A History of Italy16 Syys 2025

194 - The Italian Wars 11 - Medici pope to Medici pope - Battle of Pavia and Cognac

After three episodes exploring the life of Leonardo da Vinci, we return to the turbulent stage of the Italian Wars. In this episode, we pick up in the early 1520s, a period shaped by papal politics, dynastic rivalries, and the shifting fortunes of France and Spain.

Highlights include:

The succession of popes after Leo X: Hadrian VI and Clement VII, and their struggles with reform, neutrality, and survival.
The tug-of-war between France and Spain over Milan and Naples, with Spain ultimately gaining the upper hand.
The dramatic Battle of Pavia (1525) — where Francis I of France was captured, changing the balance of power in Italy.
Local legend and culinary history: the devil’s bridge of Pavia and the birth of zuppa alla pavese.
The curious origin of the word lapalisiano (and its English cousin lapalissade), born from the death of French commander Jacques de La Palice.
The rise of the League of Cognac (1526), a desperate coalition including France, the Papacy, Florence, and Venice against Charles V’s growing dominance.

Along the way, we balance high politics with folklore, language quirks, and even a recipe or two — showing how wars, words, and food can be unexpectedly intertwined.

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030 – Saxons, Saracens, Sardinia

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".

26 Syys 201820min

029 – New millennium, nationalist myths, same old mess

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 be...

16 Syys 201817min

Special: 8th September 1943, from infamy to resistance

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 fo...

10 Syys 201818min

028 – The year 1000 and life for the average Giuseppe

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.

3 Syys 201817min

NC 003 – Identity crisis of a Brexit victim

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

30 Elo 20189min

Recap 02 – episodes 014 – 027

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.

27 Elo 201820min

NewsCappuccino 002 – On the possible third Italian republic and unity

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.

23 Elo 201812min

NewsCappuccino 001 – Choosing coffee, choosing a government and a visit to Rome

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 hip...

23 Elo 201813min