159 - Life, death and sex in the middle ages
We take a look at what life was like in the middle ages for the average Giuseppe and Lucrezia, from birth to death, sickness, medicine, work, free time, travel and sex and all the naughtiness connected to it.
13 Juni 202336min
158 - The Este of Ferrara
We take a look at a brief summary of one of the oldest dynasties in Europe, the House of Este who are the ancestors also of the House of Windsor rulers of the United Kingdom. In particular we look at the Italian branch, from their Carolingian roots to the year 1505 when Ercole D'Este was succeeded by his son Alfonso and daughter in law, Lucrezia Borgia.In between we'll see: a marquis acting like a brigand; nasty rebellions that end in cannibalism a non stop array of naughtiness in the bedroom, with one member of the house of Este cooking in at 800 lifetime lovers; a romantic love triangle than ends in a tragic beheading and much more
23 Maj 202326min
Interview: Artemisia Gentileschi with Lori from "Her Half of History"
We were lucky enough for Lori from the Her Half of History podcast to come and talk about the 17th century female Roman artist Artemisia Gentileschi.She overcame great trauma and injustice at a young age to become one of the most important and successful painters of her time and the centuries that followed.
9 Maj 202330min
25th April - Liberation
On the 78th anniversary of Italy's liberation from Nazism and Fascism, we publish a repeat from 2020 on family memories and the importance of this day.
25 Apr 202320min
157 - Venice out of the middle ages and into uncertainty (1454 - 1492)
After the peace of Lodi, the relative stability on the peninsula allows Venice to concentrate on the Ottomans again and the inevitable first war breaks out in 1463.Before that, we see one of the few doge's to actually be deposed, Francesco Foscari a record breaking doge for various reasons and sexy actor in "The Medici" Tv series.Then, when Venice reaches a rather humiliating peace with the Turks, it seems like a perfect time to them to start the war of Ferrara from 1480 to the peace of Bagnolo in 1484.Then it's time to make their way out of the Middle Ages with dark clouds looming on the horizon.
12 Apr 202320min
156 - Venice tangles with the Turks and messes with Milan (1416 - 1454)
Venice, after trying to avoid it, goes to war with the Turks and at the Battle of Gallipoli a spectacular victory is won... but by who?Then, we see how Venice used an ex ,mercenary captain of Milan against his old employers, Carmagnola, but then, when the Serenissima started to suspect him, he met an unfortunate end.Finally we relive one of the most impressive feats of naval engineering of the age, before we get to the start of a relatively peaceful period with the peace of Lodi.
28 Mars 202319min
155 - Venice has trouble with the neighbours (1400 - 1416)
We come round to Venice to see how they were doing at the start of the 15th century, dealing with neighbours such as the duchy of Milan under Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Padua under the Da Carrara and the formidable Sigismund king of Hungary and his general Pippo Spano. Before that we take some time to have a look at the political structure of the ruling oligarchy, from the doge whose wive has an amusing name down, and take a look at the city... and its pigs
14 Mars 202316min
154 Trentino Alto Adige (up to 1509)
Since we have never been there in the podcast, we take some time to go back and give a very general overview of the northern Italian region of Trentino Alto Adige, perched up north between the duchy of Milan and the Republic of Venice with reference to the time we are in. We go through Romans, Goths, Byzantines, Lombards, Franks to get to the bishop-counts that characterise this area, such as George of Lichtenstein or Federico Vanga. We then see how Venice started to encroach and hear about a rather spectacular feat of overland fleet travel engineering.
28 Feb 202318min
