The magnificent and definitive history of the Eternal City, narrated by a master historian.

Analyzes the relationship between Pius XI and the notorious Italian dictator, tracing how after coming into power in the same year they forged covert ties to one another to consolidate power and pursue political goals.

Commissioned in 1750, the Palazzo Venier was planned as a testimony to the power and wealth of a great Venetian family, but the fortunes of the Veniers waned during construction and the project was abandoned. Empty, unfinished, and decaying, the building was considered an eyesore until the early twentieth century, when it attracted and inspired three women at key moments in their lives: Luisa Casati, Doris Castlerosse, and Peggy Guggenheim. Their extraordinary, acclaimed story is now available in paperback.Luisa Casati turned her home into an aesthete

Traces the aftermath of the 1996 Venice opera house fire, an event that devastated Venetian society and was investigated by the author, who through interviews with local figures learned about the region's rich cultural history.

A bestseller upon its original publication in the 1980s, these diaries reveal life during WWII in Tuscany and include stunning rediscovered photographs In the Second World War, Italy was torn apart by German armies, civil war, and the Allied invasion. In a corner of Tuscany, one woman—born in England, married to an Italian—kept a record of daily life in a country at war. Iris Origo’s powerful diary, War in Val d’Orcia, is the spare and vivid account of what happened when a peaceful farming valley became a battleground. At great personal risk, the Origos gave food and shelter to partisans, deserters, and refugees. They took in evacuees, and as the front drew closer they faced the knowledge that the lives of thirty-two small children depended on them. Origo writes with sensitivity and generosity, and a story emerges of human acts of heroism and compassion, and the devastation that war can bring.

Describes how a fifteenth-century goldsmith and clockmaker, Filippo Brunelleschi, came up with a unique design for the dome to crown Florence's magnificent new cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore, in a dramatic study set against the turbulent backdrop of Renaissance Italy. Reprint.

Describes the history and culture of the country and recommends accommodations, restaurants, bars, museums, and sites to visit.

In The Romans: All That Matters, John Manley focuses on some of the fundamental aspects of the Roman Empire, especially those topics that have relevance beyond the study of Antiquity itself - how its material remains and philosophical concepts have survived and still influence us today. How did a rather obscure settlement spread over a few hills on the banks of the Tiber come to dominate the lives of 65 million people? What drove this relentless desire to conquer? How did Rome manage to maintain direct rule over such a vast area - from present-day Scotland to Syria - approximately 6 million square kilometres? The answer, in part, is that there were many different kinds of Roman culture, as each separate provincial elite, each region and each group of indigenous community leaders, chose slightly different elements of the Roman colonial `package? to establish their particular identity. This accessible and readable book will appeal both to students and general readers, giving a fascinating introduction to the Romans - and what mattered most about them.

Traces the aftermath of the 1996 Venice opera house fire, an event that devastated Venetian society and was investigated by the author, who through interviews with such locals as a suicidal poet, a surrealist painter, and a master glassblower learned about the region's rich cultural history. By the author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. 700,000 first printing.