In 1871 Rome became the capital of the recently established Kingdom of Italy. In 1922 the fascist movement brought Benito Mussolini to power and he remained Prime Minister until 1943. During the Second World War Italy was allied to Germany; defeat meant the end of the Fascists and death for Mussolini. In 1946 the country voted to abolish the monarchy; in its place a democratic republic was created. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries Florence was the setting for the Renaissance period during which great art flourished in the works of Botticelli, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci. Traditionally the north of Italy has been the richer industrial heartland whilst the south has been poorer and more agricultural. The official religion is Roman Catholicism and Italian is the official language.
