In OTL, the byzantine invasion of italy wreaked havoc on the populace, devastating the former jewel of the west. what if this war goes smoother for the denizens of italy, either ending faster or completely prevented? let's say that the ostrogothic leadership fractures for some reason and the byzantines swoop in, conquering italy with minimal resistance by the internally divided ostrogoths, and then lose the province when the arabs or lombards or bulgars become a larger problem. how would italian history be affected by a larger population and better infrastructure? would they be able to reject german and french influence, maybe even reversing the situation altogether?