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Italian Studies
Jewish Studies January 25, 2023

Jewish Flavours of Italy

A Family Cookbook

Silvia Nacamulli

Hosted by Ari Barbalat
Jewish Flavours of Italy: A Family Cookbook (Green Bean Books, 2022) is a culinary journey through Italy and a deep dive into family culinary heritage. With more than 100 kosher …

Italian Studies

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Interviews with scholars of Italy about their new books.

Medieval History January 22, 2023

Byzantine Religious Law in Medieval Italy

James Morton

Hosted by Diki Sherpa
Southern Italy was conquered by the Norman Hauteville dynasty in the late eleventh century after over five hundred years of continuous Byzantine rule. At a stroke, the region's Greek Christian …
Medieval History January 21, 2023

Marriage Litigation in the Western Church, 1215-1517

Wolfgang P. Müller

Hosted by Jana Byars
Wolfgang Muller, Marriage Litigation in the Western Church, 1215-1517 (Cambridge University Press, 2021). From the establishment of a coherent doctrine on sacramental marriage to the eve of the Reformation, late medieval …
Early Modern History January 16, 2023

Enmity and Violence in Early Modern Europe

Stuart Carroll

Hosted by Jana Byars
Stuart Carroll's Enmity and Violence in Early Modern Europe (Cambridge University Press, 2023) transforms our understanding of Europe between 1500 and 1800 by exploring how ordinary people felt about their enemies and …
Early Modern History January 9, 2023

The Index of Prohibited Books

Four Centuries of Struggle Over Word and Image for the Greater Glory of God

Robin Vose

Hosted by Jana Byars
Robin Vose (St. Thomas University) talks about his new monograph, The Index of Prohibited Books: Four Centuries of Struggle over Word and Image for the Greater Glory of God (Reaktion …
Middle Eastern Studies December 22, 2022

Generations of Empire

Youth from Ottoman to Italian Rule in the Mediterranean

Andreas Guidi

Hosted by Roberto Mazza
In 1912, Italy occupied Rhodes, an Ottoman town inhabited by Greek Orthodox, Muslims, Jews, and Catholics. Rhodes became a territory of Italy's empire in 1923 following the Treaty of Lausanne …
Economic and Business History December 19, 2022

The Capital Order

How Economists Invented Austerity and Paved the Way to Fascism

Clara E. Mattei

Hosted by Javier Mejia
A groundbreaking examination of austerity’s dark intellectual origins. For more than a century, governments facing financial crisis have resorted to the economic policies of austerity—cuts to wages, fiscal spending, and …
Early Modern History December 10, 2022

Women and Latin in the Early Modern Period

Jane Stevenson

Hosted by Elspeth Currie
Jane Stevenson’s newest book, Women and Latin in the Early Modern Period (Brill, 2022), tracks the history and historiography of women Latinists in the early modern period. She relates how …
Jewish Studies December 6, 2022

Wartime North Africa

A Documentary History, 1934-1950

Aomar Boum and Sarah Abrevaya Stein

Hosted by Ari Barbalat
Aomar Boum and Sarah Abrevaya Stein's book Wartime North Africa: A Documentary History, 1934-1950 (Stanford UP, 2022), the first-ever collection of primary documents on North African history and the Holocaust, gives …
Writ Large November 30, 2022

On Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy"

A Discussion with Nassime Chida

Nassime Chida

Hosted by Zachary Davis
When he was in his late 30s, the Italian poet Dante Alighieri got himself into some serious political trouble and was exiled from his beloved Florence. While in exile, he …
Writ Large November 21, 2022

On Matteo Maria Boiardo's "Orlando Innamorato"

A Discussion with Jo Ann Cavallo

Jo Ann Cavallo

Hosted by Zachary Davis
The Italian Renaissance was an era of rebirth in the arts, sciences, engineering, anatomy, and architecture. But also for literature. One of the most influential works from this period was …
Early Modern History November 16, 2022

Love and Sex in the Time of Plague

A Decameron Renaissance

Guido Ruggiero

Hosted by Jana Byars
Today Jana Byars talks to her PhD advisor Guido Ruggiero about his latest monograph, Love and Sex in the Time of Plague: A Decameron Renaissance (Harvard University Press, 2021) over the meaning of love …
Writ Large November 16, 2022

On Boethius' "The Consolation of Philosophy"

A Discussion with John Marenbon

John Marenbon

Hosted by Zachary Davis
For much of his life, the Roman philosopher Boethius was exceptionally fortunate. But towards the end of his life, his luck ran out. He was accused of treason, thrown in …
Writ Large October 28, 2022

On Cicero's "On Friendship"

A Discussion with Katharina Volk

Katharina Volk

Hosted by Zachary Davis
There’s nothing better or more important in life than a good friend. For Roman statesman and philosopher Cicero, the emphasis was on “good.” Cicero lived through the assassination of Caesar …
The Vault October 25, 2022

Leonardo da Vinci and Vassari’s "Lives of the Painters"

A Lecture by Harry Berger

Harry Berger

Hosted by New York Institute for the Humanities
In this episode of the Vault, we hear Harry Berger’s talk about Leonardo da Vinci and Vassari’s "Lives of the Painters." Harry Berger was a scholar of Renaissance English literature …
Early Modern History October 21, 2022

Being a Jesuit in Renaissance Italy

Biographical Writing in the Early Global Age

Camilla Russell

Hosted by Jana Byars
The Society of Jesus was established in 1540. In the century that followed, thousands sought to become Jesuits and pursue vocations in religious service, teaching, and missions. Drawing on scores …
Medieval History October 21, 2022

The Sea in the Middle

The Mediterranean World, 650-1650

Thomas E. Burman, Brian A. Catlos, and Mark D. Meyerson

Hosted by Evan Zarkadas
The Sea in the Middle: The Mediterranean World, 650-1650 (U California Press, 2022) presents an original and revisionist narrative of the development of the medieval west from late antiquity to the …
General History October 20, 2022

What the Ermine Saw

The Extraordinary Journey of Leonardo Da Vinci's Most Mysterious Portrait

Eden Collinsworth

Hosted by Nathan Moore
In the tradition of The Lady in Gold and The Hare with Amber Eyes, the remarkable history behind one of the world's most beloved paintings, Leonardo da Vinci's Lady with …
Art October 17, 2022

Watermarks

Leonardo Da Vinci and the Mastery of Nature

Leslie A. Geddes

Hosted by Allison Leigh
Formless, mutable, transparent: the element of water posed major challenges for the visual artists of the Renaissance. To the engineers of the era, water represented a force that could be …
Writ Large October 12, 2022

On Niccolò Machiavelli's "The Prince"

A Discussion with James Hankins

James Hankins

Hosted by Zachary Davis
You may know the term “Machiavellian,” but where does the word really come from? Niccolò Machiavelli was an Italian diplomat who worked firsthand with Italy’s most powerful politicians. He wrote …