Italian History: A Captivating Guide to the History of Italy and Rome (History of European Countries) Paperback – November 24, 2020

A breathless race through history. Superficial but provides a good framework for understanding the history of this important part of the world.

Interesting read I wish there was a little more history of the last century of Italy. But it was a good interesting book. Didn't realize that Italy was not really a republic until 1946. Being Italian that was the year I was born.

I think of the history of Italy as a multitude of different communities that coalesced like the individual panes of stained glass that fit in a window.Matt Clayton attempts to approach the history of Italy in such a fashion, recognizing the impact of Rome as an empire and piecing the fragments of the Italian nation to understand the different people, cultures and religions.Matt starts with the Bronze Age and leads us through the early settlements, then the Iron Age into the influence of the Roman Empire, then the impact of the Barbarian period following the Roman Empire and the emergence of the Papal States. Matt spends some time discussing Italy's evolution during the Renaissance which subsequently saw its unification under Napoleon.Matt ends the concise history at the period following World War II. A generous bibliography is provided for further research.The history of Rome is a dense and long story starting with people that settled around the hills overlooking the Tiber River and progressed quickly through the years to rule half the known world. Europe, the Near East and North Africa was its footprint and the city became the Holy City during the Middle Ages.The interest in Rome is evident by the volume of titles that cover various aspects of the history, architecture, art, literature, religion, laws and language.Matt Clayton succeeds in providing the reader a quick history of its founding and its evolution through the ages. He leadxs us through the succession of Roman leaders, their impact on the Roman culture and the expansion of the empire. He ends with a light touch upon the 1950s and 1950s and provides a bibliography for further interests.

While interesting in general, I’m appalled that there was no mention of pasta anywhere - I mean not one recipe, not even veal parmigiana! No mention either, of Italy’s most famous hero Bruno Sanmartino! Somewhat disappointed.

This two book bundle starts with a trip though the history of ancient times to the present in Italy.A first class trip to Italy!This book is a very enjoyable and informative look at Italy,from it's earliest inhabitants to modern day.Captivating History gives us all the information we need to know about the history of Italy and much more.This book is dense with knowledge that lovers of history crave.This book is excellent and will keep anyone wishing to know more about Italy more than interested.I've read a few Captivating History books and they are always great but this one was Excellent!Five stars! ilI highly recommend!The second book is about the history of ancient Rome from it's earliest foundations,and through it's concurors through it's emperors.The second book takes a fascinating look at Rome starting with the fascinating myth of Romulus and Remus which is one of my favorite myths and continues with a look at the alliance of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, which is always interesting to me and then moves on to tell about all the Emperors of Rome and their conquests.This book really grabbed my attention from start to end and I highly recommend it to everyone!Excellent!

Very pleased! This is a very informative book.I can't wait to purchase more of this series!

The long and diverse history of Italy and Rome takes you through a journey of successes and failures, through different peoples struggling for control of a storied landscape. The story begins thousands of years ago with the migrations of tribes from various places, into the Italian mainland. The story of the rise and schism of the Roman Empire, and eventual fall, is described in the first half of the book, and detailed in the second half. What follows is a succession of takeovers by various factions, such as the Franks, Lombards, Byzantines, and many others, and the rise of the city-states and the Papal states. Renaissance Italy led the world in arts and humanities, and many of the leading contributors are detailed. Throughout it all, Italy remained fractured into many parts, often at war with each other. After many wars that persisted into the 20th century, Italy has finally emerged as the loosely assembled nation that we know today.

Although this two-part book is basically divided into chronologically- arranged chapters, the chapters often talk of peoples, regions and events without giving enough context to put info into perspective. Book also falls short with respect to its coverage of the country's more recent history. Italy's recent history, which essentially covers Napolean to Italy's unification in 1946, is not only not very current, but is dealt with in 15 pages. Then there is a 2-page conclusion which advises us that Italy's current regional divisions came into effect in the 70's - no info on how or why.