100 Best Italian History Books of All Time (Updated for 2026)

1

Meditations

Marcus Aurelius

5.0

One measure, perhaps, of a book's worth, is its intergenerational pliancy: do new readers acquire it and interpret it afresh down through the ages? The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, translated and introduced by Gregory Hays, by that standard, is very worthwhile, indeed. Hays suggests that its most recent incarnation--as a self-help book--is not only valid, but may be close to the author's intent

Recommended by Arianna Huffington, Naval Ravikant, Chip Conley, and 12 others.

Arianna Huffington

Founder/The Huffington Post

I find this book so inspirational and instructive, it lives on my nightstand. [source]

Chip Conley

I have given this book away to a number of people. [source]

Marvin Liao

Partner/500 Startups

My list would be (besides the ones I mentioned in answer to the previous question) both business & Fiction/Sci-Fi and ones I personally found helpful to myself. The business books explain just exactly how business, work & investing are in reality & how to think properly & differentiate yourself. On the non-business side, a mix of History & classic fiction to understand people, philosophy to make sense of life and Science fiction to picture what the future could be like (not always utopian). [source]

2

Leonardo da Vinci

Walter Isaacson

5.0

Preview Summary

Based on thousands of pages from Leonardo's astonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work, Walter Isaacson weaves a narrative that connects his art to his science. He shows how Leonardo's genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity, careful observation, and an imagination so playful that it flirted with fantasy. He produced the two most

Recommended by Bill Gates, Satya Nadella, Ryan Holiday, and 6 others.

Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

I think Leonardo was one of the most fascinating people ever. Although today he’s best known as a painter, Leonardo had an absurdly wide range of interests, from human anatomy to the theater. Isaacson does the best job I’ve seen of pulling together the different strands of Leonardo’s life and explaining what made him so exceptional. A worthy follow-up to Isaacson’s great biographies of Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs. [source]

Satya Nadella

CEO/Microsoft

Microsoft CEO has plunged into what must be an advance copy of Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson, who has written biographies of Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein and Ben Franklin. Isaacson’s biography is based on the Renaissance master’s personal notebooks, so you know we’re going to be taken into the creative mind of the genius. [source]

Ryan Holiday

Author

Truly excellent book about one of history’s all time greats. [source]

3

The Prince

Nicollo Machiavelli, Tim Parks

5.0

Niccolo Machiavelli's "The Prince" is intended to be a treatise on ruling and is considered by many to be a classic of political science. In the book Machiavelli offers many bits of practical advice on how to rule and even though the book was written in the early 16th century its ideas are still very relevant today. Where "The Prince" differs from other political literature before it is in its sep

Recommended by Eric Ripert, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ryan Holiday, and 9 others.

Eric Ripert

A fascinating study and still wholly relevant. [source]

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Astrophysicist, Author & Science Communicator

Which books should be read by every single intelligent person on planet? … The Prince (Machiavelli) to learn that people not in power will do all they can to acquire it, and people in power will do all they can to keep it. If you read all of the above works you will glean profound insight into most of what has driven the history of the western world. [source]

Ryan Holiday

Author

Of course, this is a must read. Machiavelli is one of those figures and writers who is tragically overrated and underrated at the same time. Unfortunately that means that many people who read him miss the point and other people avoid him and miss out altogether. Take Machiavelli slow, and really read him. Also understand the man behind the book–not just as a masterful writer but a man who withstood heinous torture and exile with barely a whimper. Machiavelli is a glimpse into a time when power was literal and out for public viewing–when he talks about making an example of someone, he doesn’t mean calling them out, he means putting their head on a pike. Don’t let that scare you because we’re not as far from that world as we’d like to think. Deny that at your own peril. [source]

4

The Pursuit of Italy: A History of a Land, Its Regions, and Their Peoples

David Gilmour

4.6

A provocative, entertaining account of Italy's diverse riches, its hopes and dreams, its past and present

Did Garibaldi do Italy a disservice when he helped its disparate parts achieve unity? Was the goal of political unification a mistake? The question is asked and answered in a number of ways in The Pursuit of Italy, an engaging, original consideration of the many histories that contribute to the

5

Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin

Timothy Snyder

4.6

Americans call the Second World War “The Good War.” But before it even began, America’s wartime ally Josef Stalin had killed millions of his own citizens—and kept killing them during and after the war. Before Hitler was finally defeated, he had murdered six million Jews and nearly as many other Europeans. At war’s end, both the German and the Soviet killing sites fell behind the iron curtain, leav

Recommended by Eric Weinstein, Antony Beevor, Edward Lucas, and 1 others.

Eric Weinstein

Managing Director/Thiel Capital

Eric Weinstein recommended this book on Twitter. [source]

Antony Beevor

This book is about…the Stalinist repression of the areas known as the borderlands, which Snyder has termed the bloodlands. Snyder is looking at the deliberate mass murder of civilians in a particular zone of Europe between about 1930, at the start of the second Ukraine famine, and 1945. [source]

Edward Lucas

Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin offers the best account of the most important and terrible years of the last century, when Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler jointly consigned the territories and people between their two empires to the meat-grinder. [source]

6

The Medici: Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance

Paul Strathern

4.6

A dazzling history of the modest family that rose to become one of the most powerful in Europe, The Medici is a remarkably modern story of power, money, and ambition. Against the background of an age that saw the rebirth of ancient and classical learning Paul Strathern explores the intensely dramatic rise and fall of the Medici family in Florence, as well as the Italian Renaissance which they did

7

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

Atul Gawande

4.6

Preview Summary

Medicine has triumphed in modern times, transforming the dangers of childbirth, injury, and disease from harrowing to manageable. But when it comes to the inescapable realities of aging and death, what medicine can do often runs counter to what it should.

Through eye-opening research and gripping stories of his own patients and family, Atul Gawande, a practicing surgeon, reveals the suffering this

Recommended by Barack Obama, Malcolm Gladwell, Indra Nooyi, and 4 others.

Barack Obama

Former USA President

President Obama is spending his Hawaiian vacation playing golf, getting together with high school friends and reading a handful of dark novels set in foreign lands, according to a book list released by the White House Wednesday. The presidential reading list includes … two works of non-fiction for the trip: … "Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End" by Dr. Atul Gawande. [source]

Malcolm Gladwell

Writer & Journalist

American medicine, Being Mortal reminds us, has prepared itself for life but not for death. This is Atul Gawande's most powerful--and moving--book. [source]

Indra Nooyi

Board of Directors/Amazon

Just finished "Being Mortal" by Atul Gawande. A beautifully written book. Captivating. [source]

8

The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 (World War II Liberation Trilogy, #2)

Rick Atkinson

4.5

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

In the second volume of his epic trilogy about the liberation of Europe in World War II, Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Atkinson tells the harrowing story of the campaigns in Sicily and Italy

In An Army at Dawn—winner of the Pulitzer Prize—Rick Atkinson provided a dramatic and authoritative history of the Allied triumph in North Africa. Now, in The Day of Battle, he follows the

9

Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture

Ross King

4.5

Brunelleschi's Dome is the story of how a Renaissance man bent men, materials, and the very forces of nature to build an architectural wonder. Not a master mason or carpenter, Filippo Brunelleschi was a goldsmith and clock maker. Over twenty-eight years, he would dedicate himself to solving puzzles of the dome's construction. In the process, he did nothing less than reinvent the field of architect

10

The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall

Christopher Hibbert

4.4

At its height, Renaissance Florence was a center of enormous wealth, power, and influence. A republican city-state funded by trade and banking, its often bloody political scene was dominated by rich mercantile families, the most famous of which were the Medici. This enthralling book charts the family's huge influence on the political, economic and cultural history of Florence. Beginning in the ear

11

Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia

John Dickie

4.4

Hailed in Italy as the best book ever written about the mafia in any language, Cosa Nostra is a fascinating, violent, and darkly comic account that reads like fiction and takes us deep into the inner sanctum of this secret society where few have dared to tread.In this gripping history of the Sicilian mafia, John Dickie uses startling new research to reveal the inner workings of this secret society

Cover unavailable

12

The Churchill Factor: How one man made History

B. Johnson

4.4

'He writes with gusto... the result is a book that is never boring, genuinely clever... this book sizzles.'
The Times

'The point of the Churchill Factor is that one man can make all the difference.'

Marking the fiftieth anniversary of Winston Churchill's death, Boris Johnson explores what makes up the Churchill Factor - the singular brilliance of one of the most important leaders of the twentieth

Recommended by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Benedict King.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Actor, Politician & Businessman

There’s one book that I’ve given that it was just Christmas, that I’ve given away a lot of copies. This is a book about Winston Churchill by Boris Johnson. A very talented guy. [source]

Benedict King

Johnson’s thesis is that Churchill may have had faults and made mistakes, but on all the big issues he called it right and that, as a politician, he had a unique combination of personal qualities – bravery, industry, eloquence and, when necessary, ruthlessness – that put him in a league of his own. The subtext bubbles up from every page: The Churchill Factor: Why I Have it in Spades. [source]

13

The Tigress of Forli: Renaissance Italy's Most Courageous and Notorious Countess, Caterina Riario Sforza de' Medici

Elizabeth Lev

4.4

“In this insightful, fascinating portrayal, Elizabeth Lev brings Caterina Sforza and her times very much to life.”—Kathleen Turner, actress and author of Send Yourself Roses

A strategist to match Machiavelli; a warrior who stood toe to toe with the Borgias; a wife whose three marriages would end in bloodshed and heartbreak; and a mother determined to maintain her family’s honor, Caterina Riario Sfo

Recommended by Robert Greene.

Robert Greene

Author

A few of my favorite bios for the new book. #whatimreading [source]

14

The Godfather

Mario Puzo, Anthony Puzo, et al

4.3

The Godfather—the epic tale of crime and betrayal that became a global phenomenon.

Almost fifty years ago, a classic was born. A searing portrayal of the Mafia underworld, The Godfather introduced readers to the first family of American crime fiction, the Corleones, and their powerful legacy of tradition, blood, and honor. The seduction of power, the pitfalls of greed, and the allegiance to family—

Recommended by Michal Ptacek and Nicky Cullen.

Michal Ptacek

My most favourite book is Godfather by Mario Puzo. I think it is even slightly more interesting and better than a movie which is almost perfect. Total masterpiece :) [source]

Nicky Cullen

That is such a tough question. I'm going to say The Godfather because I couldn't stop until it was finished. [source]

15

Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945

Tony Judt

4.3

Almost a decade in the making, this much-anticipated grand history of postwar Europe from one of the world's most esteemed historians and intellectuals is a singular achievement. Postwar is the first modern history that covers all of Europe, both east and west, drawing on research in six languages to sweep readers through thirty-four nations and sixty years of political and cultural change-all in

Recommended by David Marquand and Keith Lowe.

David Marquand

This book is all about the way that Europe has managed – not always totally successfully, but managed nevertheless – to come to terms with its bloody and horrible past. [source]

Keith Lowe

What [source]

16

A History of Venice

John Julius Norwich

4.3

Traces the rise ot empire of this city from its 5th century beginnings all the way through until 1797 when Napolean put an end to the thousand year-old Republic. 32 pages of black and white photos, 4 maps and charts.

17

The Periodic Table

Primo Levi

4.3

The Periodic Table by Primo Levi is an impassioned response to the Holocaust: Consisting of 21 short stories, each possessing the name of a chemical element, the collection tells of the author's experiences as a Jewish-Italian chemist before, during, and after Auschwitz in luminous, clear, and unfailingly beautiful prose. It has been named the best science book ever by the Royal Institution of Gre

Recommended by Tim Radford and William Fiennes.

Tim Radford

It’s a life story by a chemist seen through the prism of an elemental substance. Some of it doesn’t work very well and some of it works very well. There’s a lovely chapter on iron that refers to the arrival of the Fascist era. There’s a much more personal account involving mine tailings and the extraction of precious metals from mine tailing, which he was employed at. That gives him a chance to contemplate the nature of matter itself and why the stuff that’s in the ground is the same as the stuff that actually composes our bodies. And why things that happen in chemistry can be subtly different if you alter the element that’s involved in the process. All of it is illuminating. You read it and you understand the world around you much better for having read even a sentence of Levi. [source]

William Fiennes

They’re a mixture of short stories and autobiographical essays, or essays in autobiography. Levi uses the elements from the periodic table as a way of organising memory. He uses 21 elements, each as a doorway or wormhole into a particular area of his experience, into a particular memory – but leaving out his time in Auschwitz, because he’d already written about that. You get his early interest in chemistry, his early experiments, the friends he studied with, the atmosphere of the laboratories and the characters of the professors who taught him. It’s about his interest in matter, the stuff the world is made of, as counterposed to spirit. He wrote another great book, The Wrench, which is a series of soliloquies from a mechanic called Faussone. Levi is the scribe as Faussone describes all these things he’s built – bridges, oil derricks – and the excitement of putting things together. In The Periodic Table, you also get that fascination with the stuff the world’s made of and we’re made of – the wonder of it. [source]

18

Thunderstruck

Erik Larson

4.3

A true story of love, murder, and the end of the world's "great hush."

In Thunderstruck, Erik Larson tells the interwoven stories of two men--Hawley Crippen, a very unlikely murderer, and Guglielmo Marconi, the obsessive creator of a seemingly supernatural means of communication--whose lives intersect during one of the greatest criminal chases of all time.

Set in Edwardian London and on the stormy c

Recommended by Timothy J. Jorgensen.

Timothy J. Jorgensen

I chose this book because radio waves are a type of radiation. [source]

Cover unavailable

19

The Story of the Lost Child (The Neapolitan Novels, #4)

Elena Ferrante, Ann Goldstein

4.3

Here is the dazzling saga of two women, the brilliant, bookish Elena and the fiery, uncontainable Lila. Both are now adults; life’s great discoveries have been made, its vagaries and losses have been suffered. Through it all, the women’s friendship has remained the gravitational center of their lives.

Both women once fought to escape the neighborhood in which they grew up—a prison of conformity, v

20

The Renaissance in Italy: A History

Kenneth Bartlett

4.3

The Italian Renaissance has come to occupy an almost mythical place in the popular imagination. The outsized reputations of the best-known figures from the period—Michelangelo, Niccolo Machiavelli, Lorenzo the Magnificent, Pope Julius II, Isabella d'Este, and so many others—engender a kind of wonder. How could so many geniuses or exceptional characters be produced by one small territory near the e

21

The Agony and the Ecstasy

Irving Stone

4.3

Celebrating the 500th anniversary of Michelangelo’s David, New American Library releases a special edition of Irving Stone’s classic biographical novel—in which both the artist and the man are brought to life in full. A masterpiece in its own right, this novel offers a compelling portrait of Michelangelo’s dangerous, impassioned loves, and the God-driven fury from which he wrested the greatest art

22

A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century

Barbara W. Tuchman

4.3

The 14th century gives us back two contradictory images: a glittering time of crusades and castles, cathedrals and chivalry, and a dark time of ferocity and spiritual agony, a world plunged into a chaos of war, fear and the Plague. Barbara Tuchman anatomizes the century, revealing both the great rhythms of history and the grain and texture of domestic life as it was lived.

Cover unavailable

23

The Story of a New Name (The Neapolitan Novels, #2)

Elena Ferrante, Ann Goldstein

4.3

In 2012, Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend introduced readers to the unforgettable Elena and Lila, whose lifelong friendship provides the backbone for the Neapolitan Novels. The Story of a New Name is the second book in this series. With these books, which the New Yorker's James Wood described as "large, captivating, amiably peopled ... a beautiful and delicate tale of confluence and reversal,"

24

The Liberator: One World War II Soldier's 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau

Alex Kershaw

4.3

The true story of the bloodiest and most dramatic march to victory of the Second World War: the battlefield odyssey of a maverick U.S. Army officer and his infantry unit as they fought for over five hundred days to liberate Europe - from the invasion of Italy to the gates of Dachau.

From July 10, 1943, the date of the Allied landing in Sicily, to May 8, 1945, when victory in Europe was declared –

Cover unavailable

25

Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

Selwyn Raab

4.3

For half a century, the American Mafia outwitted, outmaneuvered, and outgunned the FBI and other police agencies, wreaking unparalleled damage on America’s social fabric and business enterprises while emerging as the nation’s most formidable crime empire. The vanguard of this criminal juggernaut is still led by the Mafia’s most potent and largest borgatas: New York’s Five Families.

Five Families is

26

Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling

Ross King

4.3

In 1508, despite strong advice to the contrary, the powerful Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the newly restored Sistine Chapel. With little experience as a painter (though famed for his sculpture David), Michelangelo was reluctant to begin the massive project.

Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling recounts the four extraordinary years Michelangelo spent laboring over

27

The Cheese and the Worms: The Cosmos of a Sixteenth-Century Miller

Carlo Ginzburg, John Tedeschi, Anne C. Tedeschi

4.3

The Cheese and the Worms is a study of the popular culture in the sixteenth century as seen through the eyes of one man, a miller brought to trial during the Inquisition. Carlo Ginzburg uses the trial records of Domenico Scandella, a miller also known as Menocchio, to show how one person responded to the confusing political and religious conditions of his time.

For a common miller, Menocchio was su

Cover unavailable

28

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (The Neapolitan Novels, #3)

Elena Ferrante and Ann Goldstei

4.2

Since the publication of My Brilliant Friend, the first of the Neapolitan novels, Elena Ferrante's fame as one of our most compelling, insightful, and stylish contemporary authors has grown enormously. She has gained admirers among authors--Jhumpa Lahiri, Elizabeth Strout, Claire Messud, to name a few--and critics--James Wood, John Freeman, Eugenia Williamson, for example. But her most resounding

29

A Year in Provence

Peter Mayle

4.2

National Bestseller

In this witty and warm-hearted account, Peter Mayle tells what it is like to realize a long-cherished dream and actually move into a 200-year-old stone farmhouse in the remote country of the Lubéron with his wife and two large dogs. He endures January's frosty mistral as it comes howling down the Rhône Valley, discovers the secrets of goat racing through the middle of town, and

Recommended by Fabrice Grinda.

Fabrice Grinda

I have lots of books to recommend, but they are not related to my career path. The only one that is remotely related is Peter Thiel’s Zero to One. That said here are books I would recommend. [source]

30

Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World

Tom Holland

4.2

From the crucifixion of Jesus to the birth of modern morals, this "marvelous" account from an award-winning historian shows how the Christian Revolution forged the Western imagination (The Economist).
Crucifixion, the Romans believed, was the worst fate imaginable. It was this that rendered it so suitable a punishment for slaves. How astonishing it was, then, that people should have come to believe

Recommended by Dan Snow.

Dan Snow

So proud of my great buddy @holland_tom, his brilliant new book 'Dominion' is published today. To celebrate, last night we visited the limit of the Great Fire, exactly 353 years since it raged across The City. Wild times. https://t.co/iQsNxrceAE [source]

31

A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918

G. J. Meyer

4.2

The First World War is one of history’s greatest tragedies. In this remarkable and intimate account, author G. J. Meyer draws on exhaustive research to bring to life the story of how the Great War reduced Europe’s mightiest empires to rubble, killed twenty million people, and cracked the foundations of the world we live in today.

The First World War is one of history’s greatest tragedies. In this r

32

Naples '44: A World War II Diary of Occupied Italy

Norman Lewis

4.2

From the author Graham Greene called "one of our best writers, not of any particular decade but of our century," comes a masterpiece about a war-ravaged city under occupation
As a young intelligence officer stationed in Naples following its liberation from Nazi forces, Norman Lewis recorded the lives of a proud and vibrant people forced to survive on prostitution, thievery, and a desperate belief i

Recommended by Keith Lowe.

Keith Lowe

Strictly speaking it’s not a book about the postwar period as it’s about Naples in 1944 rather than in 1945 or 1946, but I chose it because it shows what life was like immediately after the liberation of the south of Italy. This was the first area of Europe to be liberated so it was the first sight the Allies had of what they were dealing with, which was pretty chaotic. Naples in 1944 was a city in meltdown. First and foremost, there was no food at all. Children would dig up grass from the roadside to take home to eat. Even the fish at the city’s aquarium mysteriously disappeared one night. People would do anything to get hold of some food – literally anything. Norman Lewis repeatedly had men approach him trying to press the favours of their wives and their daughters upon him in return for a hot meal. So prostitution was rife; the black market was rife; people resorted to banditry; the mafia started running all sorts of black market operations – the whole moral atmosphere in Naples all revolved around the fact that there wasn’t enough food to go round and anybody would do anything to get hold of some. It was like descending into one of Dante’s circles of hell. [source]

33

World Cup 1970-2018: Panini Football Collections

Panini

4.2

- The complete collection of Panini stickers albums dedicated to all World Cup championships between 1970 and 2018. All protagonists and all results from the last 48 years Since 1970 a collection of Panini stickers has accompanied each FIFA World Cup, held every four years. Each Panini album is not just a practical guide to the various rounds of the tournament, but it also provides a valuable visu

34

The Divine Comedy

Dante Alighieri

4.2

"Dante and Shakespeare divide the world between them, there is no third." T. S. Eliot

"Ciardi has given us a credible, passionate persona of the poet, stripped of the customary gauds of rhetoric and false decoration, strong and noble in utterance." Dudley Fitts

"A sensitive and perceptive translation;a spectacular achievement." Archibald MacLeish

Belonging in the immortal company of the great works o

Recommended by A N Wilson.

A N Wilson

I don’t think there’s anything in world literature to compare with the last few cantos of the Paradiso as a Christian statement. [source]

35

Growing Up Italian-American (Second Edtion): The Memoirs of Ferdinand Visco & the Stories of Two Immigrant Italian Families

Ferdinand J. Visco M.D.

4.2

Preface to the Second Edition:
Since its original publication, I have been extremely gratified by the positive reception the book has received not only from the Italian-American Community but also from the general public. In this, its second edition, I have added more stories taken from my parents’ memoirs and new stories about growing up in College Point and living in Italy. With a view to making

36

La Storia: Five Centuries of the Italian American Experience

Jerre Mangione

4.2

From the early Italian adventurers who played an important role in the European expansion across the Atlantic to the political and business leaders of the 1990s, this book tells a dramatic story. The heart of the story is the mass migration that took place between 1880 and 1924, when a whole culture left its ancient roots to settle in the cities and towns of America.

37

The Guarded Gate: Bigotry, Eugenics and the Law That Kept Two Generations of Jews, Italians, and Other European Immigrants Out of America

Daniel Okrent

4.2

NAMED ONE OF THE “100 NOTABLE BOOKS OF THE YEAR” BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

“An extraordinary book, I can’t recommend it highly enough.” –Whoopi Goldberg, The View

By the widely celebrated New York Times bestselling author of Last Call—the powerful, definitive, and timely account of how the rise of eugenics helped America close the immigration door to “inferiors” in the 1920s.

A forgotten, dar

Recommended by Claire Lehmann.

Claire Lehmann

Fascinating review of an important book. 'The Guarded Gate' thoroughly documents the depth & breadth of American eugenics projects. Like Prohibition it was a movement propelled by elites who were animated by class prejudice https://t.co/4QhC6suxK9 [source]

38

Italian Food

Elizabeth David, Child Julia

4.2

In Italian Food, Elizabeth David was the first to help us understand the real country cooking of Italy.

Italian Food was an inspiration to British cooks when it was first published in 1954 - and it remains so to this day. Embracing the variety, richness and vibrancy of Italian cooking, with particularly reference to regional variation, Elizabeth David provides a magnificent and inspiring collection

Recommended by Ruth Rogers.

Ruth Rogers

The influence Elizabeth David had on cookery is phenomenal. Her books are informed, passionate and inspiring. [source]

39

City of Fortune: How Venice Won and Lost a Naval Empire

Roger Crowley

4.2

A magisterial work of gripping history, City of Fortune tells the story of the Venetian ascent from lagoon dwellers to the greatest power in the Mediterranean - an epic five hundred year voyage that encompassed crusade and trade, plague, sea battles and colonial adventure. In Venice, the path to empire unfolded in a series of extraordinary contests - the sacking of Constantinople in 1204, the figh

40

The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front 1915 - 1919

Mark R. Thompson

4.2

This is the story of the First World War in Italy, a war that gave birth to fascism. Mussolini fought in these trenches, as did most of his collaborators. But so did many of the greatest modernist writers in Italian and German - Ungaretti, Gadda, Musil.

41

Easy Italian Phrase Book: Over 1500 Common Phrases For Everyday Use And Travel

Lingo Mastery

4.2

What is the hardest challenge you've faced as a student of the Italian language?

You can work hard on your grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation, but being able to communicate naturally isn't easy.

In fact, the toughest part of learning Italian is knowing how to speak like a native.

Most textbooks are made to teach you the traditional rules and structures of a language and are great for getting aroun

Cover unavailable

42

The Fantasy Fiction Formula

Deborah Chester

4.2

There's more to writing a successful fantasy story than building a unique world or inventing new magic. How exactly is a plot put together? How do you know if your idea will support an entire novel? How do you grab reader attention and keep it? How do you create dynamic, multi-dimensional characters? What is viewpoint and do you handle it differently in urban fantasy than in traditional epics? Wha

43

The Borgias: The Hidden History

G.J. Meyer

4.2

Forget everything you think you know about the most infamous family of the Italian Renaissance-here in every colorful detail is the real story of the Borgias and their indelible, tumultuous world, written by the gifted author of the acclaimed A World Undone and The Tudors and timed to coincide with the upcoming new season of the celebrated Showtime series, The Borgias.

Meet Rodrigo Borgia-Pope Alex

44

The Renaissance (The Story of Civilization, #5)

Will Durant

4.2

A colorful pageant of princes & kings, painters & philosophers, scientists & architects comes to life in Will Durant's study of the Italian Renaissance, Vol. 5 of The Story of Civilization. He sets the stage in Florence for the opening act of a magnificent cultural flowering spread across Europe & continued thru time. Even more than its artistic awakening, the Renaissance stands as a declaration o

45

Rick Steves Italy 2020

Rick Steves

4.2

From the Mediterranean to the Alps, from fine art to fine pasta, experience Italy with Rick Steves! Inside Rick Steves Italy 2020 you'll find:

Comprehensive coverage for planning a multi-week trip to Italy

Rick's strategic advice on how to get the most out of your time and money, with rankings of his must-see favorites

Top sights and hidden gems, from the Colosseum and Michelangelo's David to corner

Cover unavailable

46

The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe

David I. Kertzer

4.2

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER

From National Book Award finalist David I. Kertzer comes the gripping story of Pope Pius XI’s secret relations with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. This groundbreaking work, based on seven years of research in the Vatican and Fascist archives, including reports from Mussolini’s spies inside the highest levels of the Church, will forever change our understanding of the Vati

47

Christ Stopped at Eboli

Carlo Levi

4.2

'We're not Christians, Christ stopped short of here, at Eboli.' Exiled to a remote and barren corner of Italy for his opposition to Mussolini, Carlo Levi entered a world cut off from history and the state, hedged in by custom and sorrow, without comfort or solace, where, eternally patient, the peasants lived in an age-old stillness and in the presence of death - for Christ did stop at Eboli.

Recommended by Paul Theroux and Paula Fredriksen.

Paul Theroux

I chose this book because not many people know it – it’s hardly on every bookshelf. Carlo Levi was an Italian Jew from Florence, banished in the 1930s by the Mussolini government for criticising the war in Ethiopia. He is sent to the ends of the earth, and it happens that the ends of the earth in Italy is southern Italy. [source]

Paula Fredriksen

This is such a beautiful memoir. Levi was in political exile for a year under Mussolini, sent to a very impoverished town in the south of Italy. Levi himself is from Turin – aristocratic, well educated, left-leaning politically, very urban and urbane. This tiny dusty town shocks him, both its poverty and its class structure. [source]

48

The Borgias and Their Enemies: 1431-1519

Christopher Hibbert

4.2

The first major biography of the Borgias in thirty years, Christopher Hibbert's latest history brings the family and the world they lived in—the glittering Rome of the Italian Renaissance—to life.

The name Borgia is synonymous with the corruption, nepotism, and greed that were rife in Renaissance Italy. The powerful, voracious Rodrigo Borgia, better known to history as Pope Alexander VI, was the c

49

Murder of a Medici Princess

Caroline P. Murphy

4.2

In Murder of a Medici Princess, Caroline Murphy illuminates the brilliant life and tragic death of Isabella de Medici, one of the brightest stars in the dazzling world of Renaissance Italy, the daughter of Duke Cosimo I, ruler of Florence and Tuscany.
Murphy is a superb storyteller, and her fast-paced narrative captures the intrigue, the scandal, the romantic affairs, and the violence that were co

Recommended by Nancy Goldstone.

Nancy Goldstone

This book is about a very strong woman – Isabella, the daughter of Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici, the powerful ruler of 15th century Florence. Isabella was Cosimo’s favourite daughter, but even so she was obliged to marry Paolo Giordano I Orsini, a member of the lesser nobility, for political purposes. The Medici family was very wealthy, and Isabella was used to a luxurious life surrounded by beauty, art and literature. Her husband, on the other hand, owned one shabby castle in the middle of nowhere. She went there for one season, then for the rest of her life she lived in Florence away from him. [source]

50

Florence: The Paintings and Frescoes in the City that Invented Art, 1250-1743

Ross King

4.2

This is the most comprehensive book on the paintings and frescoes of Florence ever undertaken, with more than 2,000 beautifully reproduced artworks from the city's great museums and churches-produced in the same manner as BD&L's The Louvre and The Vatican. Every painted work that is on display in the Uffizi Gallery, The Pitti Palace, the Accademia, and the Duomo is included in the book, plus many

51

The Devil's Queen: A Novel of Catherine de Medici

Jeanne Kalogridis

4.2

From Jeanne Kalogridis, the bestselling author of I, Mona Lisa and The Borgia Bride, comes a new novel that tells the passionate story of a queen who loved not wisely . . . but all too well.

Confidante of Nostradamus, scheming mother-in-law to Mary, Queen of Scots, and architect of the bloody St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, Catherine de Medici is one of the most maligned monarchs in history. In

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52

The Leopard

Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa

4.1

The Leopard is a story of a decadent and dying aristocracy threatened by the forces of revolution and democracy. Set against the political upheavals of Italy in the 1860s, it focuses on Don Fabrizio, a Sicilian prince of immense sensual appetites, wealth, and great personal magnetism. Around this powerful figure swirls a glittering array of characters: a Bourbon king, liberals and pseudo liberals,

Recommended by Nick Clegg.

Nick Clegg

This is one of the very few novels that I’ve read twice. [source]

53

Mezzogiorno Mistaken: The Top 10 Myths About Southern Italians

John De Luca

4.1

54

The Bastard Brigade: The True Story of the Renegade Scientists and Spies Who Sabotaged the Nazi Atomic Bomb

Sam Kean

4.1

From New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean comes the gripping, untold story of a renegade group of scientists and spies determined to keep Adolf Hitler from obtaining the ultimate prize: a nuclear bomb

Scientists have always kept secrets. But rarely have the secrets been as vital as they were during World War II. In the middle of building an atomic bomb, the leaders of the Manhattan Project we

55

Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love

Dava Sobel

4.1

Inspired by a long fascination with Galileo, and by the remarkable surviving letters of Galileo's daughter, a cloistered nun, Dava Sobel has written a biography unlike any other of the man Albert Einstein called "the father of modern physics- indeed of modern science altogether." Galileo's Daughter also presents a stunning portrait of a person hitherto lost to history, described by her father as "

Recommended by Stuart Clark.

Stuart Clark

Dava ostensibly wrote a book about Galileo’s relationship with his daughter but actually it reveals a lot about Galileo and science along the way. [source]

56

Venice: A New History

John Davis

4.1

An extraordinary chronicle of Venice, its people, and its grandeur

Thomas Madden’s majestic, sprawling history of Venice is the first full portrait of the city in English in almost thirty years. Using long-buried archival material and a wealth of newly translated documents, Madden has weaves a spellbinding story of a place and its people, tracing an arc from the city’s humble origins as a lagoon re

57

Intermediate Italian Short Stories: 10 Captivating Short Stories to Learn Italian & Grow Your Vocabulary the Fun Way!

Lingo Mastery

4.1

58

The Fisherman's Tomb: The True Story of the Vatican's Secret Search

John O'Neill

4.1

59

The Tuscan Secret: An absolutely gripping, emotional, World War 2 historical novel

Angela Petch

4.1

The tragic consequences of war echo through the generations in this stunning tale, inspired by true events, about how family secrets can haunt us; and how love can guide us through the darkest times. Fans of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale and The Letter by Kathryn Hughes will be captivated.

‘Anna, I kept a diary during the war. I have so much to tell you… And now you have this box containing my s

60

The Lion and the Rose (The Borgias, #2)

Kate Quinn

4.1

From the national bestselling author of The Serpent and the Pearl comes the continuing saga of the ruthless family that holds all of Rome in its grasp, and the three outsiders thrust into their twisted web of blood and deceit . . .

As the cherished concubine of the Borgia Pope Alexander VI, Giulia Farnese has Rome at her feet. But after narrowly escaping a sinister captor, she realizes that the da

61

Europe: A History

Norman Davies

4.1

From the Ice Age to the Cold War, from Reykjavik to the Volga, from Minos to Margaret Thatcher, Norman Davies here tells the entire story of Europe in a single volume. It is the most ambitious history of the continent ever undertaken.

Recommended by Philippe Legrain.

Philippe Legrain

For me, this book was an eye-opener. We’re normally told the history of Europe from a nationalist perspective or from the perspective of the various kings or monarchs. It’s all an inevitable progression to the countries we have now. This tells a completely different history. It’s about a rich tapestry of peoples and regions and different forces which are much more messy and certainly don’t inevitably lead to where we are now. For example, it corrects the misperception that the Hundred Years’ War was a war between England and France because those nations didn’t exist at the time, and so on. So it’s a helpful corrective in terms of understanding our history and therefore understanding Europe today. [source]

62

Italian Short Stories for Beginners: 20 Captivating Short Stories to Learn Italian & Grow Your Vocabulary the Fun Way!

Lingo Mastery

4.1

Do you know what the hardest thing for an Italian learner is?

Finding PROPER reading material that they can handle

63

Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de' Medici

Miles Unger

4.1

Magnifico is a vividly colorful portrait of Lorenzo de' Medici, the uncrowned ruler of Florence during its golden age. A true "Renaissance man," Lorenzo dazzled contemporaries with his prodigious talents and magnetic personality. Known to history as Il Magnifico (the Magnificent), Lorenzo was not only the foremost patron of his day but also a renowned poet, equally adept at composing philosophical

64

The Autobiography Of Benvenuto Cellini

Benvenuto Cellini, George Bull

4.1

Benvenuto Cellini was a celebrated Renaissance sculptor and goldsmith - a passionate craftsman who was admired and resented by the most powerful political and artistic personalities in sixteenth-century Florence, Rome and Paris. He was also a murderer and a braggart, a shameless adventurer who at different times experienced both papal persecution and imprisonment, and the adulation of the royal co

Recommended by Kenneth Bartlett.

Kenneth Bartlett

He invented the idea of the artist…as the genius not restricted by law, morality, common practice, or anything. [source]

65

The Monster of Florence

Douglas Preston and Mario Spez

4.1

In the nonfiction tradition of John Berendt (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil) and Erik Larson (The Devil in the White City), New York Times bestselling author Douglas Preston presents a gripping account of crime and punishment in the lush hills surrounding Florence, Italy.

In 2000, Douglas Preston fulfilled a dream to move his family to Italy. Then he discovered that the olive grove in fron

66

La Dolce Vita University: An Unconventional Guide to Italian Culture from A to Z

Carla Gambescia

4.1

La Dolce Vita University (LDVU) is the perfect sampler for anyone curious about (or already in amore with) Italy and its remarkably rich cultural gifts, both past and present. True to its lighthearted name, La Dolce Vita “U” is all about pleasurable learning, or what we prefer to call “edu-tainment.” Its dozens of entertaining yet authoritative mini-essays on a wide assortment of intriguing topics

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67

Michelangelo, God's Architect: The Story of His Final Years and Greatest Masterpiece

William E. Wallace

4.1

The untold story of Michelangelo's final decades--and his transformation into one of the greatest architects of the Italian Renaissance

As he entered his seventies, the great Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo despaired that his productive years were past. Anguished by the death of friends and discouraged by the loss of commissions to younger artists, this supreme painter and sculptor began ca

68

Rick Steves' Europe 101: History and Art for the Traveler

Rick Steves and Gene Openshaw

4.1

Now in full-color comes a witty and engaging look at Europe's history and art, from America's European travel expert, Rick Steves.

Rick Steves' Europe 101 helps you make the most of your sightseeing. A fun but informative guide, this "professor in your pocket" features chronologically organized chapters-from the pyramids to Picasso-that explain the forces behind Europe's most important cultural and

69

Un anno sull'altipiano

Emilio Lussu

4.1

Scritto nel 1936, apparso per la prima volta in Francia nel '38 e poi da Einaudi nel 1945, questo libro è ancora oggi una delle maggiori opere che la nostra letteratura possegga sulla Grande Guerra.
L'Altipiano è quello di Asiago, l'anno dal giugno 1916 al luglio 1917. Un anno di continui assalti a trincee inespugnabili, di battaglie assurde volute da comandanti imbevuti di retorica patriottica e d

70

The Fires of Vesuvius: Pompeii Lost and Found

Mary Beard

4.1

Pompeii is the most famous archaeological site in the world, visited by more than two million people each year. Yet it is also one of the most puzzling, with an intriguing and sometimes violent history, from the sixth century BCE to the present day. Destroyed by Vesuvius in 79 CE, the ruins of Pompeii offer the best evidence we have of life in the Roman Empire. But the eruptions are only part of t

71

Una Storia Segreta: The Secret History of Italian American Evacuation and Internment During World War II

Lawrence DiStasi

4.1

It is a little-known fact that in California during World War II, Italian Americans were subjected to an 8pm to 6am curfew, searches of their homes, seizure of their property, and exclusion from prohibited zones along the coast. In a collection of essays, Una Storia Segreta brings together the voices of the Italian American community and experts in the field, including personal stories by survivor

72

The Lady Queen: The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily

Nancy Goldstone

4.0

The riveting history of a beautiful queen, a shocking murder, a papal trial - and a reign as triumphant as any in the Middle Ages.

Italy fourteenth century - Amid intrigue, betrayal, and conspiracy, Joanna I of Sicily became the only female monarch of her day to rule in her own name, and one of the most courageous women in history. Married for political advantage at the age of seven to her six-year

73

Under the Tuscan Sun

Frances Mayes

4.0

An enchanting and lyrical look at the life, the traditions, and the cuisine of Tuscany, in the spirit of Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence.

Frances Mayes entered a wondrous new world when she began restoring an abandoned villa in the spectacular Tuscan countryside. There were unexpected treasures at every turn: faded frescos beneath the whitewash in her dining room, a vineyard under wildly overgrow

74

Road to Valor: A True Story of WWII Italy, the Nazis, and the Cyclist Who Inspired a Nation

Aili McConnon and Andres McConnon

4.0

The inspiring, against-the-odds story of Gino Bartali, the cyclist who made the greatest comeback in Tour de France history and secretly aided the Italian resistance during World War II

Gino Bartali is best known as an Italian cycling legend who not only won the Tour de France twice but also holds the record for the longest time span between victories. In Road to Valor, Aili and Andres McConnon ch

75

Rome: A Cultural, Visual, and Personal History

Robert Hughes

4.0

From Robert Hughes, one of the greatest art and cultural critics of our time, comes a sprawling, comprehensive, and deeply personal history of Rome—as city, as empire, and, crucially, as an origin of Western art and civilization, two subjects about which Hughes has spent his life writing and thinking.

Starting on a personal note, Hughes takes us to the Rome he first encountered as a hungry twenty-o

76

The First World War

John Keegan

4.0

The First World War created the modern world. A conflict of unprecedented ferocity, it abruptly ended the relative peace and prosperity of the Victorian era, unleashing such demons of the twentieth century as mechanized warfare and mass death. It also helped to usher in the ideas that have shaped our times--modernism in the arts, new approaches to psychology and medicine, radical thoughts about ec

77

Sprezzatura: 50 Ways Italian Genius Shaped the World

Peter D'Epiro and Mary Desmond Pinkowish

4.0

A witty, erudite celebration of fifty great Italian cultural achievements that have significantly influenced Western civilization from the authors of What Are the Seven Wonders of the World?

“Sprezzatura,” or the art of effortless mastery, was coined in 1528 by Baldassare Castiglione in The Book of the Courtier. No one has demonstrated effortless mastery throughout history quite like the Italians.

78

Cesare Borgia: His Life and Times

Sarah Bradford

4.0

Accusations of treachery, rape, incest, and murder: almost five centuries have passed since Cesare Borgia's death, and his reputation still casts a sinister shadow. Yet the real man was a mesmerizing figure who inspired Machiavelli's classic The Prince. During the brief space of time when he occupied the stage, he shocked and stunned his contemporaries with his lofty ambitions and daring, becoming

79

The Light in the Ruins

Chris Bohjalian

4.0

From the New York Times bestselling author of Midwives and The Sandcastle Girls comes a spellbinding novel of love, despair, and revenge—set in war-ravaged Tuscany.

1943: Tucked away in the idyllic hills south of Florence, the Rosatis, an Italian family of noble lineage, believe that the walls of their ancient villa will keep them safe from the war raging across Europe. Eighteen-year-old Cristina

80

The Force of Destiny: A History of Italy Since 1796

Christopher Duggan

4.0

A sweeping, first-of-its-kind history of the creation of modern Italy

The birth of modern Italy was a messy affair. Inspired by a small group of writers, intellectuals, and politicians, Italy struggled in the first half of the nineteenth century to unite all Italians under one rule, throwing aside a multitude of corrupt old rulers and foreign occupiers. In the midst of this turmoil, Italian politic

81

Calcio: A History of Italian Football

John Foot

4.0

The first history of Italian football to be written in English, 'Calcio' is a mix of serious analysis and comic storytelling, with vivid descriptions of games, goals, dives, missed penalties, riots and scandals in the richest and toughest league in the world. 'Calcio' tells the story of Italian football from its origins in the 1890's to the present day. It takes us through a history of great playe

82

Possessing Nature: Museums, Collecting, and Scientific Culture in Early Modern Italy

Paula Findlen

4.0

In 1500 few Europeans regarded nature as a subject worthy of inquiry. Yet fifty years later the first museums of natural history had appeared in Italy, dedicated to the marvels of nature. Italian patricians, their curiosity fueled by new voyages of exploration and the humanist rediscovery of nature, created vast collections as a means of knowing the world and used this knowledge to their greater g

83

Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast and Italy, 1500-1800

Robert C. Davis Jr.

4.0

This is a study that digs deeply into this "other" slavery, the bondage of Europeans by north-African Muslims that flourished during the same centuries as the heyday of the trans-Atlantic trade from sub-Saharan Africa to the Americas. Here are explored--perhaps for the first time--the actual extent of Barbary Coast slavery, the dynamic relationship between master and slave, and the effects of this

Cover unavailable

84

Gomorrah: Italy's Other Mafia

Roberto Saviano

4.0

Roberto Saviano's groundbreaking and utterly compelling book is a major international bestseller, and has to date sold 650,000 copies in Italy alone. Since publishing his searing expose of their criminal activities, the author has received so many death threats from the Camorra that he has been assigned police protection. Known by insiders as 'the System', the Camorra, an organized crime network w

Recommended by Gavin Knight.

Gavin Knight

It’s true that the numbers killed by the Camorra are so much greater than anything in Britain. Also the way people are killed and disposed of is different and much more brutal. There is also the pervasive influence of the mafia in southern Italy, especially when it comes to the dumping of toxic waste. [source]

85

Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love, and Death in Renaissance Italy

Sarah Bradford

4.0

The very name Lucrezia Borgia conjures up everything that was sinister and corrupt about the Renaissance--incest, political assassination, papal sexual abuse, poisonous intrigue, unscrupulous power grabs. Yet, as bestselling biographer Sarah Bradford reveals in this breathtaking new portrait, the truth is far more fascinating than the myth. Neither a vicious monster nor a seductive pawn, Lucrezia

86

Italy: A History

Vincent Cronin

4.0

87

Church of Spies: The Pope's Secret War Against Hitler

Mark Riebling

4.0

Pope Pius XII is perhaps the most detested pope in modern history, vilified for allegedly appeasing Hitler and betraying the Jewish people by remaining silent during the Holocaust. But this conventional narrative is not the full story.

In Church of Spies, the intelligence expert Mark Riebling draws on a wealth of recently uncovered documents to argue that, far from being Hitler’s lackey, Pius was a

88

My Brilliant Friend (The Neapolitan Novels, #1)

Elena Ferrante and Ann Goldstein

4.0

A modern masterpiece from one of Italy's most acclaimed authors, My Brilliant Friend is a rich, intense and generous hearted story about two friends, Elena and Lila. Ferrante's inimitable style lends itself perfectly to a meticulous portrait of these two women that is also the story of a nation and a touching meditation on the nature of friendship. Through the lives of these two women, Ferrante te

Recommended by Flora Pringle and Nicole Baldinu.

Flora Pringle

I think Elena Ferrante writes brilliantly about the challenges of motherhood and building something for yourself. In the Neapolitan Novels she talks about her character breaking out of her poor, restrictive, mafia background through reading and learning. She breaks her boundaries and becomes an accomplished writer. In the third book particularly, Elena speaks fluently about the envy we feel of the accomplishments of others, the insecure we feel even in the traits that others so admire about us. The frustrations of motherhood and how it can impinge professional accomplishments whether we want it to or not. A powerful book. [source]

Nicole Baldinu

I didn’t want this book to end. And I’ve gone back and listened to the audio version in Italian too. I’m lucky that my second language is Italian, as I got to enjoy it twice over! This book was wildly successful and for good reasons, it has everything you’d want in a story, love, friendship, history, humor, sadness and tragedy. All in four delicious volumes that, again, you wish would keep going and going. [source]

89

Prevail: The Inspiring Story of Ethiopia's Victory over Mussolini's Invasion, 1935-1941

Jeff Pearce

4.0

It was the war that changed everything, and yet it’s been mostly forgotten: in 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia. It dominated newspaper headlines and newsreels. It inspired mass marches in Harlem, a play on Broadway, and independence movements in Africa. As the British Navy sailed into the Mediterranean for a white-knuckle showdown with Italian ships, riots broke out in major cities all over the Unite

90

Voice Of The Falconer (Star-Cross'd, #2)

David Blixt

4.0

Italy, 1325. Eight years after the tumultuous events of THE MASTER OF VERONA, Pietro Alaghieri is living as an exile in Ravenna, enduring the loss of his famous father while secretly raising the bastard heir to Verona's prince, Cangrande della Scala.

But when word of Cangrande's death reaches him, Pietro must race back to Verona to prevent young Cesco's rivals from usurping his rightful place. Wit

91

Machiavelli: A Biography

Miles Unger

4.0

He is the most infamous and influential political writer of all time. His name has become synonymous with cynical scheming and the selfish pursuit of power.

Niccolò Machiavelli, Florentine diplomat and civil servant, is the father of political science. His most notorious work, The Prince, is a primer on how to acquire and retain power without regard to scruple or conscience. His other masterpiece,

92

Mistress of the Vatican: The True Story of Olimpia Maidalchini: The Secret Female Pope

Eleanor Herman

4.0

Eleanor Herman, the talented author of the New York Times bestselling Sex with Kings and Sex with the Queen goes behind the sacred doors of the Catholic Church in Mistress of the Vatican, a scintillating biography of a powerful yet little-known woman whose remarkable story is ripe with secrets, sex, passion, and ambition. For almost four centuries this astonishing story of a woman’s absolute power

93

The Decameron

Giovanni Boccaccio, G. H. McWilliam

4.0

The Decameron (c.1351) is an entertaining series of one hundred stories written in the wake of the Black Death. The stories are told in a country villa outside the city of Florence by ten young noble men and women who are seeking to escape the ravages of the plague. Boccaccio's skill as a dramatist is masterfully displayed in these vivid portraits of people from all stations in life, with plots th

Recommended by Jenny Davidson and Marion Turner.

Jenny Davidson

The premise of the book is that a group of young noblemen and -women, people of great privilege who have been able to flee the plague-ridden city, are telling each other stories to while away their time together in the luxurious villa to which they’ve retreated. The description of the plague in the frame narrative is very vivid and quite horrifying; it sets a dark tone. [source]

Marion Turner

The Decameron specifically is a story about ten people who decide to escape the plague by going to a lovely country house with their servants. They tell stories there: ten stories a day for ten days, so there are 100 stories. The stories tend to be very, very funny. A lot of them are very rude. [source]

94

The Birth of Venus

Sarah Dunant

4.0

Alessandra Cecchi is not quite fifteen when her father, a prosperous cloth merchant, brings a young painter back from northern Europe to decorate the chapel walls in the family’s Florentine palazzo. A child of the Renaissance, with a precocious mind and a talent for drawing, Alessandra is intoxicated by the painter’s abilities.

But their burgeoning relationship is interrupted when Alessandra’s pare

95

The Vatican Princess: A Novel of Lucrezia Borgia

C. W. Gortner

4.0

For fans of Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir, a gripping novel that follows the extraordinary life of young Lucrezia Borgia, the legendary Renaissance Pope Alexander’s beautiful daughter. Was she the heartless seductress of legend? Or merely an unsuspecting pawn in a familial web, forced to choose between loyalty and her own survival?

Glamorous and predatory, the Borgias became Italy’s most ruthles

96

Florence: The Biography of a City

Christopher W Hibbert

4.0

This book is as captivating as the city itself. Hibbert's gift is weaving political, social and art history into an elegantly readable and marvellously lively whole. The author's book on Florence will also be at once a history and a guide book and will be enhanced by splendid photographs and illustrations and line drawings which will describe all teh buildings and treasures of the city.

97

The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy

Jacob Burckhardt, Peter Murray, S. G. C. Middlemore, Peter Burke

4.0

For nineteenth-century Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt, the Italian Renaissance was nothing less than the beginning of the modern world - a world in which flourishing individualism and the competition for fame radically transformed science, the arts, and politics. In this landmark work he depicts the Italian city-states of Florence, Venice and Rome as providing the seeds of a new form of society,

98

The Thirty Years War

C. V. Wedgwood and Anthony Grafton

4.0

Europe in 1618 was divided between Protestants and Catholics, and Bourbon and Hapsburg, as well as empires, kingdoms, and countless independent states. After angry Protestants tossed three representatives of the Holy Roman Empire out the window of the royal castle in Prague, world war spread from Bohemia with similar abandon and relentless persistence, destroying European powers from Spain to Swed

Cover unavailable

99

Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well

Pellegrino Artusi, Murtha Baca, et al.

4.0

First published in 1891, Pellegrino Artusi's La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangier bene has come to be recognized as the most significant Italian cookbook of modern times. It was reprinted thirteen times and had sold more than 52,000 copies in the years before Artusi's death in 1910, with the number of recipes growing from 475 to 790. And while this figure has not changed, the book has consiste

100

Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France

Leonie Frieda

4.0

Poisoner, despot, necromancer -- the dark legend of Catherine de Medici is centuries old. In this critically hailed biography, Leonie Frieda reclaims the story of this unjustly maligned queen to reveal a skilled ruler battling extraordinary political and personal odds -- from a troubled childhood in Florence to her marriage to Henry, son of King Francis I of France; from her transformation of Fren