Italy Middle Ages

It is not an easy job to draw the border between the history of Italy and the history of Rome. In so many places, the two political and geographical entities collide. They wouldn’t be possible without each other, but they each have their own story. Rome’s history is only a small fragment of Italy’s history. Although it is just a city, Rome was the birthplace of the republic, a great empire, and notable philosophers, poets, and artists.

It is hard to find an island on the map more central than Sicily. It has rarely been governed as an independent, unified state. Nonetheless, the island has always occupied a front-row seat to some of the most important events in history, and nowhere is this more obvious than during antiquity. Modern Sicily: The History and Legacy of the Mediterranean Island Since the Middle Ages looks at one of the world’s most important and contested territories. You will learn about Sicily like never before.

The Moors are well-known for their presence on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages and for the conflicts they fought in Europe, but the term Moor is a historical rather than an ethnic name. It is an invention of European Christians for the Islamic inhabitants of Maghreb (North Africa), Andalusia (Spain), Sicily, and Malta, and it was sometimes used to designate all Muslims.

The audioguide tells the story, describes the architecture and reports interesting facts about the cathedral. The island of Torcello, populated since Roman times, sheltered the population from the mainland, during the Gothic invasion period. The basilica of Santa Maria Assunta was built in 639. The fulcro of the cathedral are the magnificent mosaics, executed by local and Byzantine workers.

The story of the countess Matilda and her Lands: The History, The Canossa (origins, family, estates), The People, Matilda of Canossa, Henry IV, Gregory VII, Henry V, The Castles, The Parish Churches, The Apennine Settlements, The Landscape, Matilda's Way, Arts and Crafts: L'ars canusina, Food and Wine.

The audioguide tells the story, describes the architecture and reports interesting facts about Monreale Cathedral. The church was founded by the Norman King William II the Good and was dedicated to Virgin Mary. According to legend, in 1174, while hunting, the sovereign saw a woman pointing to the place where her father's treasures were hidden. Following their discovery William decided to build a church, in honor of the Virgin, which was completed in less than ten years, probably by architects and Byzantine theologians.