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.

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.

In 1494, there were five sovereign regional powers in Italy: Milan, Venice, Florence, the Papal States, and Naples. In 1536, only one remained: Venice. These decades of conflict precipitated great anxiety among Western thinkers, and Italians responded to the fragmentation, forevermore, of Latin Christendom, the end of self-governance for Italians, and the beginning of the early modern era in a myriad of ways. They were always heavily influenced by the lived experience of warfare between large Christian armies on the peninsula.

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.

The vocal beauty of this church has been heard through the centuries and also through the descriptions of the many travelers who visited these places, which represented one of the stages of the Grand Tour (an integral part of the aristocratic education in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries). Borgia, like Scolacium, was under Byzantine rule, in the tenth, eleventh and fifteenth centuries.

Consigned to history, thanks to the famous defeat Emperor Otto II's troops suffered, at the hands of the Arabs, in 982 the city of Stilo, whose name derives from the Greek "stulos", has its origins in Caulonia, an ancient Greek colony. The audioguide tells the story, describes the architecture and reports interesting facts about the Cattolica di Stilo, a unique historic place in the city. It is believed its design and construction took place prior to 1071.

Consigned to history, thanks to the famous defeat Emperor Otto II's troops suffered, at the hands of the Arabs, in 982 the city of Stilo, whose name derives from the Greek "stulos", has its origins in Caulonia, an ancient Greek colony. The audioguide tells the story, describes the architecture and reports interesting facts about the Cattolica di Stilo, a unique historic place in the city. It is believed its design and construction took place prior to 1071.

The audioguide tells the story, describes the architecture and presents interesting facts about the cathedral of Cefalù, recognized as a UNESCO heritage site. The imposing dimensions of the cathedral give us an idea of Ruggero's great political project. The fulcrum of the whole Duomo are the marvelous mosaics; they cover an area of 650 square meters. The audioguide has been made by professionals in the field of history and art.

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 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 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.