According to Carlo Cattaneo, a long time ago ‘America and Australia were to Europeans what Europe was to the Asians’. However, things have evolved differently, because an Italic, European, Western ‘civilizing process’ was born in our country. Following the trail of Cattaneo’s reflections (which examine forty centuries of history) and comparing them with current knowledge about the ancient evolution of regions and areas in our part of the world, this book explores some of the roots of our civilization and discovers in them the logic behind associations and pluralities, the taming of barbarism to preserve independence, the fostering of generations of cities, and interactions of cooperation and emulation. This is a journey into the distant past motivated by the needs of the present. It urges us, in fact, to not lose heart, to sharpen our wits, to aim for autonomy and liberty, to increase the initiatives, leadership skills and responsibilities of governance. Therefore, we are encouraged to abandon the centralism that obstructs the revival of the country, replacing it with a democratic federalism that is concordant with the best international experiences and with the best of the Italian spirit in every age.