Episodes
Dec. 26, 2018
Christmas 2018 – Italian Christmas past and present and a Christmas witch
We have a look at important events in Italy on and around Christmas as well as explore the traditions, including that of the Christmas witch.
Dec. 19, 2018
039 – A sticky end and the humiliation of Canossa
1076 - 1077 Godfrey the Hunchback meets a sticky end and the investiture controversy reaches a high point and slips towards war
Dec. 12, 2018
038 – Gregory VII and marriage counselling
1073 - 1076 We follow the marital problems of Matilde of Canossa and Godfrey the Hunchback of Lorain while pope Gregory VII rolled up his sleeves and get's down to some serious posing and reforming.
Dec. 5, 2018
037 – The Normans run out of room and the papacy out of patience
1061 - 1073 The Normand, having conquered as much as they could in Southern Italy, head for Sicily while the struggle between the papacy and the empire heats up.
Nov. 28, 2018
036 – Introducing a beard, a hunchback and Matilda
1052 - 1061 Bonifacio Attone of Canossa dies leaving his wife Beatrice and stepdaughter to first look to the pope and then marry Godfrey the Bearded while in the backgrounds a couple of popes come and go and we also see a cha...
Nov. 22, 2018
035 – The lion, the fox and the Great Schism
1047 - 1054 Once pope Leo IX takes power, we follow his rather disastrous decision to challenge the Normans and Robert Guiscard. After that, we have a quick look at the start of the Great East- West Schism.
Nov. 11, 2018
034 – Another Henry, too many popes and naughtiness in the church
1039-1046 We follow the descent of Henry III into Italy and see how he deals with the church as a reform takes route
Oct. 28, 2018
033 – Here come the Normans, there goes the neighbourhood
We take a look at the arrival of the Normans in Southern Italy at the start of the XI century and follow their participation in the anti-Byzantines rebellions of the 1040's.
Oct. 19, 2018
032 – Saxons to Salians and a fake news legend
1024 - 1037 We look at the passage from Henry II to Conrad and look at the trouble caused for the new emperor by Bishop Aribert of Milan while he tries to consolidate his hold on Italy with the help of Bonifacio of Canossa an...
Oct. 10, 2018
031 – A rebellion in the south, a lion in the north and how Henry II got on
1009 - 1024 We take a look at a forgotten rebellion in the south of Italy headed by an apple tree, check in with the Canossa family to observe their growing power in the north and then see how Holy Roman emperor Henry II got ...
Sept. 30, 2018
Special: The massacre of Monte Sole
Between the 29th September and 5th October 1944, the Nazi occupiers of Italy, along with their Fascist allies, rounded up and killed almost 800 civilians, mostly elderly, women and children in the worst single episode of viol...
Sept. 26, 2018
030 – Saxons, Saracens, Sardinia
We leave Henry II waiting for a moment to look at the increasing Saracen raids in the early 11th century before taking a look at the unique history of the Sardinian "Giudicati".
Sept. 17, 2018
029 – New millennium, nationalist myths, same old mess
1002 - 1013 As a new millennium dawns on the Italian pensala, we see that nothing much has changed, at least for the moment, as we see Henry II of Bavaria attempting to take power in Italy and then become emperor.
Sept. 10, 2018
Special: 8th September 1943, from infamy to resistance
To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the armistice between the Italian government and the allied forces we look at the fateful day the armistice was announced and the consequences for the Italian forces and people.
Sept. 3, 2018
028 – The year 1000 and life for the average Giuseppe
After our recap episode, we take a look at the attitudes towards the year 1000 and have a look at what daily life was like for people around that year.
Aug. 30, 2018
NC 003 – Identity crisis of a Brexit victim
We explore the concept of national identity and pride and look at additive rather than subtractive human pride.
Aug. 27, 2018
Recap 02 – episodes 014 – 027
In this recap episode we look back over the period from the fall of the Lombard kingdom at the hands of Charlemagne in 774 to the year 1000.
Aug. 23, 2018
NewsCappuccino 002 – On the possible third Italian republic and unity
A look at the paper is an opportunity to explain the make-up of the current government and prompts consideration about the state of Italian unity today.
Aug. 23, 2018
NewsCappuccino 001 – Choosing coffee, choosing a government and a visit to Rome
In the bar today a conversation about the government between two men with Roman accents prompts memories of trips to the eternal city, inlacing one adventure riding with a coach-full of modern-day hippies.
Aug. 23, 2018
NewsCappuccino 000 – Launch episode
Welcome to the new Paypal and patron-only feature of "A History of Italy": NewsCapuccino. In this programme we're going to take a look at current affairs, stories and memories, starting from Italy and Italian issues, but taki...
Aug. 19, 2018
027 – Yet another Otto (III)
983 - 1002 After the death of Otto II, we see how his young son was brought up to manhood under the regency of his mother Theophanu and his grandmother Adelaide of Italy and how he became an emperor with dreams of greatness, ...
Aug. 13, 2018
026 – Another Otto (II)
973 - 983 We take just a moment to mourn Otto I and then proceed to see how his son, Otto II, got on with his attempt to hold the Holy Roman Empire together and even try to expand to all of the Italian peninsula while dealing...
Aug. 5, 2018
025 – Ottonian Italy
966 - 973 Otto I of Germany continues to consolidate his hold over Italy, attempting to go all the way south and dislodge the remaining Byzantine presence, meanwhile setting up his son with a Byzantine princess, Theophanu.
July 27, 2018
Interview – Daniela Pellacani on Ciro Menotti
We have a chat with Italian teacher and history enthusiast Daniela Pellacani from Carpi on one of the heroes of the Risorgimento, Ciro Menotti.