Italy Middle Ages

The Republic of Genoa: The History of the Italian City that Became Influential across the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages examines the highs and lows of Genoa La Superba (“The Proud”), including its humble origins in the first century CE, its felicitous rise after the fall of the Roman Empire, its golden age as a mercantile power during the “Genoese Century,” and its demise at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1797.

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 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 audio guide tells the story, describes the architecture and reports interesting facts about the church. In 1072 Norman Dukes conquered Palermo and, in Sicily, began an era in which the Byzantine culture, the knowledge of the Arabs and the expressiveness of the Normans fused, creating an extraordinary unity. The symbol of this synthesis is the church of Santa Maria dell'Amiraglio, better known as "la Martorana". It was built in 1143.

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.

The audioguide tells the story, describes the architecture and reports interesting facts about the oratory. Rossano is one of the most important cities of Calabria, under Byzantine rule, and here one of the most significant monuments of that time has been preserved: the Oratorio di San Marco, founded between the tenth and the eleventh century. During the restoration, fragments of admirable sculptures and frescoes of the Byzantine period emerged: a Virgin Mary with Child, which was to be part of a much wider representation.