The Complete Idiot's Guide to Italian History and Culture

Table Of Contents

I. A PORTRAIT.

1. The Magic of Italy

Sibling Rivalry. Italy Yesterday and Today. Why Learn About Italy? What Turns You On? What’s Hot in Italy Today? How to Approach Italy and Her Story.

2. Che Panorama!.

The Boot. From Puglia to Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The City-States Within. Home Is Where the Heart Is. In the Middle of the Earth. Water, Water Everywhere. Natural Disasters. Festa Anyone?

3. Who Are the Italians?

What Makes an Italian? A World of Italians. La Famiglia È Sacra. What’s in a Name? Can Anyone Be Italian?

4. From Shore to Shore.

Searching for Something Better. They Came in Waves. The Italian Community. Spaghetti and Bullets. The Dream Lives On.

5. The Sound of Music.

Express Yourself. Kissing Cousins: Dialects. The Most Important Phrases You’ll Ever Need to Know. Gestures. What’s in a Name? When Speaking Italian Was a Crime.

II. TOTA ITALIA.

6. Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day.

Your Mother Was a Wolf. Before There Was Rome. The Roman Republic. Built to Last. That’s Entertainment, Folks. The Slaves. The Early Christians. You’re Great, Constantine! Rome Today.

7. The Medieval Minestrone.

The Middle of What? An Architectural Primer. Know Your Parts. Family Feudalism. Apocalypse Then. All Roads Lead to Rome. St. Francis of Assisi. Santa Clara.

8. Popes, Politics, and Power.

Rome: Seat of the Vatican. Peter Picked a Pope. In Hoc Signo Vinces. Monasteries and Abbeys Become the Rage. Rites of the Church. Best to Conform. Pope John Paul II. Pope Trivia.

9. Leaving the Middle Ages.

Famine. Bigger Weapons, Bolder Warlords. Black Death and Bankruptcies. Let There Be Light. Ringing in the Renaissance. The Emergence of Tuscan. Dante. Bawdy Boccaccio. The Modern Man.

III. QUANTUM LEAPS.

10. —Can You Spare a Florin? Banking and Commerce.

Banker’s Hours. Break the Bank. Starving Artist-Will Work for Money. Power in Numbers: The Guilds. Funny Money.

11. Strange Bedfellows.

Cities? States? City-States! Florence: The Medici. Florence: Art in the Square. Milan: The Sforza Family. Ferrara: The Este. Mantova: The Gonzagas. Urbino: The Montefeltros. A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words. Festivities. Cover Your Assets. Golden Age of Rome. Bedroom Politics. How to Be a Prince. Savonarola: Prophet of Doom.

12. Putti, Painters, and the Arts.

Bravissimo! The Renaissance. Humanists Are People, Too. The Platonic Academy. A Brief Renaissance Who’s Who of Italian Artists.

13. Great Discoveries: Here We Come!

We Like It Spicy. Marco Polo. Unsung Heroes. Christopher Columbus. Way to Go Amerigo. Giovanni Caboto. Verrazano Bridges the Gap. Read All About It: Native American Discovers Italy! Galileo Figaro Magnifico. Other Italian Scientists. Copernicus.

14. The Day the Music Died.

Pope Paul III. The Holy Office. Baby Boom. The Beginning of the End. The Church Reigns Supreme. Cagliostro: Potion Maker. Giacomo Casanova.

15. Violins and Lace: The Baroque.

La “Dramma per Musica”. The First Operatic Giants. Opera Houses. An Opera Glossary. Highlights of Italian Music. An Idiot’s Crash Course on the Players. An Explosion of Creativity.

IV. REDSHIRTS, BLACKSHIRTS, AND GREENSHIRTS.

16. Parlez-Vouz Français?

The Napoleonic Empire. All in the Family. I Just Have to Have It! Napoleon is Pastry. Red, White, and Green in the New World.

17. Let’s Call It Italia: A Nation and a Democracy.

The Struggle for Unity. The Heroes of Italian Unity. A Hero Here, a Hero There. Opera: Political Voices Raised in Music. A Capital City, a National Language. You’re Bringing Me Down.

18. The Island of Tears.

In Search of a Better Life. Help Wanted! Immigrants Welcome! America Shuts the Golden Door.

19. The World at War.

The Big Picture. The Origins of Fascism. The Italian Dictator Benito Mussolini. The March on Rome. Mussolini’s Italian Empire. On Making Baby Fascists. The Beginning of the End. Italian Americans: Divided Loyalties. Cinecittà.

20. Myth and Magic.

Rising Up from the Ashes. Italian Parliament. The Neorealists. The Italian Miracle. Married to the Mob.

PIZZA, PASTA, CAN FANTASIA.

21. Life Is a Carneval.

Italian Holidays and Important Dates. I’ll Bet You I Win. Il Calcio. A Driving Passion. Italian Teatro. Italy at the Movies. Italian Movie Directory.

22. Spaghetti Doesn’t Grow on Trees.

Buon Appetito! Il Vino. Olive Olives. Favorite Foods: Pasta and Pizza. Il Caffè. Italian Food Facts. Good Health Comes First.

23. Mamma and the Madonna.

There’s an Exception to Every Rule. Renaissance Women. Incredible Artist Types. Santa Caterina da Siena. Won’t You Marry Me? Women for Hire. You’ve Come a Long Way, Bambina. I Am Woman, I Am Forte. The Long March to Equal Opportunity. Mamma Mia!

24. Weeping Statues and the Blood of San Gennaro.

L’onomastico: Saint’s Day. Weeping Statues. Padre Pio. The Malocchio and Other Charms. Fairy Tales.

25. Made in Italy.

Art of a Different Sort. Historic Clothing. No Cutoffs or Exposed Shoulders Allowed. Commedia dell’Arte. Get Me Wardrobe. Clothing Makes the Politician. Street Fashion. Business Is All the Fashion These Days. Stendhal’s Syndrome. Clothing Sizes.

VI. ITALY’S EXPORTS.

26. Follow Your Muse.

Writers and Thinkers. Who’s Who. The Italian Influence on Education. The Arts.

27. Science and Medicine.

Science and Medicine. Medicine.

28. Circo Massimo.

The Old-Timers. Rock My World, Bambino. At the Metropolitan Opera. Cinema. Actors. Let’s Have a Festa. Sports.

29. Friends and Favors: Powerful Players.

Great Rulers, Now and Forever. Quite a Resumé. Italian-American Power Women. Industry Leaders. Food Giants. What’s Cooking? Italian Americans Commemorate Italian Americans. Una Storia Segreta (A Secret Story). Share Your Talents.

APPENDIXES.

Appendix A. Glossary.

Appendix B. Web Resources.
Appendix C. Suggested Films and Books.
Appendix D. Map of Italy.
Index.