We were unified in 1861, which is before other Countries in WE, but the problem is more related to the fact that our economic boom in the 50's brought a car colture that still exists right now: for the first time ever people could afford to move easily, and the infrastructure was built upon that car-centric idea. Tracking back is hard and colture is hard to change.

Italian here, from a small/medium city nearby Milan. Experience might vary, but generally speaking, Italy is not a very bike friendly country. In the cities you might have separated bike lanes, bike lanes which are part of the street and devided from it by, well, a strip of paint, or no bike lane at all. Outside of the cities, yeah, those are for hard core cyclists and, unless you are in the countryside, not safe at all. The point is, safety on a bike is not guaranteed and you should be aware that our streets are built for cars first. I live in the Netherlands and here the infrastructures are built FOR bikes rather than being an afterthought. Be safe, wear an helmet and hope no one abruptly opens a car door while parked next to a bike lane.

Little OT: mopeds and electric bikes are turning bike lanes in the Netherlands a nightmare too. I am of the idea that electric bikes (the non-assisted types) and mopeds should belong to streets, should have an insurance, a plate an require a motorcycle rated helmet. Sorry, delivery guys. You are danger to other cyclists.