 Following the liberation of Italy, the fall of the Social Republic and the killing of Mussolini at the hands of the Resistance, the country abolished the monarchy with a referendum, reinstated democracy, enjoyed an economic miracle, and founded the European Union, NATO, and the Group of Six (later G7 and G20).It remains a strong economic, cultural, military and political factor in the 21st century.The arrival of the first hominins was 850,000 years ago at Monte Poggiolo.