A History of Italy

After the healing of the western schism in 1417, new pope Martin V must get his papal state sunder control which means dealing with a whole load of issue such as brigands, mercenary captains, pushy neighbours, unruly lords and a lack of cash. We then see how his successor, Eugene IV managed to muck everything up before managing to sort tit all out again, more or less.

After the death of Alphonse the Magnanimous, his son, Ferdinad, has quite a time managing to hold on to the kingdom of Naples what with revolting Barons, meddling popes and even an Ottoman invasion! Will the poor man ever get any peace and quiet?

On the 30th anniversary of his death, we look at the life and struggle of anti-mafia investigative magistrate Paolo Borsellino up to his tragic killing and how he crossed path with a brave young girl of only 17, willing to give up the life she had known in search of justice, Rita Atria.

We go back a little to see how Alphonse V of Aragon actually got onto the throne of Naples and what he had to put up with once he got there dealing with Milan, Venice, Genoa and Florence, before a rather unprecedented alliance in 1454 under the "Italic League"

We take a quick look at some of the situations and key events in Sardinia and Sicily in the 15th century as the Aragonese consolidate their hold over their new possessions

While attempting to catch up with our studies, we go outside (or inside) Italy to look at a foreign country within our borders up to the 15th century and find out why we have yet another independent country on the peninsula.

We explore a tragic travesty of justice as we look into the anti-jewish case of Simonino da Trento, a young boy who was found dead in 1475 and whose murder was blamed on the local Jewish community with no tangible proof, leading to their very rapid trial and execution.

After quite a long tour (36 episodes) we take our routine look back to recap what we have been over, moving around Italy and back and forth in time

We follow little count Amedeo VIII as he comes to power and manages to not only expand, consolidate and organise first his county and then duchy, but even has a go at being pope for a while!

We take a look at the life and struggle of Sicilian communist party leader Pio La Torre, who spent his whole life trying to oppose Cosa Nostra for the good of the opressed, even when it meant going against his own party.

As we finish celebrating the 77th anniversary of our liberation from the Fascist government and Nazi occupiers, I talk to author Brandon Gauthier about his new book, which explores the early lives of notirious dictators such as Hitler, Stalin and Kim.

We continue catching up with the house of Savoy picking up in 1255 and, after some zig-zagging succession, see the "colourful" green count Amedeo VI and then try to discover what really happened to his son, Amedeo VII the Red count, as the counts slowly continue to expand their lands and influence in France and north-west Italy.

We have reached the 200th upload ( regular episodes plus extras) and have moved to a new platform. To celebrate this as well as my 45th birthday we are unveiling the new "A History of Italy" logo

We catch the region of piedmont up to the 13th century and then start to take a look at the rise of the house of Savoy, beginning with its founder Umberto Biancamano, he of the white hand (for some reason).

The second part of our chat on the occupation of Fiume where we look at the occupation itself and the life of D'Annunzio after the endeavor

We draw a profile of the Italian poet and activist Gabriele D'Annunzio up to the time in which he takes command of an expedition to take the city of Fiume, the current day Croatian city of Rijeka. We take a look at his extreme lifestyle of women, drugs and excesses such as being the first recognised Italian toappear naked in a photo! We also have a look at the situation in Italy between WWI and th...

In honour of the Ukrainian people, I look back at my fond memories of Ukraine in the "Italian" city of Odessa.

and 15th century Genoa to catch up on all their wars with Venice and the Aragonese as well as all the internal infighting between the various Doria, Spinola, Fieschi, Grimaldi and Campofregaso for which external rulers are constantly called in, the, Anjou, Milan, France, Monferrato, milan again and so on.

We take a break from our narrative of the history of Fascism to talk about the definition of Totalitarianism with Jackson Van Uden. Jackson is a Historian, Author and Podcaster. He hosts the History with Jackson YouTube channel and Podcast where he speaks about History from across the ages, and interviews historians about their research. As an author he has written several articles on a variety of...

Filippo Maria Visconti, now sole Duke of Milan, has a bit of time to take a breather, before the chaos of the wars of Lombardy vs Venice and Florence, with special guest stars

After the untimely death of the first duke of Milan, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, the duchy is thrown into turmoil as the widow, Caterina Visconti attempts to hold onto the realm of her sons, Giovanni Maria and Filippo Maria through internal intrigue and external military pressure from Florence, Venice and many others trying to take advantage of Milan's moment of weakness.

We follow the life and times of Giovanni di Bicci De Medici, shrewd banker and able politician as he navigates the complicated waters of early 15th century Florentine politics as the republic prepares to kick of an age of unprecedented cultural renewal: the Renaissance

We celebrate our 4th anniversary by announcing a new podcast: The K-Rock Chelsea Hotel; the 1 millionth global listen and a guest episode about 14th century Italy on The History of England podcast.

In this episode we follow the last part of the life of St Catherine of Siena as her fame and influence grows to International levels and she deals with princes and popes alike, going through the war of the eight saints, the Ciompi revolt and the Great Western Schism, all the while battling against her own body.

Just to wish you a Merry Christmas, happy Kwanza, Sol Invictus, Saturnalia, to hope you had a good Diwali or Hanukah and in general to wish you a merry whatever this period is for you, even if it's nothing at all. We come bearing audio gifts! AUGURI