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Browse our Categories! Historical Non-Fiction (A-H) Miscellaneous Fiction
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 HistoricalItaly and Its Invaders  by Girolamo Arnaldi/ $19.95 / Harvard Univ. Press / 2005
As the rise and fall of each conqueror is explored, it becomes apparent that the tumultuous transitions were smoothed by the (mostly) shared faith of Christianity. Of course, the intermarriage of the conquered with their oppressors did much to promote peace. For instance, Roman princess Galla Placidia, half-sister to the western emperor Honorius, was forced to marry a Visigoth. For a wedding gift, her new husband presented her with five trays of jewels, all plundered in the Sack of Rome. It is in supplying details such as these that the book maintains an unflagging momentum. Even the tedious task of explaining the motivations of the Longobards seems light, due, in part, to an excellent use of quotations from both attackers and defenders. The assimilation of foreign influences on such varied areas as architecture, language, and science are also commendable, but author Girolamo Arnaldi does not shrink from criticizing less desirable contributions. For intance, he notes the outbreak of syphilis that occurred after the 16th-century French invasion and the smoke-damaged walls of Rome still visible today. It is clear that although much of Italy’s history has been ground away beneath the boots of foreign armies, each successive group has left a mark, for better or worse, on Italian society as we know it today. Antony Shugaar’s lively interpretation of Arnaldi’s work bears none of the choppy feel that often plagues less perceptive translations. The nuances of language are preserved in an attempt to capture the intent of the author’s words instead of jotting them down in a literal, rigid interpretation. Far more comprehensive than “history in a nutshell,” as Arnaldi humbly claims, Italy and Its Invaders is a must-read for anyone interested in European history in general, and Italian history in particular, from the Dark Ages onward. — Shantel M. Sellers |
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