A History of Italy

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 change of emperors.

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.

1039-1046 We follow the descent of Henry III into Italy and see how he deals with the church as a reform takes route

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.

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 and the new pope.

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 on when he made his way across the Alps.

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 violence against the civilian population in Western Europe. The massacre occurred on the slopes of Monte Sole, south of Bologna.

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".

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.

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.

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.

We explore the concept of national identity and pride and look at additive rather than subtractive human pride.

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.

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.

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.

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 taking a look at the world as well.

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, as well as how those dress clashed with reality

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 with the usual pope complications.

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.

We have a chat with Italian teacher and history enthusiast Daniela Pellacani from Carpi on one of the heroes of the Risorgimento, Ciro Menotti.

951 - 066 We take a look at the reign of the teenage oboe John XII and the start of the struggle between the papacy and the Holy Roman Empire

932 - 955 We look at how Alberic II did after taking control of Rome from his mother Marozia and his stepfather Guido of Provence. Then we jave a look at the usual confusion in northern Italy before the descent of the Saxon king Otto I, while we wait for the unforgettable pope John Xii to come on the scene.

910 - 932 We look at the second part of the incredible story of Marozia, as we use her family as an example of the chaos that was early tenth century Italy.

897 - 910 We take a look at the situation of debauchery and corruption that Italy, and more specifically Rome, fell into during the ninth and tenth centuries, with a particular focus on the Tuscolo family and perhaps its most famous member, Marozia.

888- 926 We look at the anarchy Italy fell into after the end of the Carolingians with the dealings of such men as Berengarius of Friuli and Guy of Spoleto, intersperse with some more foreign kings and emperors.

843- 887 We finish off the last of th Carolingians in Italy and take a look at the feudal system they brought with them into the county.

We look back over the history of the upcoming cementation of Republic Day, 2nd June and look at the current political situation in the light of the constitution that cam out of that historical moment.

We first cleat up the concept of the "Kingdom of Italy" and then make our way back up from the Arab Emirate of Sicily to look at the Principality of Benevento, the Duchy of Naples and the Duchy of Spoleto in the ninth century as the Carolingians do their thing up north.

827-840 We leave the north for a while and take a look at Sicily. First we have a quick peak at the start of the Arab raids on the island in the early seventh century and then head back to the ninth when Sicily became an Arab Emirate.

800 - 840 We look at what happened up to and after the death of Charlemagne to see what his sons got up to.

The second part of a two-part episode on the history of the city of Bologna. Her ewe cover the modern and contemporary eras of the regional capital of Emilia Romagna

This is the first part of a two-part series on the history of the city of Bologna, from pre-history to the end of the Middle Ages.

795 - 800 We look at the election and tumultuous adventures of pope Leo III before he goes on to crown Charlemagne, thus determining the relations between the papacy and the budding Holy Roman Empire for centuries to come

We have a look at the system that Charlemagne set up in Italy, the administration, the economy and the educational reform

A recap of the first thirteen episodes that acts as a refresher before we move on to the Carolingian reign in Italy and the growing power of the papcy and the Holy Roman Empire

We take a look back at the Catholic church as it's role in Italy increases with the arrival of the Franks.

An interview with Dario Pedrazzini on the daily lives of the Lombards at the time of king Rothari from his book on the topic

771-774 The Franks make their definitive entrance into Italy and the existence of the Lombard kingdom hangs in the balance. We take a look at how the events really went and then go back, following the story of Alessandro Manzoni's "Adlechi" to see a juicier version of the events.

744 - 770 From the endow the reign of Aistulf in 756 to the hight of power of king Desiderius, who by 770 gad taken the Lombards to their maximum expansion and influence

An explanation and recap of the 2018 Italian election

712 - 744 Liutprand, one of the top 3 Lombard kings and his successors, Ratchis and Aistulf with the pope becoming more of a player and the Franks looming as ever

652-712 From the death of Rothari through a series of kings to the reign of Ansprand in 712 as usual with some Franks and Byzantines thrown in

590 - 643 The end of the reign of Agilulf, through Adaloald and Airport through to Rothari and his historical edict

575-589 The Lombards start to settle down and get to know the neighbourhood and the troublesome neighbours as they go through an interregnum of the Dukes before they get back to electing a king and bashing the Byzantines

555-574 A quick look at the brief period of Byzantine rule before the arrival of the Lombards in 568 and then we look at their invasion of Italy and hear a bit of juicy royal gossip

540-554 The war between the Ostrogoths in Italy and the imperial forces of Byzantium continues from 540 and reaches it's end in 552

526-540 From the death of Theodoric the great in 526, through the regency of his daughter Amalasuntha, to the end of the first phase of the Gothic war in 540

493-526 From 493 when Theodoric the Great took contro of the Italian peninsula to his death in 526

476-493 The Italian kingdom of Odoacer (476 – 493) and the takeover by the Goths of Theodoric the Great

410-476 We go back before the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 to focus on three key events and names: Alaric, Attila and Odoacer.Presented by our partner Explore Worldwide, check out their tours:Exlore Worldwide