Overview

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 of the Middle Ages, the early days of Venice, the invasion of Napoleon, and the long struggle for unification.   Highlighting key events and personalities, King paints a vibrant portrait of a country whose political and cultural legacies enrich our lives today.  The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read.

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9781891011450

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Reviews

"Jump into the Alfa Romeo and hold tight as Ross King speeds through Italian history with this effervescent and entertaining guide to the peninsula's past.--Catherine Fletcher, author of The Beauty and the Terror and The Black Prince of Florence [King's] scrupulous excavation of social, political and religious texts, as well as art historical sources, permits him to tell a familiar story as though it had never been told before.-- ""Financial Times"" King has the gift of clear, unpretentious exposition, and an instinctive narrative flair.-- ""The Guardian"" King is a deft storyteller.-- ""Telegraph"" Praise for Ross King ""King has made a career elucidating crucial episodes in the history of art and architecture. -- ""Time"" Few have as much insight into the history of Italy as the author of Brunelleschi's Dome, and here Ross King offers a masterful and perceptive account of Italian virtues--and sins--from the Romans to Berlusconi, as well as the country's inimitable art and architecture. An ideal handbook for anyone who loves Italy and wants to dig a little deeper into the past of what Dante called il bel paese, or as Ross King puts it, Italy's history of 'resilience and rebirth.'--Richard Owen, author of DH Lawrence in Italy, Hemingway in Italy, and Chaucer's Italy"

"Praise for Ross King ""King has made a career elucidating crucial episodes in the history of art and architecture.""--Time ""[King's] scrupulous excavation of social, political and religious texts, as well as art historical sources, permits him to tell a familiar story as though it had never been told before.""--Financial Times ""King has the gift of clear, unpretentious exposition, and an instinctive narrative flair.""--The Guardian ""King is a deft storyteller.""--Telegraph -- ""-"""

"[King's] scrupulous excavation of social, political and religious texts, as well as art historical sources, permits him to tell a familiar story as though it had never been told before.-- ""Financial Times"" King has made a career elucidating crucial episodes in the history of art and architecture.-- ""Time"" King has the gift of clear, unpretentious exposition, and an instinctive narrative flair.-- ""The Guardian"" King is a deft storyteller.-- ""Telegraph"" Few have as much insight into the history of Italy as the author of Brunelleschi's Dome, and here Ross King offers a masterful and perceptive account of Italian virtues--and sins--from the Romans to Berlusconi, as well as the country's inimitable art and architecture. An ideal handbook for anyone who loves Italy and wants to dig a little deeper into the past of what Dante called il bel paese, or as Ross King puts it, Italy's history of 'resilience and rebirth.'--Richard Owen, author of DH Lawrence in Italy, Hemingway in Italy, and Chaucer's Italy"

Author Information

Ross King is the author of The Shortest History of Italy and The Shortest History of Ancient Rome, along with many bestselling books on Italian art and history, including Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling and Brunelleschi’s Dome. He lectures widely on Renaissance art at museums, is a regular participant in Italian Renaissance seminars at the Aspen Institute such as at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Frick Collection, and the National Gallery.

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