Short Oxford History of Italy – serie

The twelve essays in this volume, each written by a leading specialist, present an accessible and comprehensive introduction to Italian Renaissance society, intellectual history, and politics, with each contribution reflecting the most recent innovations in the way that historians view and study the period.

Italy in the Age of Renaissance offers a new introduction to the most celebrated period of Italian history in twelve essays by leading and innovative scholars. Recent scholarship has enriched our understanding of Renaissance Italy by adding new themes and perspectives that have challenged the traditional picture of a largely secular and elite world of humanists, merchants, patrons, and princes. These new themes encompass both social and cultural history (the family, women, lay religion, the working classes, marginal social groups) as well as new dimensions of political history that highlight the growth of territorial states, the powers and limits of government, the representation of power in art and architecture, the role of the South, and the dialogue between elite and non-elite classes. This thematically organized volume introduces readers to the fruitful interaction between the more traditional topics in Renaissance studies and the new, broader approach to the period that has developed in the last generation.

This volume provides an account of early modern Italy, covering such themes as politics, Italy's experience of the absolutist state, the counter-Reformation, society and economy in both town and country, family and gender, the arts and intellectual life, popular culture, and Italy's distinctive role in Europe. Broad chronological and geographical coverage provides integrated treatment of the entire period and peninsula. The text provides both material and cultural historical analysis, allowing students to trace religious, cultural and scientific developments against their social, political and economic parameters. Thematic treatment is tied into a strong narrative framework, tracing changes and continuity along a chronological structure, and a team of historians provide up-to-date and revisionist interpretations that place Italy in a wider European context.

Early Modern Italian history has traditionally been presented in the context of the absence of a unified Italian state, foreign domination and of relative decline to former wealth and power. This new volume calls on a wealth of recent research to portray the complex history of the early modern Italian states on their own terms. A leading team of historians traces Italian material and cultural bonds of identity and solidarity beyond their common political narrative - from the Reformation through the hopes and frustrations of reform, renewal and restructuring of social and economic power to the eventual collapse of the Old Regime.

An international team of leading historians and archaeologists provide thematic coverage of this turbulent and controversial period of Italian history, offering reliable and authoritative chapters incorporating relevant discoveries and analyses in archaeological and historical research. Professor La Rocca's substantial introduction and conclusion draw together key areas of debate and special attention is paid to the wealth of early medieval Italian written documents, such as private charters, and epigraphs.

In this volume, ten leading international historians and archaeologists provide a fresh and dynamic picture of Italy's history from the end of the Roman Western Empire in 476 to the end of the tenth century. Recent archaeological findings, which have so greatly changed our perceptions and understanding of the period, have been fully integrated into the eleven thematic chapters, which provide a fully rounded overview of the entire Italian peninsula in the early middle ages. The chapters consider such themes as regional diversities, rural and urban landscapes, the organisation of public and private power, the role and structure of ecclesiastical institutions, the production of manuscripts, inscriptions, and private charters.

The Short Oxford History of Italy series, in seven volumes, will offer a complete History of Italy from the early middle ages to the present and, in each period, will present the most recent historical perspectives on Italian history. This means setting Italian history in the broader context of European history as a whole. It also means questioning accepted interpretations of Italian history in each of these periods and, in particular, the idea that Italy's history has been significantly different from that of the rest of Europe. Each volume will emphasise how developments in Italy in each period are best understood as variants on broader European patterns of political, economic social and cultural change. This volume covers the period from the French Revolution to the end of the Nineteenth Century. Consisting of nine essays written by leading British and American historians, the volume shows how Italy's unexpected political unification and independence were inseparable from the impact of the broader processes of modernisation that were changing the face of Europe and the fabric of European society. The social and political tensions that fuelled the struggles for independence were rooted in Italy's difficult modernisation, which continued thereafter to threaten the consolidation of the new Italian state. But Italy's difficult modernisation did not preclude real change, and although Italy entered the twentieth century as a highly imperfect democracy it was not noticeably more imperfect, illiberal or divided than its nineteenth century European counter-parts, nor did the new challenges posed by the rise of mass society make fascism an inevitable outcome of the Risorgimento. Italy in the Nineteenth Century provides both the general and specialist reader with a critical but concise introduction to the most recent historical debates and perspectives.

The Short Oxford History of Italy series, in seven volumes, will offer a complete History of Italy from the early middle ages to the present and, in each period, will present the most recent historical perspectives on Italian history. This means setting Italian history in the broader context of European history as a whole. It also means questioning accepted interpretations of Italian history in each of these periods and, in particular, the idea that Italy's history has been significantly different from that of the rest of Europe. Each volume will emphasise how developments in Italy in each period are best understood as variants on broader European patterns of political, economic social and cultural change. This volume covers the period from the French Revolution to the end of the Nineteenth Century. Consisting of nine essays written by leading British and American historians, the volume shows how Italy's unexpected political unification and independence were inseparable from the impact of the broader processes of modernisation that were changing the face of Europe and the fabric of European society. The social and political tensions that fuelled the struggles for independence were rooted in Italy's difficult modernisation, which continued thereafter to threaten the consolidation of the new Italian state. But Italy's difficult modernisation did not preclude real change, and although Italy entered the twentieth century as a highly imperfect democracy it was not noticeably more imperfect, illiberal or divided than its nineteenth century European counter-parts, nor did the new challenges posed by the rise of mass society make fascism an inevitable outcome of the Risorgimento. Italy in the Nineteenth Century provides both the general and specialist reader with a critical but concise introduction to the most recent historical debates and perspectives.

The Short Oxford History of Italy series, in seven volumes, will offer a complete History of Italy from the early middle ages to the present and, in each period, will present the most recent historical perspectives on Italian history. This means setting Italian history in the broader context of European history as a whole. It also means questioning accepted interpretations of Italian history in each of these periods and, in particular, the idea that Italy's history has been significantly different from that of the rest of Europe. Each volume will emphasise how developments in Italy in each period are best understood as variants on broader European patterns of political, economic social and cultural change. Italy since 1945 sets in context the tremendous changes that Italy has undergone in the last 55 years. In place of the land of pizza, sunshine, and soccer, McCarthy describes a developing nation: an economy that has found its own road to success via the piccole imprese with an increasingly strong stockmarket and more sophisticated banking; a dynamic, traditional, family centred society; and a political system struggling to modernize after forty years of Christian Democrat rule and Communist opposition. McCarthy also looks at the role of the Church, including Pius XII's wartime activities and the 'foreign pope', John-Paul II before finally turning to sport in Italy - the only country to have 3 daily newspapers devoted to the subject. Athoritative, accessible, and absorbing, the book examines modern Italy through the eyes of 10 leading commentators and explores the Italian experience in the wider context of both the nation's past and its wider contemporary European position.

The Short Oxford History of Italy series, in seven volumes, will offer a complete History of Italy from the early middle ages to the present and, in each period, will present the most recent historical perspectives on Italian history. This means setting Italian history in the broader context of European history as a whole. It also means questioning accepted interpretations of Italian history in each of these periods and, in particular, the idea that Italy's history has been significantly different from that of the rest of Europe. Each volume will emphasise how developments in Italy in each period are best understood as variants on broader European patterns of political, economic social and cultural change. Italy since 1945 sets in context the tremendous changes that Italy has undergone in the last 55 years. In place of the land of pizza, sunshine, and soccer, McCarthy describes a developing nation: an economy that has found its own road to success via the piccole imprese with an increasingly strong stockmarket and more sophisticated banking; a dynamic, traditional, family centred society; and a political system struggling to modernize after forty years of Christian Democrat rule and Communist opposition. McCarthy also looks at the role of the Church, including Pius XII's wartime activities and the 'foreign pope', John-Paul II before finally turning to sport in Italy - the only country to have 3 daily newspapers devoted to the subject. Athoritative, accessible, and absorbing, the book examines modern Italy through the eyes of 10 leading commentators and explores the Italian experience in the wider context of both the nation's past and its wider contemporary European position.

This volume centres on one of the most dramatic periods of Italian History: 1900-1945. It examines the crisis of the liberal state as it undergoes a process of significant transformation, which starts with a process of modernisation and leads to the totalitarian fascist state.Lyttelton and his international team discuss the social and moral conflicts resulting from modernisation, the two world wars and the fascist regime, considering the issues from both national and international standpoints. The discussion includes the developments and impact of the changes on religion, literature, and the visual arts.

The period from 1900 to 1945 was one of the most dramatic in Italian history. It embraced two world wars, the crisis of the liberal state, and the advent of a new form of dictatorship destined to leave an imprint on the whole history of Europe. It was also a period in which Italian economy and society began to undergo that process of transformation which led to the modern, industrialized Italy of today. Italian writers and artists responded creatively to change and the contribution to European culture of such figures as Croce, Gramsci, D'Annunzio, Pirandello, De Chirico, or the Futurists was one of primary importance. This volume discusses these developments in depth, paying particular attention to the social and moral conflicts resulting from modernization, war, and the impact of the totalitarian experiment of Fascism. The interaction between foreign and domestic policy is also explored. The final chapter considers three strands of cultural life: visual arts, literature, and social thought.

Presenting a rounded view of Italy at a time when it was the most dynamic region in western Europe, this book looks at Italy in its entirety, rather than concentrating largely on the north, as previous studies have done. It also includes expert coverage of topics such as the family and the Jewish, Greek and Muslim minority communities, in addition to its coverage of developments in the cities, rural life, trade, the monarchy, papal Italy, religious life, and language and culture.