A History of Italy

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.

We look at the early life of Catherine of Siena (Caterina da Siena) as she has her first visions and sets off at a very young age open her life as a mystic, religious and political activist in mid 14th century

unstoppable expansion of the newly formed Duchy of Milan. Will they manage? Or will Gian Galeazzo Visconti complete his vision of including Florence in his dominions.

We see how the power-sharing solution for the government of Milan comes crashing down with power once again in the hands of a single man: Gian Galeazzo Visconti, who, after inheriting the holdings of his father and uncle, will create a Duchy that will last for centuries. meanwhile we also try and keep up with Florence and the other Tuscan cities as well as those of Piedmont Lombardi and benedetto...

To celebrate reaching episode 125, we have a special episode with questions from our wonderful listeners We get to talk about Latin, Lombards, Normans, noble houses, strange surnames, the mafia, fascism and much, much more.

After seeing the gruesome spectacle of the plague in Florence through the eyes of Giovani bocaccio we follow the rising tension in the city and all over Tuscany that would eventually erupt in the rebellion known as the "Revolt of the Ciompi". In the meantime, Florence also finds time to participate in the war of the eight Saints. Lots of fun in the 14th century for Tuscany!

After following Florence and Tuscany through a mini golden age from the 1280's to the 1330's we see things really start to go downhill with social tensions between the Arti Maggiori, the greater guilds, and the arti minori, the lesser guilds, exacerbated also by the very brief dominion over Florence by Walter of Brienne. We then take a brief look at the life of Giovani bocaccio and see the plague...

In this special Halloween episode we explore the castle of Bardi in the Apennines of Parma. The ghost is supposedly that of Moroello, the captain of the castle garrison who is said to have died along with his beloved Soleste in the late 15th century.

area. We see how things went with the Guelphs and Ghibellines inside and outside the region with all the "international" players while all the while the corporations make their way into the halls of power.

I'm very sorry but I am updating my tracking system. As an apology: a free episode of one of the features you can find on Patreon, NewsCappuccino, enjoy!

the final chapter of his story: will he rise to even greater glory and perhaps cut out a kingdom in central Italy for himself or will it all come crashing down? Will the newly elected Pope Martin the fifth manage to set up a coalition strong enough to beat this great soldier?

Braccio's fame increases as he wins victory after victory, in central Italy, against Naples and in his involvement in the Great Western Schism, all the while with his eye on Perugia.

Fortebraccio, known as Braccio da Montone

We see the rather naughty and turbulent reign of Joanna II of Naples. Did she really deserve the nickname "the insatiable" or even "the mad"? Or was it just bad press?

We see how Sicily loses its independence to the Spanish and then cross over to the mainland to see how king Ladislaus of Naples gets some big ideas on expanding his kingdom.

In this very special crossover episode, we got the chance to host an episode on the podcast of one of our all-time heroes, David Crowther of "The History of England". In this episode we talk about operation "tombola", the allied and partisan attack on a strategic Nazi position in a small town in Northern Italy.

The life and times of the great "Giudchessa" and the fall of Sardinia to the Spanish.

onour of Italy's splendid performance in the EURO cup, a taste on what you can hear on Patreon about the content of the Italian national anthem: the battle of Legnano, Scipio Africanus, the Sicilian Vespers and making fun go Austria.

n the second episode of Fascism 100, the series on the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Fascist party, we look at the life of Benito Andrea Amilcare Mussolini from his birth on 29th July 1883 to 1921 when the first Fascist delegates were elected to the Italian parliament.

After an attempt at legalising prostitution, the Dolphin doge cannot quite fight off a Hungarian threat, then things with Genoa get so heated over the possession of Eastern Mediterranean islands that Venice stares destruction in the face with enemies at the gates and even in the lagoon.

A repeat episode on the vote that changed Italian History, abolishing the Monarchy and creating the Italian Republic on 2nd June 1946, with all the complications and tensions leading up to and following the vote.

We catch Venice up to the mid 14th century following storms, floods earthquakes, plagues and all other kinds of lovely things. Then we see a trattori doge, a big nose and a dolphin ruler. All this while trying keep up the struggle against the Genoese and Turks at sea as well as the Hungarians on land, tough times for Venice indeed.

One of the Mafia's most dangerous foes was killed on 23rd May 1992. Anti. Mafia investigative magistrate Giovanni Falcone was responsible for putting hundreds of mafiosi behind bars and his investigation into a tender fixing operation expanded into one of the largest mafia trials in Italian history. His later work at the ministry of the interior led to some of the toughest anti-mafia legislation e...

The continuing consolidation of Milan under Bernabò and Galeazzo Visconti and the start of the Great Western Schism

in this first episode of the mini series we explore the meaning of fascism, with particular reference to the Italian experience up until the death of Benito Mussolini in 1945.