV: Turn Left)