078 – The Golden age of communes

On the "giornata del ricordo", a commemoration to remember the victims of the Massacre of the Foibe in Istria and Venezia Giulia in 1943 and 1945, we talk to Roberta Alessandra Belulovich, an Istria Italian about her family history and the Istrian question.

10 Feb 201933min

1095 - 1099 We see how Urban II took the investiture controversy to a whole different level and scored major PR points for the papacy with the first crusade.

4 Feb 201923min

To commemorate Holocaust remembrance day, we look at Italy's role in the tragedy, from the initial indifference to the Jews in Italy, to the racial laws of 1938 and the deportations and killings of the war period.

27 Jan 201920min

1087 - 1095 We follow the start of one of the most famous papacies in history, that of Urban II and his fight against Henry IV alongside the countess Matilda of Canossa as things get personal, while the Normans try to sort themselves out after the death of Robert Guiscard.

20 Jan 201918min

1085 - 1087 After the turmoil of the papacy of Gregory VII, we see a pope that just didn't want the job and follow the final years of the great Norman Robert Guiscard.

12 Jan 201919min

To celebrate the birthday of "A History of Italy" we are releasing a free versions of NewsCappuccino in which we talk about national stereotypes.

5 Jan 20199min

1077 - 1085 The investiture controversy heats up with an anti-king elected in Germany and an anti-pope elected by Henry IV who then take the fight against Gregory and Matilde down into Italy with the Normans of Robert Guiscard waiting in the wings.

3 Jan 201917min

We have a look at important events in Italy on and around Christmas as well as explore the traditions, including that of the Christmas witch.

26 Dec 201820min