The Italians are based on the medieval states in modern-day Italy, such as Venice, Genoa, Florence, and the Papal States. The Italians' unique unit, the Genoese Crossbowman, is an anti-cavalry archer. Their second unique unit, the Condottiero, is an anti-gunpowder infantry. Situated in southern Europe in modern-day Italy, the Italians were a prime center for European trade due to their strategic location of key port cities, in the game their Fishing Ships are 20% cheaper. As a result, Italian cities became one of the wealthiest in the world during that time. To reflect their economic productivity, the Italians feature cheaper trade units, as well as cheaper upgrades from the Dock. The Italians were best known for being a center of culture and knowledge at the city of Florence during the Renaissance which revolutionized the way Europeans think. This made them ahead of other European kingdoms at that time as a result of trading with the more advanced Islamic and Far Eastern kingdoms, therefore the Italians can advance through the Ages at a lower cost. To represent the technological benefits of the Silk Road, Italians' gunpowder units cost less.
The Italians are one of the people that are cultural descendants of the Roman civilization. The other ones are the Spanish, Portuguese, and the French, that all have also Roman origins, because all these civilizations speak Romance Languages.
The Italians are mainly an archer and naval civilization. Their Archery Range is pretty fit with all upgrades and technologies for the foot soldiers there. Only their Cavalry Archers are weak. Their Stable units however are good, featuring Hussars and Cavaliers with full upgrades. In the infantry department there is only the Halberdier missing, but they have the Condottiero at their disposal. Apart from the Bombard Cannon which they get at a lower cost the siege weapons are underwhelming for the Italians. However, their Monks and navy are excellent with only one missing feature each. Same goes for their economy, which only lacks Gold Shaft Mining, and their defensive structures, which do not lack a single feature at all.
Overall, the Italians have a very wide technology tree that leaves little to be desired.
With patch 5.5, Fishing Ships are now 20% cheaper.
With patch 5.7, Elite Genoese Crossbowmen now have +6 attack against camel units.
With patch 5.7, Condottieri have 9 attack and 0 pierce armor.
With patch 5.7, Condottieri now have a unique armor class that resists bonus damage from gunpowder units (+10 armor), but not from other anti-infantry attacks.
With patch 5.7, Condottieri now train in 18 seconds.
With patch 5.8, Fishing Ships are now 15% cheaper.
In-game, Italians units speak Medieval Latin, which is also spoken by the Byzantines. Historically, however, they spoke different vernacular languages descended from Latin. The modern Italian language was based almost exclusively on one of these vernacular languages, a variant of Tuscan called Florentine.
When playing a random map game against the computer, the player may encounter any of the following Italian AI characters:
Alboin: King of the Lombards from about 560 until 572.
Arechis II of Benevento: Duke of Benevento in Southern Italy. He sought to expand the Beneventos' influence into areas of Italy that were still under Byzantine control, but he also had to defend against Charlemagne, who had conquered northern Italy.
Castruccio Castracani (1281 – 3 September 1328): An Italian condottiero and duke of Lucca.
Domenico Selvo: The 31st Doge of Venice, serving from 1071 to 1084. During his reign as Doge, his domestic policies, the alliances that he forged, and the battles that the Venetian military won and lost laid the foundations for much of the subsequent foreign and domestic policy of the Republic of Venice.
Francesco I Sforza: An Italian condottiero, the founder of the Sforza dynasty in Milan, Italy, and was the fourth Duke of Milan from 1450 until his death.
Gisulf I of Salerno: Prince of Salerno (952–977), he took to using the title "prince of the people of the Lombards".
Liutprand the Lombard: The King of the Lombards from 712 to 744 and he is often regarded as the most successful Lombard monarch, notable for the Donation of Sutri, which was the first accolade of sovereign territory to the Papacy.
Maurizio Galbaio: The seventh traditional, but fifth historical, Doge of Venice from 764 to his death. He was the first great doge, who reigned for 22 years and set Venice on its path to independence and success.
Pietro Gradenigo: The 49th Doge of Venice, reigning from 1289 to his death in 1311.
Pope Gregory VII: Born Hildebrand of Sovana, he was Pope from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. One of the great reforming popes, he is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy, his dispute with Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor that affirmed the primacy of papal authority and the new canon law governing the election of the pope by the College of Cardinals.
Simone Boccanegra: The first Doge of Genoa. He became doge in 1339, but was ousted from power six years later. He regained the position in 1356, retaining it until his death in 1363.
The Mediterranean Monastery features architectural elements of both Gothic and Romanic architecture. This combination is typical in Northern Italian churches and cathedrals, as well as in some chapels through Tuscany, Marche, and Umbria.
The background emblem at the bottom center of the user interface is the coat of arms of Genoa.
Before patch 4.4, the Italian architecture, now shared with the Portuguese, shared the same Feudal Age buildings as the Western European set (Britons, Celts, Franks, Spanish). They now have unique Feudal Age buildings of their own after the release of The African Kingdoms and patch 4.4, though they still use exactly the same Lumber and Mining Camps as the Western European civilizations.
The Feudal Age architecture for the Italians and Portuguese actually comes from a fan-made mod, which became official after the release of The African Kingdoms.
It is salient that almost all unique traits for the Italians are cost reductions.
During the development of The Conquerors, the Italians had been considered to appear as the new civilization representing Western Europe region already. However, the Ensemble Studios team eventually picked the Spanish because they were impressed by El Cid's story and they planned to pit Spanish against two new Native American civilizations.[1]
When the Forgotten Empires team was working on the Forgotten Empires mod (which eventually became The Forgotten expansion), they initially planned to add the Lombards as one of the new civilizations. But in the end, the developers modified and renamed them as the more generic Italians.[2]
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The Age of Kings
The Conquerors
The Forgotten
The African Kingdoms
Rise of the Rajas