
The Pursuit of Italy
A History of a Land, Its Regions, and Their Peoples
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
$0.00 for first 30 days
Buy for $20.63
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Napoleon Ryan
-
By:
-
David Gilmour
Did Garibaldi do Italy a disservice when he helped its disparate parts achieve unity? Was the goal of political unification a mistake? These questions are asked and answered in a number of ways in this engaging, original consideration of the many histories that contribute to the brilliance - and weakness - of Italy today.
David Gilmour's exploration of Italian life over the centuries is filled with provocative anecdotes as well as personal observations, and is peopled with the great figures of the Italian past - from Cicero and Virgil to Dante and the Medicis, from Garibaldi and Cavour to the controversial politicians of the 20th century. Gilmour's wise account of the Risorgimento, the pivotal epoch in modern Italian history, debunks the nationalistic myths that surround it, though he paints a sympathetic portrait of Giuseppe Verdi, a beloved hero of the era.
Gilmour shows that the glory of Italy has always lain in its regions, with their distinctive art, civic cultures, identities, and cuisines. Italy's inhabitants identified themselves not as Italians but as Tuscans and Venetians, Sicilians and Lombards, Neapolitans and Genoese. Italy's strength and culture still come from its regions rather than from its misconceived, mishandled notion of a unified nation.
©2011 David Gilmour (P)2017 TantorListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
People who viewed this also viewed...


















Eye opening
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Ties the pieces together
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Decent Book. Terrible Narration.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
worth the time.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A Great Narrative History Beautifully Read
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A new take on Italian history
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Enjoyable and informative
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I love history, but there is always a spin
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Insightful (also delightfully catty)
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Not enough translation into English
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.