Rome, 1953. Hal, an itinerant journalist finds himself on the steps of a palazzo, walking into a world of privilege and light. On a rooftop above the city he meets the mysterious Stella. Together they escape the crowded party and imagine a different life, even if it's just for a night. Stella vanishes all too quickly, and Hal is certain their paths won't cross again. A year later an Italian Contessa asks Hal to act as a reporter on a yacht skimming...

The truth behind one of the most notorious dynasties in history is revealed in a new account by the author of "The Tudors" and "A World Undone". Sweeping aside the gossip, slander, and distortion that have shrouded the Borgias for centuries, G.J. Meyer offers an unprecedented portrait of the infamous Renaissance family and their storied milieu. Sweeping aside the gossip, slander, and distortion that have shrouded the Borgias for centuries, G.J. Meyer...

"On July 10, 1943, the largest amphibious invasion ever mounted took place, larger even than the Normandy invasion eleven months later: 160,000 American, British, and Canadian troops came ashore or were parachuted onto Sicily, signaling the start of the campaign to defeat Nazi Germany on European soil. Operation HUSKY, as it was known, was enormously complex, involving dramatic battles on land, in the air, and at sea. Yet, despite its drama and its...

"Between the birth of Dante in 1265 and the death of Galileo in 1642, something happened that transformed the entire culture of western civilization. Painting, sculpture, and architecture would all visibly change in such a striking fashion that there could be no going back on what had taken place. Likewise, the thought and self-conception of humanity would take on a completely new aspect. Sciences would be born--or emerge in an entirely new guise....

An illustrated survey of over two thousand years of Italian history, from the Roman Empire through the twentieth century, discussing the evolving politics, society, and culture of the country.

In the late summer of 1943, when Italy broke with the Germans and joined the Allies after suffering catastrophic military losses, an Italian Resistance was born. Four young Piedmontese women, Ada, Frida, Silvia and Bianca, living secretly in the mountains surrounding Turin, risked their lives to overthrow Italy's authoritarian government. They were among the thousands of Italians who joined the Partisan effort to help the Allies liberate their country...

"Why does Rome continue to exert a hold on our imagination? How did the "Caput mundi" come to play such a critical role in the development of Western civilization? Ferdinand Addis addresses these questions by tracing the history of the "Eternal City" told through the dramatic key moments in its history: from the mythic founding of Rome in 753 BC, via such landmarks as the murder of Caesar in 44 BC, the coronation of Charlemagne in AD 800 and the reinvention...

"International bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay's latest work is set in a world evoking early Renaissance Italy and offers an extraordinary cast of characters whose lives come together through destiny, love, and ambition. In a chamber overlooking the nighttime waterways of a maritime city, a man looks back on his youth and the people who shaped his life. Danio Cerra's intelligence won him entry to a renowned school even though he was only the son...

A tour of the Medieval and Renaissance towns of Tuscany, the cradle of the Italian language and culture. Highlights include Florence, Siena, Pisa, and Lucca.

"A novel set in Renaissance Italy, and centering on the captivating young duchess Lucrezia de' Medici"-- Florence, the 1550s. Lucrezia, third daughter of the grand duke, is obscure in the palazzo's clandestine workings. Then her older sister dies on the eve of her wedding to the Alfonso, ruler of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio. Now Lucrezia is to take her sister's place in a troubled court where her arrival is not universally welcomed. Sitting for her...