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Italy was a country in the continent of Europe on the planet Earth.
The Doctor's travels
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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 [+]Loading...["The Romans (TV story)"])
The Seventh Doctor and Ace once visited Italy to prevent the Tremas Master from crossing the Rubicon in Julius Caesar's place. (COMIC: Crossing the Rubicon [+]Loading...["Crossing the Rubicon (comic story)"])
Venice, a city built on marshland by the sea, (TV: The Vampires of Venice [+]Loading...["The Vampires of Venice (TV story)"]) was also of interest to the Doctor. He made several trips to the city in his first, (PROSE: The Empire of Glass [+]Loading...["The Empire of Glass (novel)"]) eighth (AUDIO: The Stones of Venice [+]Loading...["The Stones of Venice (audio story)"]) and eleventh incarnations. (TV: The Vampires of Venice [+]Loading...["The Vampires of Venice (TV story)"])
Pompeii also attracted the Doctor's attention because of its famed volcanic eruption on 24 August 79. The Seventh (AUDIO: The Fires of Vulcan [+]Loading...["The Fires of Vulcan (audio story)"]) 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 [+]Loading...["The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)"])
The Ninth Doctor visited Foggia, an Italian location. (PROSE: Have You Seen This Man? [+]Loading...["Have You Seen This Man? (short story)"])
History
Early history
In 500 BC, the Thirteenth Doctor, Graham O'Brien, Yasmin Khan and Ryan Sinclair visited the Pythagorean commune of Crotone in Italy. (PROSE: The Pythagoras Problem [+]Loading...["The Pythagoras Problem (short story)"])
In 451, the Thirteenth Doctor, Graham O'Brien, Yasmin Khan and Ryan Sinclair visited Gaul. The Thirteenth Doctor noted that Gaul comprised part of Northern Italy, although they visited the region that would later become France. (PROSE: Combat Magicks [+]Loading...["Combat Magicks (novel)"])
In 493, the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan Jovanka visited Ravenna. (PROSE: Goths and Robbers [+]Loading...["Goths and Robbers (short story)"])
Originally a collection of huts built on marshland by people running from Attila the Hun, Venice grew into, according to the Eleventh Doctor, "one of the most powerful cities in the world". Influenced by a variety of cultures, it was the hub of a trading empire, its islands famously separated by an intricate series of canals. (TV: The Vampires of Venice [+]Loading...["The Vampires of Venice (TV story)"])
In 1087, the Second Doctor was accused of being a Venetian spy by other Italian sailors from Bari. (PROSE: Saint Nicholas's Bones [+]Loading...["Saint Nicholas's Bones (short story)"])
Marco Polo was born in St Mark's Square in Venice in 1252. (TV: "The Roof of the World" [+]Part of Marco Polo, Loading...{"namedep":"The Roof of the World (1)","1":"Marco Polo (TV story)"}, PROSE: The Empire of Glass [+]Loading...["The Empire of Glass (novel)"]) Polo's travels led him to become a part of the court of Kublai Khan. He hoped to obtain leave to return to Venice by gifting the Doctor's TARDIS to the Khan. (TV: Marco Polo [+]Loading...["Marco Polo (TV story)"])
River Song visited Venice many times during the 15th century, 20th century, and 21st century for research during her employment with DreamInc for the construction of New Venice. (PROSE: Death in New Venice [+]Loading...["Death in New Venice (short story)"])
In the 15th century, the Fourth Doctor visited the city-state of San Martino. (TV: The Masque of Mandragora [+]Loading...["The Masque of Mandragora (TV story)"])
In the 16th century, the Fourth Doctor visited the workshop of Leonardo da Vinci in Florence. (TV: City of Death [+]Loading...["City of Death (TV story)"])
In 1572, Italy was among the nations whose ambassadors attended a banquet in honour of the Abbot of Amboise at the Louvre in Paris, France. (PROSE: The Massacre [+]Loading...["The Massacre (novelisation)"])
By 1580, Venice had a population of some two hundred thousand people. Because of its improbable architecture at or below sea level, it was gradually sinking over time. A colony of Saturnyn refugees had made it to Venice by this time, led by Rosanna Calvierri, along with her children. Only the male children survived, though there were ten thousand of them. To rectify this problem and save their species, Rosanna lied about an outbreak of the plague, quarantining the city. She took in young girls under the pretence of providing them with a better education, and would drain them of blood and replace it with Saturnyn blood, converting them into Saturnyns. Rosanna also intended to create a tidal wave that would sink the city of Venice, providing them with a habitat to live in. Their actions unwittingly attracted the attention of the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory, and the Saturnyns' plan was ultimately thwarted. (TV: The Vampires of Venice [+]Loading...["The Vampires of Venice (TV story)"])
The First Doctor visited Venice in 1609 with Steven and Vicki. He told them that it had disappeared into the ocean "centuries before either of [them] were born". (PROSE: The Empire of Glass [+]Loading...["The Empire of Glass (novel)"])
In 1780, Reverend Merodach referred to Bonnie Prince Charlie contemptuously as "an Italian dandy". (AUDIO: Night's Black Agents)
20th century
During the 1910s, Italy was caught up in the First World War. Although bound by treaty to Germany, Italy held back from the war for a year, before siding with the Anglo-French alliance against Germany in 1915. (PROSE: The Time Traveller's Almanac [+]Loading...["The Time Traveller's Almanac (reference book)"]) In 1917, George Newman fought on the Italian Front. (AUDIO: Fiesta of the Damned [+]Loading...["Fiesta of the Damned (audio story)"]) The Ninth Doctor visited a base in Foggia during the First World War, stealing a Spad XIII after ingratiating himself with the CO. (PROSE: Have You Seen This Man? [+]Loading...["Have You Seen This Man? (short story)"])
The 1930s saw the emergence of the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in Italy. (AUDIO: The Rapture [+]Loading...["The Rapture (audio story)"]) Like Adolf Hitler in Germany, Mussolini rose to power with the help of his charisma. He had a distinctive, angled chin which helped to project this charisma. (PROSE: Warchild [+]Loading...["Warchild (novel)"]) He was, however, regarded as a "fatso" by people in the United Kingdom. (PROSE: Players [+]Loading...["Players (novel)"])
He was famously able to keep trains running on time, by, rumour had it, keeping the clocks running a few minutes fast (PROSE: Instruments of Darkness [+]Loading...["Instruments of Darkness (novel)"]) and by always keeping the lights on at the stations. (PROSE: Parallel 59 [+]Loading...["Parallel 59 (novel)"]) The Seventh Doctor also pointed out that it was a question of how the trains were run and what happened to the drivers who were late. (AUDIO: A Thousand Tiny Wings [+]Loading...["A Thousand Tiny Wings (audio story)"])
Mussolini expressed that ruling Italy was easy but utterly pointless. He had a vision of returning the nation to greatness. He allied himself with Hitler's Nazis, for which Edward Greyhaven later branded him a "fool". (PROSE: The Dying Days [+]Loading...["The Dying Days (novel)"])
In 1936, Winston Churchill tried to warn people about the danger both Hitler's Germany and Mussolini's Italy posed to Europe. (PROSE: Players [+]Loading...["Players (novel)"]) However, his warning went unheeded. (PROSE: Log 384 [+]Loading...["Log 384 (short story)"])
Mussolini's armies invaded Albania in 1939. (PROSE: Deadly Reunion [+]Loading...["Deadly Reunion (novel)"]) Later, during World War II, they marched into the Democratic Republic. (PROSE: The Earwig Archipelago [+]Loading...["The Earwig Archipelago (short story)"]) They also engaged the Allies in the Sahara Desert (PROSE: The Dying Days [+]Loading...["The Dying Days (novel)"]) alongside their German allies in 1941. (COMIC: The Instruments of War [+]Loading...["The Instruments of War (comic story)"])
In 1943, the Allies invaded Italy. (PROSE: Deadly Reunion [+]Loading...["Deadly Reunion (novel)"]) Mussolini's own people rose up against him and a mob strung him to a lamp post, (PROSE: The Dying Days [+]Loading...["The Dying Days (novel)"]) followed by Italy's change of allegiance. Around the time of the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944, Italian partisan groups had begun fighting the Germans in the north of the country. (COMIC: Treasure Trail [+]Loading...["Treasure Trail (comic story)"]) Mussolini was executed on 28 April 1945. (PROSE: Just War [+]Loading...["Just War (novel)"])
In the late 20th century, the Third Doctor spent some time on San Stefano Minore — near Sicily — with Sarah Jane, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and the Brigadier's cousin. (AUDIO: The Ghosts of N-Space [+]Loading...["The Ghosts of N-Space (audio story)"])
After millennia of legend, archaeologists eventually rediscovered the lost city of Pompeii, and humanity remembered its fate. (TV: The Fires of Pompeii [+]Loading...["The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)"])
In 1980, an earthquake damaged Pompeii and uncovered the TARDIS, which had apparently been buried in the eruption. This discovery was reported to UNIT and investigated by the Fifth Doctor, but he departed before he could learn anything more about his future. In reality, however, the Seventh Doctor and Mel had simply entered the ship before the lava reached it, waited inside while the lava hardened around it, and then took the ship forward in time 1900 years to the moment when it had been discovered. (AUDIO: The Fires of Vulcan [+]Loading...["The Fires of Vulcan (audio story)"])
On 11 July 1982, Italy beat West Germany 3-1 in the World Cup. The Eighth Doctor and Charley Pollard visited the Italian town Ferrara during the celebrations there. (AUDIO: Living Legend [+]Loading...["Living Legend (audio story)"])
21st century
On 25 December 2006, when the Sycorax used their blood control technique on Earth, people with A-positive blood stood on top of the remains of the Colosseum, ready to jump to their deaths. This plot was stopped by the newly-regenerated Tenth Doctor. (TV: The Christmas Invasion [+]Loading...["The Christmas Invasion (TV story)"])
Jackie Tyler's washing machine at 48 Bucknall House was made in Italy and labeled as such. (TV: Love & Monsters [+]Loading...["Love & Monsters (TV story)"])
In the 2010s, Rome was among the world's major cities where forces of flying Cybermen emerged led by Missy. Taking to the skies, they created a cloud of cyber-pollen above the city. These pollen clouds would then rain upon the graves, recruiting the dead of the Earth into a new Cyberman army. When control of the Cyberman army went to the hands of the recently-converted Danny Pink, he ordered all Cybermen to return to the skies and self-destruct, taking the pollen clouds with them in their combined explosions. (TV: Death in Heaven [+]Loading...["Death in Heaven (TV story)"])
In the mid- to late 21st century, Rome had a T-Mat centre. (TV: The Seeds of Death [+]Loading...["The Seeds of Death (TV story)"])
In 2096, Rome was an independent city-state on a destitute Earth. (PROSE: The Indestructible Man [+]Loading...["The Indestructible Man (novel)"])
Later history
In the 22nd century, the Wronsdehj conquered Italy, along with the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Poland and France. They were eventually defeated by the Fourth Doctor and Romana I. (PROSE: Life from Lifelessness [+]Loading...["Life from Lifelessness (short story)"])
In 2294, the Eighth Doctor and Charley visited Venice. It was expected to finally sink into the sea as a result of a curse 100 years previously. However, this was reversed by Duchess Estella and Duke Orsino, and the city was returned to its former state, albeit suffering much damage. (AUDIO: The Stones of Venice [+]Loading...["The Stones of Venice (audio story)"])
Alternate timelines
In the Game of Napoleon and Wellington, Italy was among the nations which were conquered by France and thus incorporated into Napoléon Bonaparte's World Empire. When the Empire collapsed upon Napoleon's death, Italy was among the conquered countries which were discreetly encouraged by the Players to "revert to type", spliting up into separate mini-states. (PROSE: World Game [+]Loading...["World Game (novel)"])
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 [+]Loading...["Immortal Sins (TV story)"])
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 [+]Loading...["Immortal Sins (TV story)"]) Leonardo da Vinci, a renowned artist (TV: City of Death [+]Loading...["City of Death (TV story)"], Mona Lisa's Revenge [+]Loading...["Mona Lisa's Revenge (TV story)"]) Giuseppe di Cattivo, an artist friendly with Leonardo (TV: Mona Lisa's Revenge [+]Loading...["Mona Lisa's Revenge (TV story)"]) Duke Giuliano, an Italian nobleman, and his friends and enemies, (TV: The Masque of Mandragora [+]Loading...["The Masque of Mandragora (TV story)"]) Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, who was 1/8th Italian (AUDIO: The Ghosts of N-Space [+]Loading...["The Ghosts of N-Space (audio story)"]) and Marco Polo, a Venetian who travelled extensively through China. (TV: Marco Polo [+]Loading...["Marco Polo (TV story)"])
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 [+]Loading...["Children of Earth: Day Three (TV story)"])
Alternate timelines
Rocco Colasanto and his Italian family stayed in Leeds with Donna's family and were sent to a "labour camp" in the parallel world created by the Time Beetle. (TV: Turn Left [+]Loading...["Turn Left (TV story)"])