Completar Frases
fill the sentences
Between
the
twelfth
and
thirteenth
centuries
,
was
very
different
from
the
feudal
kingdoms
north
of
the
.
It
was
not
a
united
country
but
a
mix
of
many
political
and
regions
.
The
mountainous
geography
of
the
Italian
Peninsula
made
travel
and
communication
between
cities
difficult
.
Only
the
Plain
in
the
north
offered
open
land
that
could
easily
be
crossed
.
Most
of
the
cities
that
were
conquered
by
invaders
were
located
there
,
while
those
in
rougher
areas
,
like
or
Venice
,
managed
to
stay
independent
.
,
for
example
,
was
protected
by
its
lagoon
.
The
Alps
acted
as
a
natural
barrier
that
stopped
the
Holy
Roman
Emperors
and
German
princes
from
permanently
controlling
northern
Italy
.
Because
of
this
protection
,
no
strong
monarchies
appeared
in
Italy
as
they
did
in
other
parts
of
Europe
.
The
authority
of
the
Holy
Roman
Empire
in
Italy
became
mostly
symbolic
after
1177
.
In
the
century
,
as
the
Italian
Renaissance
was
beginning
,
Italy
became
the
heart
of
Western
Europe
.
Its
cities
were
famous
for
producing
high
-
quality
cloth
.
However
,
the
Bubonic
Plague
of
1348
,
wars
,
and
competition
from
the
new
English
wool
industry
weakened
Italy
?
s
economy
.
By
the
end
of
the
century
,
Italy
regained
some
strength
by
focusing
on
luxury
goods
such
as
silk
,
lace
,
ceramics
,
and
glass
.
Yet
it
never
fully
recovered
its
earlier
control
over
the
trade
.
Although
Italy
was
the
birthplace
of
,
other
European
nations
soon
caught
up
.
By
the
century
,
German
and
Dutch
banks
began
to
dominate
international
finance
.
The
Kingdom
of
Sicily
was
a
state
that
existed
from
1130
to
in
Sicily
,
the
part
of
the
Italian
Peninsula
,
and
for
some
time
in
North
Africa
.
It
was
founded
by
II
of
Sicily
and
replaced
the
earlier
County
of
Sicily
,
which
had
been
created
in
1071
during
the
conquest
of
southern
Italy
.
The
island
was
divided
into
main
regions
:
Val
di
Mazara
,
Val
Demone
,
and
Val
di
Noto
.
After
a
short
period
under
the
rule
of
Charles
of
Anjou
,
a
popular
uprising
in
,
known
as
the
Sicilian
Vespers
,
ended
Angevin
control
of
the
island
.
The
managed
to
hold
the
mainland
territories
,
which
became
known
as
the
Kingdom
of
Naples
,
though
at
that
time
it
was
still
officially
called
the
Kingdom
of
.
By
the
century
,
southern
Italian
rulers
were
hiring
Norman
mercenaries
?
warriors
descended
from
Vikings
who
had
settled
in
northern
France
.
Under
I
,
the
Normans
conquered
Sicily
,
taking
it
from
Muslim
rule
.
After
gaining
control
of
Apulia
and
Calabria
,
Roger
captured
with
knights
.
In
,
he
defeated
Muslim
forces
at
Misilmeri
,
and
by
1091
,
after
the
Siege
of
Palermo
,
all
of
Sicily
was
under
Norman
control
.
The
Kingdom
of
Sicily
was
officially
created
on
Day
,
1130
,
when
Roger
II
was
crowned
king
with
the
support
of
Pope
Innocent
II
.
Roger
united
all
the
Norman
lands
,
including
Apulia
,
Calabria
,
Sicily
,
and
the
Maltese
Islands
,
creating
one
strong
and
organized
state
.
The
Papal
States
,
also
known
as
the
State
of
the
,
were
a
group
of
territories
on
the
Italian
Peninsula
ruled
directly
by
the
from
756
to
.
They
were
one
of
the
main
political
powers
in
Italy
from
the
8th
century
until
the
unification
of
Italy
,
which
took
place
between
1859
and
1870
,
marking
the
end
of
the
Papal
States
.
The
Papal
States
officially
began
in
the
century
when
Pepin
the
Short
,
king
of
the
Franks
,
gave
Pope
II
control
over
lands
that
had
previously
belonged
to
the
Lombards
.
These
lands
were
added
to
other
territories
already
owned
by
the
bishops
of
Rome
since
the
time
of
Emperor
.
This
donation
was
part
of
a
larger
shift
in
which
the
popes
began
distancing
themselves
from
the
emperors
,
who
had
failed
to
protect
Rome
and
Italy
from
invasions
and
had
also
imposed
heavy
taxes
and
controversial
religious
policies
such
as
iconoclasm
.
During
the
Renaissance
,
the
Papal
States
expanded
significantly
.
The
pope
became
not
only
the
head
of
the
Catholic
Church
but
also
a
powerful
political
ruler
in
Italy
.
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