The Oxford Illustrated History of Italy

by Holmes, George

• ISBN13: 9780198205272
• ISBN10: 0198205279
• Additional ISBN(s): 9780192854445
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1997-11-06
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This is the story of Italy from the Roman Empire to the present day. Until just over a century ago, Italy did not exist as a political unit, but in previous periods it had been both the heart of the Christian Church and the seedbed for the extraordinary cultural flowering of the Renaissance.In the middle ages and early modern Europe, the merchants of Florence, Genoa, and Venice bridged Asia, Europe, and America with their trading and financial activities. Italy itself remained a region of fiercely independent city-states, with a complex political life and an incomparably rich andvaried culture. In the nineteenth century an upsurge of nationalist fervour was channelled by Cavour and Garibaldi into a victorious war against Italy's Habsburg and Bourbon overlords. A political vision was finally realized and the nation of Italy was created. In recent decades Italy has prosperedin a way that would have seemed improbable a century ago. This extensively illustrated survey by twelve leading historians offers a fascinating introduction to the whole history of Italy, and also pays proper attention to the evolution of its culture.

Author Biography

About the Editor:
George Holmes is Chichele Professor of Medieval History Emeritus at the University of Oxford.

Table of Contents

List of Colour Plates	xi
List of Maps	xiii
List of Contributors	xiv
From Augustus to Theodosius: Invention and Decline	1	(26)
Simon Swain
The Medieval Centuries 400--1250: A Political Outline	27	(30)
Bryan Ward-Perkins
Politics and Society 1250--1600	57	(29)
Michael Mallett
Renaissance Culture	86	(27)
George Holmes
Italy 1600--1796	113	(26)
Stuart Woolf
Culture in the Age of Baroque and Rococo	139	(38)
Robert Oresko
Italy 1796--1870: The Age of the Risorgimento	177	(33)
John A. Davis
Nineteenth-Century Italian Culture	210	(25)
Jonathan Keates
Politics and Society 1870--1915	235	(29)
Adrian Lyttelton
Italy 1915--1945: Politics and Society	264	(27)
Paul Corner
Twentieth-Century Culture	291	(29)
David Forgacs
Italy since 1945	320	(29)
David Hine
Further Reading	349	(12)
Chronology	361	(12)
Illustration Sources	373	(2)
Index	375