The “Dark Ages” does not mean what most laypeople think it means. Most historians don’t use the term anymore, because it’s too difficult to shake off the misleading connotations it has to the public.
Nobody ever used that name in Italy, it's Middle Ages here (Medioevo) which started with the fall of the Roman Empire and barbaric invasions (and the settlement of many of the people that eventually became modern Italians.) Anyway we had invasions as long as the 19th century, maybe the 20th as well if you think about WW2, so it's a kind of normal business here and in most of Europe. We also had a constant improvement of arts and technology after the first few bad centuries. Not very dark at all.