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So, as you know, IOTL Italy was unified in the late 19th Century, at the hands of the Savoyard Sardinian-Piedmontese Dynasty. Even centuries before that, the idea of a "Kingdom of Italy" in the Middle Ages was more associated to the northern half of the peninsula, usually excluding the Papal State, as it confounded with the former Kingdom of Lombardy centered in Pavia since the Carolingian conquest.

Now, what is the best scenario to have Italy united starting from the Mezzogiorno with a PoD after the death of Charlemagne and before the 15th Century, from a rule centered in Naples, Sicily or perhaps Benevento.

1) An easy pick might be the Carolingians themselves annexing the whole of Italy (considering their rule over the southern Lombard principalities was tenous at best, despite Charlemagne and his descendants' wars to submit them). Then, the greatest threats to whatever Italian ruler that arises from the crumbling Carolingian Empire will be Byzantium and the Arabs.

2) How about the Normans? After the creation of the Kingdom of Sicily, they remained one of the most stable, wealthy and powerful states of the peninsula. Can we make the Hautevilles focus more on going north instead of adventuring against the Byzantine Empire? This obviously will cause conflict with the HRE and the Papacy.

3) Speaking of which, how about HRE Frederick II? He's a favorite one even in these forums, as I've seen some old threads discussing the possibility of him defeating the Lombard League. And then what, how could we make his successors focus on Italy and forget about Germany?

4) Other suggestions? After the Hohenstaufen we had the War of Sicilian Vespers, and then Sicily itself became divided between Anjou and Aragon.
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