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In this first comprehensive study of patrons in the Italian quattrocento, Mary Hollingsworth shows how the patron--rather than the artist--carefully controlled both subject and medium in artistic creation. In a competitive and violent age, she explains, image and ostentation were essential statements of the patron's power. As a result, perceived cost became more important than artistic quality (and buildings, bronze, or tapestry were considered more eloquent statements than cheaper marble or fresco). Artists in the early Renaissance were employed as craftsmen, Hollingsworth concludes, and only late in the century did their relations with patrons start to adopt a pattern we might recognize today.

"Many readers, specialists and nonspecialists alike, will welcome this book as a reliable and straightforward introduction to an important and interesting subject."--Literary Review

"A synthesis of the current state of knowledge about Renaissance patronage... The author is particularly well qualified to assess the amount of personal involvement of patrons, and she emphasizes the extent to which Lorenzo de Medici, Ercole d'Este, and Federigo da Montefeltro, as well as several Popes, can be considered their own 'architects.'"--Apollo

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Italy since 1945 sets in context the tremendous changes that Italy has undergone in the last 55 years.In place of the land of pizza, sunshine, and soccer, McCarthy describes a developing nation: an economy that has found its own road to success via the piccole imprese with an increasingly strong stockmarket and more sophisticated banking; a dynamic, traditional, family-centered society; and a political system struggling to modernize after forty years of Christian Democrat rule and Communist opposition.McCarthy also looks at the role of the Church, including Pius XII's wartime activities and the 'foreign pope', John-Paul II before finally turning to sport in Italy - the only country to have 3 daily newspapers devoted to the subject.

Authoritative, accessible, and absorbing, the book examines modern Italy through the eyes of 10 leading commentators and explores the Italian experience in the wider context of both the nation's past and its wider contemporary European position. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A short read
This is very concise short exploration of Italy since the end of WWII.It touches on the many aspects of Italian life, the rise of the middle class, the shift towards mediteranianism, the triumph of Christian Democracy, and the love of sport(football).This book also touches on the love hate mentality that Italians have for Americans, they love our protection but love to hate the USA. This is a short narrative, it perhaps does not touch on the more important events that are shaping Italy today.The mafia, the red terrorists, the elections of 1992, the corruption, the craxi regime, the invasion of immigrants and the plight of the south.Perhaps the book needs to be longer, it should be recommended as a short concise read on Italy for those taking a survey course or those interested in the current state. ... Read more

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Galileo made the first effective use of the refracting telescope to discover important new facts about astronomy. His observations led him to support Copernicus's claim that Earth and the other planets circled the sun. This conflicted with the teachings of the Catholic Church, and brought Galileo before the judges of the Inquisition. He spent his final years under house arrest.

Galileo's genius lay in the way he approached scientific problems. He reduced problems to simple terms on the basis of experience and common-sense logic. Then he analyzed and resolved the problems according to simple mathematical descriptions, thus opening the way for the development of modern mathematical physics. ... Read more

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General Books publication date: 2009Original publication date: 1901Original Publisher: Pub. for the Bay View reading clubSubjects: RomeItalyHistory / Ancient / RomeHistory / Europe / ItalyNotes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free.Excerpt: CHAPTER HI.But Tullus Hostilius, who was next chosen by the Senate, was not a lover of peace. He feared the Romans were growing effeminate and would forget how to fight. He was soon engaged in a fierce contest with the Albans. At last it became evident that either Rome would own Alba, or Alba Rome, and the issue rested upon the fate of a final battle. There chanced to be among the Romans three brothers born at one birth, the Horatii, and among the Albans three other brothers, also of the same age, named the Curiatii. It was agreed that a combat between these champions should decide the fate of the quarrel. In the presence of both armies they fought. The three Curiatii were wounded, but two of the Horatii were slain. Then, the surviving Horatius pretended to fly. Pursued by the three Curiatii the cunning Roman looked back, and when he saw his pursuers were well separated, swiftly turnedupon them and slew them one at a time, gathered up their vestments, and was borne back in triumph to Rome. But his sister loved and was betrothed to one of the Curia- tii, and when at sight of his blood-stained garment she wept and lamented, Horatius in a rage slew her also. The victor was condemned by the judges to be given to the executioner. But by the law of Rome he might appeal from the sentence of the Senate to the Roman people, his peers, who, because he had saved Rome, now saved him. But always afterward the Horatian gens was obliged to offer an annual sacrifice in expiation of this si... ... Read more

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In the tradition of Galileo's Daughter and Brunelleschi's Dome, this exciting story illuminates the captivating world of the late Renaissance—in this case its plagues, remedies, and alchemy—through the life of Leonardo Fioravanti, a brilliant, remarkably forward-thinking, and utterly unconventional doctor. Fioravanti's marvelous cures and talent for self-aggrandizement earned him the adoration of the people, the scorn of the medical establishment, and a reputation as one of the age's most colorful, combative figures. Written by Pulitzer-prize nominated historian William Eamon, The Professor of Secrets entices readers into a dangerous scientific underworld of sorcerers and surgeons. Meticulously researched and engagingly written, this gripping narrative will appeal to those interested in Renaissance history, the development of science, and the historical thrillers so popular today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

So so book
I was expecting a much more cohesive view of Medieval practices along this line and was really not impressed here. The focus is on one person who made the rounds in Europe and was an impressive (for that time) "doctor", but there seems to be a lot of glorification for this fellow that his deeds did not really deserve. Contrast this with Enguerrand VII, Lord of Coucy, the subject of Barbara Tuchman's excellent book (I've read it 3 times). Coucy too was there it seems at a pivotal period of time in Europe during the Middle Ages. He was involved in all the important battles and diplomatic schemes and his legacy spoke for itself. The "Professor of Science" is no Coucy, to quote Benson on Quayle. In short, the book is just not as wide-ranging a dive and flight into/over the expanse of those times. Perhaps I was looking for too much here.

Fascinating and spellbinding !!
Imagine this: you are sitting in a hall together with many other people anxiously waiting for the show to start. All of you have paid an entry fee. At one end of the hall stage there is one famous doctor,and at the other end stands another doctor. Both physicians have different views about many medical issues. Then,when everything is ready,three cadavers are introduced to the audience. The bodies belong to criminals who were convicted either of murder or theft.
The show is about to begin. Here another doctor shows up,and he will perform an anatomical dissection live. He asks the audience to be quiet and all the jokes and chats stop.
This kind of thing actually took place in Italy during the sixteenth century,when Flemish anatomist Andreas Vesalius arrived in Bolognia to perform a series of anatomical demonstrations. Among those who attended one such show was Leonardo Fioravanti,23 years old and the subject of this fascinating volume. He was disgusted by what he saw,and the whole affair reminded him of a butcher's shop. He concluded that doctors might know a lot about the various body organs,but when it comes to knowing the reasons for so many diseases,their knowledge is almost nil.
The times were hard: devastating plagues were rampant,corsairs were abundant prowling the Mediterranean Sea,violence was everywhere in Italy,murders were committed en masse in Rome,and barbers bled their patients along with giving them a shave.
Fioravanti believed,like many others,that it was the duty of the doctor to find a miracle cure for each disease. He asserted that all diseases stem from one ot two causes: either the bad quality and indisposition of the stomach,or "the alteration and putrefaction of the blood". The solution: purgatives,emetics, and other strong drugs concocted by him and his colleagues.This mode of thinking was an alternative,counter-Galenic way to look at the afflictions which attacked the body. His many and different remedies and talent for self-aggrandizement earned him with the admiration of the people,the derision of the medical establishment and the reputation as one of his era's most colourful and combative figures.
The book reconstructs the life of not only a fascinating character lost to history,but the whole concept of the alternative medical thinking during the Renaissance. Fioravanti roamed Italy and other parts of Europe seeking for the Magna Medicina-the Great Medicine.In short,he was looking for the philosopher's stone. Alchemy was the superstar of Europe and Fioravanti did not intend to be left out. In the eyes of the common people he was a man of miracles but in the eyes of the establishment he was just a quack,and the result was that at the end of his life he spent some time in prison because he was accused of poisoning some of his patients.
Even centuries after his death,he continued to be remembered,through his many books which he wrote.His many treatises and books were compiled,abridged and translated into many languages.Some of these were still used during the 19th century.His writings were especially popular in Spain. He was also a genius of advertising and used brand names,published remedies in print rather than face-to-face,and took care to publish personal testimonies from his patients. Precipitato,a powerful emetic he invented,was his best-known cure for fevers and earned him most of his fame. He was among the first to advise the use of "magic bullets",that is: agents,pills,concoctions which would be targeted at the agent causing the disease.
Was he indeed a charlatan? It depends,according to Professor Eamon,on who is being asked. After all,Fioravandi held a medical degree from the University of Bolognia,which was one of Italy's most respected medical colleges. The establishment was full of envy and considered him as a fraud.By our contemporaray standarts,he probably was not.His untrammeled curiosity and naive sense of wonder about the marvelous properties of things put him at odds with the medieval tradition.For the Renaissance people,experiments were more important than theories.
The book is extremelly well-researched and documented,and contains many examples-and intrigues-from the daily lives of the Italians and Fioravanti in the sixteenth century. The historical context is splendidly rendered to the reader and the book reads like a first-rate thriller. This is popular history at its best! ... Read more

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This volume introduces the most recent scholarship on the history of the Renaissance. It considers not only humanists and artists, but also look as people from all classes, men and women alike. The themes covered include politics and society, identity and gender, religion and science. The focus is on Italian developments but aspects of the Renaissance in Germany France and England are also covered. ... Read more

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Discover what life was like for ordinary people living in Renaissance Italy. How was their society organized? What were their homes like? What dangers did they face? These and other questions are answered in detail to provide the reader with a unique view of the world of the Italian Renaissance. A multitude of settings and socioeconomic backgrounds are presented, from urban life to country life, from upper-class to peasant-class, to paint a full portrait of the different existence of the people of this culture.

Discover what life was like for ordinary people living in Renaissance Italy. How was their society organized? What were their homes like? What dangers did they face? These and other questions are answered in detail to provide the reader with a unique view of the world of the Italian Renaissance. A multitude of settings and socioeconomic backgrounds are presented, from urban life to country life, from upper-class to peasant-class, to paint a full portrait of the different kinds of existence of people of this culture.

Recipes, profiles of actual individuals, and over 40 illustrations help bring the period to life. Learn what they ate, what their homes were like, how they spent their leisure time, what their work was like, and much more. Modern readers will be surprised to find fundamental similarities between our lives today and the lives of these people living over 500 years ago, as well as to discover that many of the perceptions they may have of this time period are inaccurate.

Customer Reviews (2)

Fascinating
This is one of my favorites of the Daily Life's. It gives a look at a fascinating culture. It was a culture of paradoxes and complexities in which the people navigated between family and civic loyalty. Between the Code of Honor and Christian teaching. It was a culture in which new things were invented and forgotten things revived. Much of modern economic, political, and social systems were built here. And much learning that had been forgotton was recovered. It was also a time when much remained the same and many went on with their lifes perfectly unaware that they were in a renaissance.
This book covers how people from all walks of life lived and their differing experience. It shows the lifes of Princes, Patricians, Merchants, Artisans, Peasants and on and on through the many types of people that filled the life of Renaissance Italy. It shows the highly competitive society of the Renaissance Italians. It also shows the structure of families, patronage-webs and other such institutions. The demands of everyday life and on and on. It is a great book about a fascinating time.

Too abstract
After enjoying Marcus Rautman's "Daily Life in the Byzantine Empire," I had high expectations for this Renaissance volume. After reading several chapters, however, I can only say that this volume falls short. The authors' approach is oddly abstract in nature, sticking with generalizations. The sidebar anecdotes they include don't make up for the specifics and examples that should have been part of the main text.I don't feel as if I came away with a vivid picture of what daily life was really like in Renaissance Italy. ... Read more

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By the second decade of the fifteenth century Venice had established an empire in Italy extending from its lagoon base to the lakes, mountains, and valleys of the northwestern part of the peninsula. The wealthiest and most populous part of this empire was the city of Brescia which, together with its surrounding territory, lay in a key frontier zone between the politically powerful Milanese and the economically important Germans. Venetian governance there involved political compromise and some sensitivity to local concerns, and Brescians forged their distinctive civic identity alongside a strong Venetian cultural presence.

Based on archival, artistic, and architectural evidence, Stephen Bowd presents an innovative microhistory of a fascinating, yet historically neglected city. He shows how Brescian loyalty to Venice was repeatedly tested by a succession of disasters: assault by Milanese forces, economic downturn, demographic collapse, and occupation by French and Spanish armies intent on dismembering the Venetian empire. In spite of all these troubles the city experienced a cultural revival and a dramatic political transformation under Venetian rule, which Bowd describes and uses to illuminate the process of state formation in one of the most powerful regions of Renaissance Italy.

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Good
Contents
1 Julius Krishner
Introduction: The state is "Back In"
11 Pierangelo Schira
Legitamacy, Disciplin and institutions:Three necessary conditions for the birth of the modern state
34 Giorgio Chittolini
The "private" the "public" the state
62 Aldo mazzacane
Law and Jurists in the formation of the modern state in Italy
74 Elena Fasano Guarini
Center and Periphery
97 Anthony Molho
The state and public finance:A hypothesis based on the history of late medieval Florence
136 Trevor Dean
The courts
152 Roberto Bizzocchi
Church, religion and state in the early modern period
166 Riccardo Fubini
The Italian League and the policy of the balance of power at the accension of Lorenzo de' Medici
200
Index

A political history invaluable for a modern view on The state of Italy.Great for an enjoyable read or for a springboard for greater research.The opinions voiced are clear and well formented.A book to buy. ... Read more

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Though overshadowed by Germany's more famous Afrika Korps, Italian tanks formed a large part of the Axis armoured force that the Allies confronted - and ultimately defeated - in North Africa in the early years of World War II. Those tanks were the product of two decades of debate and development as the Italian military struggled to produce a modern, mechanised army in the aftermath of World War I. For a time, Italy stood near the front of the world's tank forces - second only to Germany in number of divisions, first to create an armoured corps - but once war came, Mussolini's iron arm failed as an effective military force. This is the story of its rise and fall. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Excellent Resource On Mechanization of the Italian Army
"Iron Arm: The Mechanization of Mussolini's Army, 1920-1940" describes Italy's attempts to mechanize (as opposed to motorize) its Armed Forces prior to World War II.Originally published in 1980, it was re-released in 2007 by Stackpole Books.(As a quick aside, I'm personally very happy that Stackpole Books has re-released so many good and relevent books on World War II that had fallen out of print for years).Although the book was first published nearly 30 years ago, it is still probably the best book available on the "how's" and "why's" of Italian armored development in the inter-war period.

The book discusses how doctrinally, the Italians eventually came to the correct conclusions as how to use mechanized/armored forces.However, a host of problems prevented them from developing a truly effective army along those lines ... Italy's abysmal economic and industrial situation, the lack of motorization in Italian society as a whole, and the Italian Army's lack of initiative and funding, among others.Given the author's analysis and explanation, Italian failures in World War II are more readily understandable.

Most of the written material presently available speak of German, Soviet, and Allied forces.This book is important, if for no other reason, because it fills in a large gap by providing information on the armed forces development for one of the somewhat neglected major powers in World War II.

An amazing study...
This is even more amazing for being 30 years old, predating most of the good stuff that has come out in the last 20 years...We lost a talented historian when the author died on active duty.This book covers in particular the inability of the Italians to -produce- armor, failing both R&D and industrial production.

Combine this with "Iron Hulls, Iron Hearts" (Amazon gives you a break to buy them together sometimes) to see how well Italian armor performed, given the limitations of their materiel, training and logistics, in North Africa.This is particularly true of "Ariete" in the Crusader battles in Nov 1941.

I've been reading up on North Africa for probably 40 years, and I rate this as essential to understanding the North Africa campaign.

Someone needs to do a similar study on Italian artillery and engineers.

dave

One of the few which is about non-German armourdevelopment.
If your searching for books concerning non-German armour developments between 18918 and 1945 you will find out that your looking for a needle in a haystack. But when you keep on searching you will discover some rare but interesting books. One of these rare books is "Iron Arm: The mechanization of Mussolini's Army, 1920-40", by John Joseph Timothy Sweet.
Sweet tells the very interesting story of how the Italian landforces tried to change from being a hardly motorized army into a mechanized battleforce.
As in most books about armour Sweet presents a lot of technical data about - in this case - Italian armourdevelopment and theories before WW 2. But that's not all. Sweet gives a broader image than that. He also shows the challenges and problems the Italians met. He shows the economic and industrial problems which made it hard for the Italians to create a large mechanized force. During the interwar years Italy hardly had a automobile-industry. The few existing motorcompanies like Fiat didn't have the time or capacity to satisfy the demand for armour.
Sweet also makes room for the influence of the specific geographical situation of Italy on armourdevelopment. Since most of the country is mountainous there was a need for small tankettes and not for large tanks.
In the second half of the "thirties' the Italians found out the hard way in Spain and Abessynia that their armoured forces would be no match on the European battlegrounds. The tankettes were too lightly armed and armoured. The way they deployed theses tankettes made them vulnerable. Sweet shows us that when the Italians realized this, they started rethinking the role of armoured forces and developed a concept which was just as sound as that of - for example - Germany and Great Britain. But it was all too late and too little.
Over all "Iron Arm" is well written, with a lot of interesting and unknown facts. Another important thing is the fact that "Iron Arm" is one of the very few books who doesn't make a laughter of the Italian armed forces. It shows that the Italians where no worse than - for instance - the British, French or Americans, when it comes to the development of a mechanizes force between 1918 and 1940.
This book is highly recommended when your tired of yet another title about German armour-development before WW 2.

Excellent context for Italian armor leading up to WW2
Although Sweet's book is based on the development of Italy's armored capabilities in the interwar years, it provides excellent context for understanding the nation's poor performance on the battlefield in WW2.This is not a book for the rivet counter, it's a "new" military history that analyzes social, military, doctrinal, and technological context which goes a long way towards explaining how, despite Italy's correct understanding of armor doctrine, it was unable to turn that understanding into success in battle.

For those familiar with the theory of Revolutions in Military Affairs (RMAs) the book demonstrates there are a variety of variables required for the development and transformation of a given military.In the case of Italy, the book discusses Italian armor doctrine, the impact, or lack thereof, of the automobile on Italian society, economic and industrial problems that impeded the development of modern armor and production, and it takes a look at the employment of Italian armor in Spain and colonial battles in Africa.

In the end the author concludes that systemic limitations in its economy, industry, and society (vis-a-vis the integration of the automobile) prohibited Italy from using its doctrine -- which was correct for the time.

I'd also recommend this book be read in conjunction with Iron Hearts, Iron Hulls: Mussolini's Elite Armored Divisions in North Africa, which also provides strategic context for its armored forces in North Africa, and discusses the actual battles in which the forces fought.

Iron Arm
As an avid military historian, this book brought new insights into the reasons for Italy's military failures especially in the North African theatre. The author explains Italy's lack of preparation for World War Two and its inability to adapt and expand its military production in the way that Germany, Great Britian and especially the United States did. An excellent read for those with an interest in the Italian military and World War Two in general. The book focuses on the political and industrial background to the Armored forces rather than the actual combat that those forces participated in. ... Read more

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Until Italian unification, vast areas of Apulia were an uninhabited sheep walk. In the late nineteenth century this frontier area was settled and agro-business established. In the quasi-colonial context of the South of Italy, the relations between landowners and farm workers were characterized by extreme forms of oppression and brutality. This book is a study of the world the landlords made and of the harsh structures of profit, tenure, and climate they faced. It is also a powerful investigation of the appallingly grim conditions in the teeming agricultural centres of the region and a vivid history of the struggle by the farm workers to win the ordinary decencies of life - clothes, clean water, and bread. In the process, the labourers formed a potent anarcho-syndicalist movement whose history the book relates from the first general strikes in 1901 to the restoration of the landlords' power by fascist terror in 1922. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Why did our ancestors immigrate from southern Italy to America?
Wow!This book says it all.I always wanted to know the entire story.Our Italian ancestors were so ashamed of their past, it was too humiliating, they could not speak of it.They wanted to forget it and move on, giving us the wonderful lives we now enjoy.We owe so much to them.This book is earthy and sad but gives you a true idea of what it was like to live in Puglia at the turn of the century.If you have Italian ancestors, be prepared to feel sad, but informed. ... Read more

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Pope Leo X commissioned Machiavelli to write a history of Florence in 1520. In 1525, Machiavelli presented Pope Clement VII with eight books comprising the origin of Florence up to 1492, which was as much a tracing of the Medici family line as it was a political history. Niccolo Machiavelli is also known for his other works, The Art of War, The Prince, and Discourse on the First Ten Books of Titus Livy, being a history of Rome. ... Read more

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This book relates the history of Italian railways and their relation with the Italian state from the 1840s, when the first lines were constructed, until nationalization in 1905. The effects of railway legislation are assessed, and various socio-economic indicators for the Italian regions are analyzed. It is shown that railways contributed little to the economic unification of Italy, and that any positive effects were felt mostly in the twentieth century. During the nineteenth century and the process of unification, it is argued that railways had a pernicious and divisive influence on Italian political life. ... Read more

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Often overshadowed by the cities of Florence and Rome in art-historical literature, this volume argues for the importance of Naples as an artistic and cultural centre, demonstrating the breadth and wealth of artistic experience within the city.

• Generously illustrated with some illustrations specifically commissioned for this book
• Questions the traditional definitions of 'cultural centres' which have led to the neglect of Naples as a centre of artistic importance
• A significant addition to the English-language scholarship on art in Naples

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Italy's early modern period is still considered by many to be little more than a long interval of decadence between the flowering of the Renaissance city-states and the progress of the Risorgimento. In this, comprehensive, introductory survey of the political, social, cultural, and economic history of early modern Italy-the first of its kind in the English language-Gregory Hanlon throws light on a neglected and influential era. Taking a thematic approach, the author covers all aspects of life in early modern Italy: the family, the Republics, Baroque art, religion, the economy, disease, philosophy, justice, and much more, building up a vivid picture of the so-called "forgotten centuries" of Italian history.
... Read more

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In this volume, ten leading international historians and archaeologists provide a fresh and dynamic picture of Italy's history from the end of the Roman Western Empire in 476 to the end of the tenth century. Recent archaeological findings, which have so greatly changed our perceptions and understanding of the period, have been fully integrated into the eleven thematic chapters, which provide a fully rounded overview of the entire Italian peninsula in the early middle ages. The chapters consider such themes as regional diversities, rural and urban landscapes, the organisation of public and private power, the role and structure of ecclesiastical institutions, the production of manuscripts, inscriptions, and private charters. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good Overview of a Neglected Period
In an effort to understand more of the historic development of Italy, I picked up this book from the local library.The book covers a wide range of time, from 476-1000, and each chapter is an essay covering a particular aspect of this period.The book is definitely not all inclusive, and it is not meant to be.The essays do give the reader a good sense of what is happening and how Italy is changing through the time period.

Overall, I found the essays to be well-written.Some of the essays are drier than others, making them more difficult to focus your attention upon.I like the idea of the subject specific essay though, allowing the reader to understand an aspect as a whole for a period before passing onto the next.

The book concentrates mostly on Northern and Central Italy.Southern Italy does not receive the same attention.From the text, I would gather that there is less material about the area available to study this period.Perhaps as more archaeological evidence is found and local histories are gathered, we can understand more about what happened in this area in this period (Note:the Byzantine Empire controlled the area for much of this period, as opposed to the Lombards, Goths and Carolingans farther to the north).

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about this period.It is important to understand the transitions that a culture makes if you are going to understand why a land is how it is (and if that makes sense to you, good). ... Read more

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Covering the period from the French Revolution to the end of the 19th Century, this volume sets the events leading to Italian Unification and the creation of an independent Italian state in the broader context of 19th-century European history. Challenging the view that the political failings of the Risorgimento and Italy's economic and social backwardness paved the way for fascism in the 20th century, it emphasizes how similar Italy's social and political development was to that of other modernizing European states in the same period, while explaining why Italy's experience of modernization in the nineteenth century also proved particularly difficult.

Italy in the Nineteenth Century provides both the general and specialist reader with a critical, concise introduction to the most recent historical debates and perspectives. ... Read more

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Freedberg discusses the individual painters of the Cinquecento and analyzes the hallmarks of their work. He traces the classical style of the High Renaissance, the Mannerism that succeeded it and the events, in North Italy especially, that resist stylistic categories. ... Read more

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This volume traces the history of Naples in the "tragic centuries" between the collapse of the Parthenopean Republic and the restoration of the Bourbons to the end of World War II. It then picks up the history of Naples as it begins its slow recovery from the depredations of Unification, the destruction of war, and the urban corruption and environmental degradation of Italy's post-war economic "miracle."

The author presents 229 documents within the context of a larger, and continuous, narrative of the city's history, society, and economy during these centuries. Sources include narrative histories, travelers' accounts and diaries; urban descriptions and analyses; the letters of famous and the ordinary citizens; newspaper and magazine articles; interviews and surveys; oral histories; official narrative, statistical reports and legislation; political oratory; novels, poetry, song, and visual arts.

Topics include the image of Naples at the end of the 18th-century Grand Tour; the revolution of 1799, the Bourbon restoration and its aftermath; the social and political developments of the 19th-century leading to the revolution of 1848 and the Risorgimento; the place of Naples within a unified Italy; and the catastrophes of the 20th century, including epidemic, fascism and world wars, the rise of the Camorra, and the social and political corruption of the post-war era. The readings conclude with texts documenting recent reforms and new economic and social directions that may point to a sustained renewal of Neapolitan life.

Foreword, Preface, Introduction, Notes, Chronology, Bibliography, and Index. 168 illustrations, 3 maps. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Great Historical Study of Naples
4 stars means: A great book would recommend to almost anyone.

Perhaps my favorite book in the class I took on 19th century Italy. It presents information in a extremely clear manner without distancing the reader from the sources available.

The focus of the book is as would seem obvious, Naples, but there is a good amount of information on all Southern Italy and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies up until unification. It presents information with regards to the 'southern problem' well and explains the complex relations of the north and the south not only after unification but in the decades preceding it.

It is a highly readable narrative which would serve great for academics as well as people looking for a more casual read. Good collection of sources and well researched, this book can be trusted as a solid history. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (4)

An amazing book on the history of Rome
Good history books are hard to write. They can be filled with information and yet be dry or be a great read and lacking information, so it's difficult to strike the balance and make a book a good read and yet fill it with information.

I've been to Rome a few times now, and am starting to get a sense of the city and a grasp at the context in which what you see and how that fits into place. After you've done main tourist sites, a book like this will help you dive deeper into Rome's rich history. A previous reviewer is correct: This is not a book you'd pickup if you're planning your first visit to Rome. If you're a return visitor or even just a history buff, this book is for you.

I think the overlooked strength of this book is that despite the source material, it's a really easy read and is filled with great nuggets of information. When you have someone who knows their history, it's very easy to write in a tone that is belittling or dry and boring. Very few authors can do this well, and it's a tribute to Mr. Majanlahti's strengths as a writer and a historian.

5/5 - it's a great historical book to read, and I'm glad I was told about this book.

Magnificent book, but with a few flaws
I'm often critical of books about Rome, because so many are full of inaccuracies, or are superficial, or just poorly written. This book has none of those flaws. In terms of the sheer amount of fascinating information conveyed, the readable writing style and the originality of its approach, this book really OUGHT to receive five stars from me.

So what's wrong with the book?It has three flaws, all of which could be corrected if the author is ever able to publish a second edition. One is trivial, but annoying: the author grossly overuses the word "great." I know, I know-- an awful lot of things in Rome seem to require that adjective; so much in Rome IS great. But an editor should red-pencil out about three-quarters of the instances where this word appears.

The second problem is that the book lacks any useful maps. The author shows the buildings discussed in his text against what look like portions of an 18th-century map of Rome. In any case, it's printed very faintly. The map illustrations are therefore difficult to see properly and are pretty much useless if you're actually using this book on-site as a guide in Rome.

The third problem is inexcusable. The author has obviously done an absolutely prodigious amount of research, but doesn't include a bibliography. He casually mentions half a dozen works in his Acknowledgments, and that's all. Clearly he must have consulted dozens, if not hundreds, of other works, but not a word about what they were.

Now that I've gotten these gripes up front, I want to emphasize that this is among the best and most informative books I've ever read about Rome, and I've read a LOT on the subject. Seeing Rome in terms of the families whose building programs-- or random constructions-- have determined the appearance of Rome is a fascinating and useful approach to understanding the Eternal City. Majanlahti is the only author I've ever read who makes the peculiar and seemingly irrational linear arrangement of rooms in Rome's noble palaces comprehensible in terms of the way these rooms were originally used. And despite the huge amount of information conveyed, the writing is never dull or dry and is occasionally enlivened with bits of dry humor.

This isn't a guidebook for the casual tourist-- it's for serious lovers of Rome, the kind of book to bring with you on repeated and extended visits.

Excellent Book
This book brings to life a city I know (or thought I knew) very well, having been a student in Rome for 5 years.Vibrantly written, never short of an interesting insight and delightful detour away from the overknown locations for a vistor in Rome to see.Well done Anthony!What's next?

Fascinating history for the Italophile or Rome-buff in your life
I love anything Roman: books about the city, photos, travelogues -- and I visit pretty often, usually once or twice a year.This book gives you the insight and family history behind all of the locales you'll see while traveling in Rome: the piazzas, churches, fountains, and pretty much anything of historical significance that you remember from your travels there.It's not a photo-filled armchair-traveler sort of book, it's got a lot of history in it.But it reads surprisingly easily for being the historical book that it is -- I expected it to feel more "dense" but it's very accessible.Is it for the first-time visitor to Rome? No.But if you've found yourself going back time after time, you will recognize the names and locations and the maps in the book, and this will definitely enhance your experience the next time you go. ... Read more