Between Salt Water and Holy Water: A History of Southern Italy

Between Salt Water and Holy Water: A History of Southern Italy

Author: Tommaso Astarita

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2006-07-17

Total Pages: 440

ISBN-13: 0393254321

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"Lucid, evocative, and richly detailed." —Jay Parini The history of southern Italy is entirely distinct from that of northern Italy, yet it has never been given its own due. In this authoritative and wholly engrossing history, distinguished scholar Tommaso Astarita "does a masterful job of correcting this error" (Mark Knoblauch, Booklist). From the Normans and Angevins, through Spanish and Bourbon rule, to the unification of Italy in 1860, Astarita rescues Sicily and the worlds south of Rome from the dustier folds of history and restores them to sparkling life. We are introduced to the colorful religious observances, the vibrant historical figures, the diverse population, the ancient ruins, beautiful landscapes, sweet music, and magnificent art—all of which inspired visitors to claim that one had to "see Naples, and then die."


A History of Southern Italy: the Rulers of the South

A History of Southern Italy: the Rulers of the South

Author: F. Marion Crawford

Publisher:

Published: 2014-12-13

Total Pages: 314

ISBN-13: 9781505525427

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Crawford's A History of Southern Italy: The Rulers of the South is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of southern Italy and Sicily. Its over 300 full-length chapters start with the southern Italy of antiquity, the founding of Greek colonies such as Syracuse, and the Gothic, Norman, Saracen, and Byzantine invaders. A discussion of the Mafia's history is included.


The New History of the Italian South

The New History of the Italian South

Author: Robert Lumley

Publisher:

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13:

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This collection of essays brings together the work of a new generation of revisionist historians who argue that the true history of Southern Italy has been reduced to that of a 'Southern problem' viewed through a Northern prism. These scholars suggest that the South was not a 'backward' region, but a combination of regions in which different social and economic patterns had evolved in response to the prevailing conditions within the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The book employs an interdisciplinary approach to examine not only the concrete history of the South, but also the discourses and images in which it has been framed. It is the first publication in English devoted to the new history of Southern Italy, and brings together many of the leading figures in the revisionist movement, as well as some of their critics.


The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily

The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily

Author: Gordon S. Brown

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2015-05-12

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 0786451270

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The Normans originally came to Italy and Sicily in the 11th and 12th centuries looking for adventure or a livelihood, but once there, found opportunity for fame and fortune. The story of the Norman conquest in Italy and Sicily is indeed one of knights and adventurers, great battles and lowly pillage, opportunism and statesmanship, and crusade and coexistence. This rich and often dramatic study focuses on the eight sons of Tancred of Hauteville, especially Robert Guiscard, who has been called "the most dazzling military ruler between Julius Caesar and Napoleon," and his youngest brother Roger, who conquered Sicily. It discusses how they expanded their lands throughout southern Italy, and then took Sicily from its Muslim rulers. The brothers, often in conflict with each other, challenged both the Papacy and the Byzantine Empire, became the main supporters of the reformed Papacy, and founded a rich, sophisticated kingdom that lasted until the nineteenth century.


A Concise History of Italy

A Concise History of Italy

Author: Christopher Duggan

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1994-04-21

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 9780521408486

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A concise history of Italy from the fall of the Roman empire in the west to the present day.


The Exultet in Southern Italy

The Exultet in Southern Italy

Author: Thomas Forrest Kelly

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 1996-09-26

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 0195357353

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The Exultet rolls of southern Italy are parchment scrolls containing text and music for the blessing of the great Easter candle; they contain magnificent illustrations, often turned upside down with respect to the text, The Exultet in Southern Italy provides a broad perspective on this phenomenon that has long attracted the interest of those interested in medieval art, liturgy, and music. This book considers these documents in the cultural and liturgical context in which they were made, and provides a perspective on all aspects of this particularly southern Italian practice. While previous studies have concentrated on the illustrations in these rolls, Kelly's book also looks at the particular place of the Exultet in changing ceremonial practices, provides background on the texts and music used in southern Italy, and inquires into the manufacture and purpose of the Exultets--why they were made, who owned them, and how they were used.


Between Rome and Carthage

Between Rome and Carthage

Author: Michael P. Fronda

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2010-06-10

Total Pages: 403

ISBN-13: 1139488627

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Hannibal invaded Italy with the hope of raising widespread rebellions among Rome's subordinate allies. Yet even after crushing the Roman army at Cannae, he was only partially successful. Why did some communities decide to side with Carthage and others to side with Rome? This is the fundamental question posed in this book, and consideration is given to the particular political, diplomatic, military and economic factors that influenced individual communities' decisions. Understanding their motivations reveals much, not just about the war itself, but also about Rome's relations with Italy during the prior two centuries of aggressive expansion. The book sheds new light on Roman imperialism in Italy, the nature of Roman hegemony, and the transformation of Roman Italy in the period leading up to the Social War. It is informed throughout by contemporary political science theory and archaeological evidence, and will be required reading for all historians of the Roman Republic.


Before the Normans

Before the Normans

Author: Barbara M. Kreutz

Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press

Published: 2011-06-07

Total Pages: 267

ISBN-13: 081220543X

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Histories of medieval Europe have typically ignored southern Italy, looking south only in the Norman period. Yet Southern Italy in the ninth and tenth centuries was a complex and vibrant world that deserves to be better understood. In Before the Normans, Barbara M. Kreutz writes the first modern study in English of the land, political structures, and cultures of southern Italy in the two centuries before the Norman conquests. This was a pan-Meditteranean society, where the Roman past and Lombard-Germanic culture met Byzantine and Islamic civilization, creating a rich and unusual mix.


Southern Italy in the Late Middle Ages

Southern Italy in the Late Middle Ages

Author: Eleni Sakellariou

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2011-12-09

Total Pages: 584

ISBN-13: 900422405X

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The first full-length study of mainland southern Italy's domestic market in the late Middle Ages, this book discusses the interaction between population, the market, and the region's institutional framework, in the context of the impact of the late medieval 'crisis' on the European economy. Based on new or little-used documentary evidence, it adopts an interdisciplinary approach and combines economic history with elements of economic theory to reassess common knowledge on demographic and urbanization trends, the organization of the domestic market, the role of the state, and on actual patterns of agricultural production, industrial activity and commercial itineraries. The result is a fresh look at the late medieval economy of the kingdom of Naples, which, it seems now, is worth studying for its own merit.