The Shortest History of Italy

“Known for his impeccable research and engaging style, King is the perfect Virgil to guide us from The Aeneid to COVID-19 in this densely packed volume of tantalizing details… . King has a keen eye for the provocative anecdote, ranging from the debauchery of the emperors to papal history and the origins of the Mafia… . Each page brims with Bill Bryson-like trivia that is sure to delight.” – Booklist, starred review
“Terrific … a lucid, riveting history of a country that is both exquisitely old and painfully young at the same time.” – Sarah Dunant, bestselling author of In the Name of the Family
“A remarkably readable whirlwind tour of Italian history over the millennia, replete with conquerors, emperors, slaves, popes, assorted invaders, and filled with juicy historical nuggets. There’s nothing quite like it.” – David Kertzer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Pope and Mussolini and The Pope at War
“A rollicking introduction to the history of a country that, until barely 150 years ago, was not one. Vibrant, admirably clear, and often wryly amusing, Ross King’s narrative benefits again and again from his eye for the telling detail—a splendid achievement.” – John Hooper, author of The Italians and Italy correspondent for The Economist
“Jump into the Alfa Romeo and hold tight as Ross King speeds through Italian history with this effervescent and entertaining guide to the peninsula’s past.” – Catherine Fletcher, author of The Beauty and the Terror and The Black Prince of Florence
“History exerts a force [in Italy] that is multifaceted and ambiguous, especially to the outsider—but The Shortest History of Italy helps to render the country coherent.” – The Saturday Paper (Australia)
“Few have as much insight into the history of Italy as the author of Brunelleschi’s Dome, and here Ross King offers a masterful and perceptive account of Italian virtues—and sins—from the Romans to Berlusconi, as well as the country’s inimitable art and architecture. An ideal handbook for anyone who loves Italy and wants to dig a little deeper into the past of what Dante called il bel paese, or as Ross King puts it, Italy’s history of ‘resilience and rebirth.’” – Richard Owen, author of DH Lawrence in Italy, Hemingway in Italy, and Chaucer’s Italy
“Praise for Ross King”King has made a career elucidating crucial episodes in the history of art and architecture.” – Time
“King has the gift of clear, unpretentious exposition, and an instinctive narrative flair.” – The Guardian
”[King’s] scrupulous excavation of social, political and religious texts, as well as art historical sources, permits him to tell a familiar story as though it had never been told before.” – Financial Times
“King is a deft storyteller.” – Telegraph

Ross King is the author of The Shortest History of Italy and The Shortest History of Ancient Rome, along with many bestselling books on Italian art and history, including Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling and Brunelleschi’s Dome. He lectures widely on Renaissance art at museums, is a regular participant in Italian Renaissance seminars at the Aspen Institute such as at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Frick Collection, and the National Gallery.

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