The Shortest History of Italy: 3,000 Years from the Romans to the Renaissance to a Modern Republic?a Retelling for Our Times
The Shortest History of Italy: 3,000 Years from the Romans to the Renaissance to a Modern Republic?a Retelling for Our Times
The Shortest History of Italy: 3,000 Years from the Romans to the Renaissance to a Modern Republic?a Retelling for Our Times
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Description
Description
The calendar. The Senate. The university. The piano, the heliocentric model, and the pizzeria. It's hard to imagine a world without Italian influence--and easy to assume that inventions like these could only come from a strong, stable peninsula, sure of its place in the world. In this breakneck history, bestselling author Ross King dismantles this assumption, uncovering the story of a land rife with inner uncertainty even as its influence spread.
As the Italian tale unfolds, prosperity and power fluctuate like the elevation in the Dolomites. If Rome's seven hills could talk, they might speak of the glorious time of Trajan--or bemoan the era of conquest and the Bubonic Plague that decimated Rome's population. Episodes of wealth like the First Triumvirate and the time of the Medicis are given fresh life alongside descriptions the Middle Ages, the early days of Venice, the invasion of Napoleon, and the long struggle for unification.
With illustrations and maps to reinforce key details, King paints a colorful, fascinating portrait of a country that remains compelling not just to tens of millions of Italian Americans, but to the millions of Americans who visit Italy every year.
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
"King has made a career elucidating crucial episodes in the history of art and architecture.-- "Time" A rollicking introduction to the history of a country that, until barely 150 years ago, was not one. Vibrant, admirably clear, and often wryly amusing, Ross King's narrative benefits again and again from his eye for the telling detail--a splendid achievement.--John Hooper, author of The Italians and Italy correspondent for The Economist A remarkably readable whirlwind tour of Italian history over the millennia, replete with conquerors, emperors, slaves, popes, assorted invaders, and filled with juicy historical nuggets. There's nothing quite like it.--David Kertzer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Pope and Mussolini and The Pope at War Known for his impeccable research and engaging style, King is the perfect Virgil to guide us from The Aeneid to COVID-19 in this densely packed volume of tantalizing details. . . . King has a keen eye for the provocative anecdote, ranging from the debauchery of the emperors to papal history and the origins of the Mafia. . . . Each page brims with Bill Bryson-like trivia that is sure to delight.--Booklist, starred review History exerts a force [in Italy] that is multifaceted and ambiguous, especially to the outsider--but The Shortest History of Italy helps to render the country coherent.-- "The Saturday Paper (Australia)"
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