
Prisoner of the Vatican
The Popes' Secret Plot to Capture Rome from the New Italian State
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $18.91
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Alan Sklar
-
By:
-
David I. Kertzer
About this listen
Kertzer brings to light an untold drama played out among fascinating characters: Pope Pius IX, the most important pontiff in modern history; King Victor Emmanuel, working behind the backs of his own ministers; the dashing national hero Garibaldi; France's ill-starred Napoleon III, and many more. During this time, Italy was besieged from within and without, and Church history changed forever when the pope was declared infallible for the first time.
Prisoner of the Vatican looks deep into the workings of the Church in its final bid to regain the pope's temporal power. Kertzer sweeps readers along with riveting, revelatory panache. No one who reads his new book will ever think of Italy, or the Vatican, in quite the same way again.
©2004 David I. Kertzer (P)2005 Tantor Media, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Pope Who Would Be King
- The Exile of Pius IX and the Emergence of Modern Europe
- By: David I. Kertzer
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Only two years after Pope Pius IX’s election in 1846 had triggered great popular enthusiasm across Italy, the pope found himself a virtual prisoner in his own palace. The revolutions that swept through Europe and shook Rome threatened to end the popes’ thousand-year reign over the Papal States, if not the papacy itself. The resulting drama was rife with treachery, tragedy, and international power politics. David Kertzer, one of the world’s foremost experts on the history of Italy and the Vatican, brings this pivotal moment vividly to life.
-
-
Imbalanced and theologically confused
- By A. Moran on 06-18-19
By: David I. Kertzer
-
The Pope and Mussolini
- The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe
- By: David I. Kertzer
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From National Book Award finalist David I. Kertzer comes the gripping story of Pope Pius XI’s secret relations with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. This groundbreaking work, based on seven years of research in the Vatican and Fascist archives, including reports from Mussolini’s spies inside the highest levels of the Church, will forever change our understanding of the Vatican’s role in the rise of Fascism in Europe.
-
-
It is not narrated well - the delivery does not keep it as captivating as this book should be
- By Karina Inigo on 07-14-15
By: David I. Kertzer
-
The Popes Against the Jews
- The Vatican's Role in the Rise of Modern Anti-Semitism
- By: David I. Kertzer
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pope John Paul II, as part of his effort to improve Catholic-Jewish relations, himself called for a clear-eyed historical investigation into any possible link between the Church and the Holocaust. An important sign of his commitment was the decision to allow the distinguished historian David I. Kertzer, a specialist in Italian history, to be one of the first scholars given access to long-sealed Vatican archives. The result is a book filled with shocking revelations.
-
-
A stunning expose.
- By Paul on 03-05-22
By: David I. Kertzer
-
The Pope at War
- The Secret History of Pius XII, Mussolini, and Hitler
- By: David I. Kertzer
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Pope Pius XII died in 1958, his papers were sealed in the Vatican Secret Archives, leaving unanswered questions about what he knew and did during World War II. Those questions have only grown and festered, making Pius XII one of the most controversial popes in Church history, especially now as the Vatican prepares to canonize him.
-
-
Intellectually dishonest
- By ReviewAmazon384 on 04-08-23
By: David I. Kertzer
-
The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara
- By: David I. Kertzer
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 15 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bologna, 1858: A police posse, acting on the orders of a Catholic inquisitor, invades the home of a Jewish merchant, Momolo Mortara, wrenches his crying six-year-old son from his arms, and rushes him off in a carriage bound for Rome. His mother is so distraught that she collapses and has to be taken to a neighbor's house, but her weeping can be heard across the city. With this terrifying scene - one that would haunt this family forever - David I. Kertzer begins his fascinating investigation of the dramatic kidnapping.
-
-
Too much detail
- By L. WILLIAM on 03-03-24
By: David I. Kertzer
-
1177 B.C. (Revised and Updated)
- The Year Civilization Collapsed
- By: Eric H. Cline
- Narrated by: Eric H. Cline
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This audiobook narrated by acclaimed archaeologist and best-selling author Eric Cline offers a breathtaking account of how the collapse of an ancient civilized world ushered in the first Dark Ages.
-
-
Look past the one-star reviews: this is an enlightening and engaging read.
- By Alonzo Nightjar on 03-07-22
By: Eric H. Cline
-
The Pope Who Would Be King
- The Exile of Pius IX and the Emergence of Modern Europe
- By: David I. Kertzer
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Only two years after Pope Pius IX’s election in 1846 had triggered great popular enthusiasm across Italy, the pope found himself a virtual prisoner in his own palace. The revolutions that swept through Europe and shook Rome threatened to end the popes’ thousand-year reign over the Papal States, if not the papacy itself. The resulting drama was rife with treachery, tragedy, and international power politics. David Kertzer, one of the world’s foremost experts on the history of Italy and the Vatican, brings this pivotal moment vividly to life.
-
-
Imbalanced and theologically confused
- By A. Moran on 06-18-19
By: David I. Kertzer
-
The Pope and Mussolini
- The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe
- By: David I. Kertzer
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From National Book Award finalist David I. Kertzer comes the gripping story of Pope Pius XI’s secret relations with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. This groundbreaking work, based on seven years of research in the Vatican and Fascist archives, including reports from Mussolini’s spies inside the highest levels of the Church, will forever change our understanding of the Vatican’s role in the rise of Fascism in Europe.
-
-
It is not narrated well - the delivery does not keep it as captivating as this book should be
- By Karina Inigo on 07-14-15
By: David I. Kertzer
-
The Popes Against the Jews
- The Vatican's Role in the Rise of Modern Anti-Semitism
- By: David I. Kertzer
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pope John Paul II, as part of his effort to improve Catholic-Jewish relations, himself called for a clear-eyed historical investigation into any possible link between the Church and the Holocaust. An important sign of his commitment was the decision to allow the distinguished historian David I. Kertzer, a specialist in Italian history, to be one of the first scholars given access to long-sealed Vatican archives. The result is a book filled with shocking revelations.
-
-
A stunning expose.
- By Paul on 03-05-22
By: David I. Kertzer
-
The Pope at War
- The Secret History of Pius XII, Mussolini, and Hitler
- By: David I. Kertzer
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Pope Pius XII died in 1958, his papers were sealed in the Vatican Secret Archives, leaving unanswered questions about what he knew and did during World War II. Those questions have only grown and festered, making Pius XII one of the most controversial popes in Church history, especially now as the Vatican prepares to canonize him.
-
-
Intellectually dishonest
- By ReviewAmazon384 on 04-08-23
By: David I. Kertzer
-
The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara
- By: David I. Kertzer
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 15 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bologna, 1858: A police posse, acting on the orders of a Catholic inquisitor, invades the home of a Jewish merchant, Momolo Mortara, wrenches his crying six-year-old son from his arms, and rushes him off in a carriage bound for Rome. His mother is so distraught that she collapses and has to be taken to a neighbor's house, but her weeping can be heard across the city. With this terrifying scene - one that would haunt this family forever - David I. Kertzer begins his fascinating investigation of the dramatic kidnapping.
-
-
Too much detail
- By L. WILLIAM on 03-03-24
By: David I. Kertzer
-
1177 B.C. (Revised and Updated)
- The Year Civilization Collapsed
- By: Eric H. Cline
- Narrated by: Eric H. Cline
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This audiobook narrated by acclaimed archaeologist and best-selling author Eric Cline offers a breathtaking account of how the collapse of an ancient civilized world ushered in the first Dark Ages.
-
-
Look past the one-star reviews: this is an enlightening and engaging read.
- By Alonzo Nightjar on 03-07-22
By: Eric H. Cline
Critic reviews
"Populated with a colorful cast of authentic historical figures, this fascinating slice of papal and Italian history will intrigue and enlighten both scholars and the merely curious." (Booklist)
"Kertzer, given access to newly opened Vatican archives, tells a first-rate tale of the political intrigues and corrupt characters of a newly emerging nation, offers history writing at its best, and provides insight into a little-known chapter in religious and political history." (Publishers Weekly)
Excellent book, odd publisher's summary
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
well research re d
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Story and Voice Fit Well
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Well researched book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I've been to Italy quite a few times, so I really enjoyed putting “Umberto” “Emmanuelle” “Cavour” “Garibaldi” “XX September” into context. I've seen the names and dates in a zillion piazzas and monuments and street names and metro stops, so it’s nice to learn a little more about them. We’ll see how much I retained next time I am in Italy! Will I think: “I know that name! but why?” or will I turn my husband and bore him with all the details I leaned?
I was dissapointed that the Lateran Treaty was just a blip in the epilogue, I think that ties in rather significantly with this slice of Italian history so I'm surprised the author didn't elaborate a bit more.
A Slice of Italian History
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Very interesting
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
History at its Worst
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.