Books on Italian history?

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I'm going to visit Italy for the first time in my life next June! Before I go there, I wanted to learn history of the country as I believe that would make the visit more interesting especially in a country like Italy where they've got such a long history. So, I was wondering if you guys could recommend me some history books/novels/plays/...etc that might be good to read. I will be waiting for anyone's opinion :)