Rome didn’t fall in a day. It took a century of invasions, economic collapse, and bureaucratic decay.
Plan a history trip →378: Battle of Adrianople — Visigoths destroy a Roman army. 410: Alaric’s Visigoths sack Rome (first time in 800 years). 452: Attila’s Huns invade northern Italy (Pope Leo I talks him out of sacking Rome — maybe). 455: Vandals sack Rome (more thoroughly than Alaric). 476: Odoacer deposes Romulus Augustulus, the last Western emperor. A 15-year-old boy named after Rome’s founder ends the empire. 493: Theodoric’s Ostrogoths take Italy, rule from Ravenna.
Ravenna: Ostrogothic and Byzantine capital. Theodoric’s Mausoleum (€8), Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo (€12 combo). Aquileia: destroyed by Attila, rebuilt, extraordinary basilica. Cividale del Friuli: Lombard Tempietto (€4), UNESCO.
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