The modern Italian language developed from the various regional forms of Latin that evolved after the fall of the Roman Empire. As the Roman Empire expanded, people throughout the Italian Peninsula spoke Vulgar Latin, the everyday language of soldiers, merchants, and ordinary citizens. Over the centuries, this spoken Latin changed from region to region, giving rise to many distinct Italian dialects and eventually the Romance languages, including Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian.

During the Middle Ages, Italy remained politically divided into numerous kingdoms, city-states, and republics, each with its own local speech. Among these regional dialects, the Tuscan dialect, particularly the variety spoken in Florence, gained prestige because of the cultural influence of great writers such as Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarca, and Giovanni Boccaccio. Their literary works demonstrated the richness and expressive power of Tuscan and established it as the preferred language of literature and education.

Following the unification of Italy in 1861, the new nation sought a common language that could unite its diverse regions. Standard Italian, based primarily on Florentine Tuscan, was adopted for government, education, and public life. Throughout the twentieth century, compulsory schooling, military service, national newspapers, radio, and television spread standard Italian across the country. Today, modern Italian is spoken by millions of people in Italy and around the world, serving as both a unifying national language and a living link to Italy's rich cultural and literary heritage.