Italy

Italy represented a privileged part of the Roman power and dominions. According to Roman tradition, the foedus Cassianum (493 bce) was a treaty between Rome and the league of Latin cities after the legendary victory of the Romans in the battle of Lake Regillus.

the possibility of becoming a Roman citizen by permanent residence in Rome. Another important right was the ius conubii, that is, the recognition of mar­riages between Latins and Romans. Finally, Latins had the right to com­merce, which was the right to benefit from the solemn form of conveyance of ownership in Rome (mancipatio).

After the Latin revolt of 340 bce, the Latin League was dissolved. Some cities received full Roman citizenship while maintaining their local government; others acquired the same rights and duties (military and financial burdens) that the Romans had, with the exception of the right to vote or be elected to a magistracy. Others remained as allies, retaining the right to commerce and probably the right to marry Romans. For the rest of Italy, Rome followed policies similar to those that applied to the Latins. The Romans continued using these ius Latii to expand Romanization through Italy and the empire. Thus, Latinity became a privileged status of non-Romans with some specific rights, including the possibility of becoming Roman citizens.

In general, allied communities enjoyed full autonomy. They had their own territory, their own local government, their own law. Rome usually signed a treaty of friendship, peace, and alliance with these allied cities to bind the parties to reciprocal military support in case of war. When the allied city instead recognized expressly the supremacy of Rome in its treaty of alliance and demanded Roman military assistance, the allied community was obliged to obey the orders of the Roman government.

During the Social War (91-88 bce) between the Roman Republic and several cities of Italy that had been Roman allies for centuries prior to the war, two laws were approved and passed: the lex Julia de civitate Latinis danda (90 bce) and the lex Plautia Papiria (89 bce). Introduced by the consul Lucius Julius Caesar, the lex Julia offered Roman citizenship to all citizens of Italian municipalities who had not yet revolted against Rome in the Social War. The lex Plautia Papiria was a plebiscite proposed by two tribunes that offered the possibility of acquiring citizenship to any person domiciled in Rome who gave his or her name to the peregrine praetor. After the submission of all Italian cities because of the Social War, citizenship was extended quickly to all cities of Italy. This extension expanded the application of Roman law to all of Italy and introduced a kind of double citizenship that became the rule in Italy. After the Social War, all Italian communities became municipalities.

In 42 bce, the province of Cisalpine Gaul was abolished, thus extending Italy to the north up to the southern edge of the Alps. During the reign of Augustus, Roman Italy was officially created as the administrative division of the Italian peninsula. It was not a province, but a territory of Rome with a special status. For administrative purposes, Augustus divided Italy into eleven regions. It was the first time in history that the Italian peninsula was united under the same name. This system continued without substantial changes until the reign of Diocletian, when the three islands of corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily were added to Roman Italy, which acquired the status of diocese: the diocese Italiciana.