The Italians before Italy: Conflict and Competition in the Mediterranean

by Kenneth R. Bartlett

Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins

(24 lectures, 30 minutes/lecture)

Course Lecture Titles
1. ItalyA Geographical Expression
2. The Question of Sovereignty
3. The Crusades and Italian Wealth
4. VeniceA Maritime Republic
5. The Terraferma Empire
6. Genoa, La Superba
7. Bankers and Dukes
8. Pisa
9. Christians vs. Turks in the Mediterranean
10. RomePapal Authority
11. Papal Ambition
12. Papal Reform
13. NaplesA Matter of Wills
14. Naples and the Threat to Italian Liberty
15. Milan and the Visconti
16. The Sforza Dynasty
17. Mantua and the Gonzaga
18. Urbino and the Montefeltro
19. Ferrara and the Este Family
20. Siena and the Struggle for Liberty
21. Florence and the Guild Republic
22. Florence and the Medici
23. The Italian MosaicE Pluribus Gloria
24. CampanilismoThe Italian Sense of Place

Genres: History, Audiobook, Nonfiction, Italy, Medieval, Italian Literature, Renaissance

13 pages, Audible Audio

Published January 1, 2007

About the author

Kenneth Bartlett is a professor of History & Renaissance Studies at the University of Toronto. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto, where he served as the editor of Renaissance and Reformation/Renaissance et Reforme and president of the Canadian Society for Renaissance Studies. He has received multiple teaching awards and was appointed the first director of the Officer of Teaching Advancement for the University of Toronto. Professor Bartlett has written three books, including Humanism and the Northern Renaissance.

Reviews

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Wealth of Information, Somewhat Overwhelming
I would consider this a 4-star education of the incredibly complex history of the city-states of pre-unification Italy that formed after the fall of the Roman Empire, the convoluted machinations of the those states supporting the Pope in Rome (Guelphs) vs the those siding with the Holy Roman Emperor (Ghibellines) in the 11th to 14th centuries, and the intense sense of regional pride and animosity to rival states that has been fundamental to the Italian peninsula for two millennia and remains today.

There is also much discussion of the rivalry between the nobles and merchant classes, along with the Papal struggle between Rome and the Avignon, where opposing Popes both claimed legitimacy and excommunicated their counterparts. Prof Bartlett also examines the strong role of this competition in the rival schools of art that flourished during the Renaissance, and how that too was part of the complex rivalry of different city states and cardinal all vying to outdo each other by providing patronage to the most renowned artists.

The only problem with these lectures is the sheer overload of information dumps throughout. This is not necessarily the fault of Prof Bartlett - it may simply be that he is attempting to cram too much into too little space. Honestly, this should be a subject studied over a full semester in university, so trying to condense it into a 12-hour series of lectures really is an impossible task. So I think some of the minutae of names and families could have been omitted to give the reader some breathing room to absorb the bigger picture. Having said that, I learned a huge amount, and it did whet my appetite for more, so what more can you ask of any great courses lecture series?

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you ever wondered what happened to Italy after the fall of Rome and before the Risorgimento this is for you. Its thesis is that most of this history can be understood in the context of the competition between factions the Guelphs (Papacy)and Ghibellines(Holy Roman Empire) and also the French and Spanish Empires. The lectures breaks the history apart by the main city states and competing empires and gives the history of each and then explains how they intertwine. A well thought out and well explained group of lectures with a very engaging speaker. Highly recommended.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audio download, 24-30 minute lectures.
The history post-Roman Empire Italy is a story of a patchwork of smallish city-states...surviving, or failing, through commerce rather than conquest. The commerce was established to take advantage to the increasing demand for goods from 'The East'...Venice being the first, and perhaps most successful of these states, followed by Genoa, Pisa, Florence, Naples, Siena and all the other cities that we can commonly recognize for an Italian travel itinerary. Dr Bartlett's lecture organization is focused around discussions about these individual cities, the histories of their origins and the individuals who controlled the destinies. The organizational style really helps the potential traveler with background histories for the cities on his or her list. However, when it comes to the historical inner action between these cities, the lectures become a bit confusing, causing me to seek clarity online...there are wonderful maps and related articles available (that could have been included in the guidebook) with the simplest google search.
From an historical view, I found the conflict between the pope (Catholic Church) and the imperial powers (from the Franks to the Habsburgs)...or the Guelfs verses the Ghibellines...interesting. Greed has no creed, I guess.
For those considering purchasing, this is a solid course, full of historic facts and a huge cast of characters. It lacks visuals (in the guidebook, and, from other's reviews, in the DVD version as well) that could contain not only maps, but some of the wonderful art that was encouraged and produced by individuals from these cities. The art is why we're interested, since it paints the history of Italy.
Recommended...wait for a sale, and a coupon.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rulers and warfare; hard to follow without maps and illustrations. Still, I feel like I got the big picture, and after I learn more about Italian history from other sources, I might get more out of this one.

[Gregory Mele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bartlett is an excellent lecturer, and this series weaves the narrative from the great powers of Venice-Milan-Florence-the Papacy to the lesser interests of Pisa, Ferrara, Urbino, Sienna, and Genoa; from the destruction of the Italian Wars to the artistic achievements driven by the despots. Bartlett is speaking about the familiar ground of the Italian Renaissance but he is also explaining why the peninsula was so prone to fragmentation and resistant to unification--even to the modern day, despite, when staring at a map looking like a single polity.

[Dree · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first Great Courses class I have ever listened to, and it was OK. After having it pounded into my head, I now understand the Guelphs vs the Ghibelines much better. I definitely learned a lot, but good lord there is a lot A LOT of info here. And I learned a lot, which was the goal. I also know I missed a lot because there is just soooo much

I did struggle with the professor's pronunciations. He is Canadian, and I am sure (OK, I know) thas is part of the issue and to others it wouldn't even matter. But. BUT. Given that this is audio only, this made it a very frustrasting at times.

1. He pronounces "peninsula" as "peninchula". Is this Canadian? I had to take a break around lesson 19 because this was killing me. Needless to say, in a history course about Italy the word "peninsula" comes up fairly often.

2. Less familiar names (of people/title) are all pronounced with the Italian pronunciation. Commendatore, Cesare, etc. But he pronounces "Milan" as "MiLANN" (rhymes with can), which I think of as very midwestern so it must also be Canadian. Even google translate says the English pronunciation is "MilAHN" (very similiar to the Italian), which is what I
expect.

3. Other words are pronounced strictly in an English way. He says Genoese (Gen-oh-EEZ) rather than Gen-oh-VAY-zhay". He usually says "Mil-ahn-EEZ", but at least once he says "Mi-lahn-AY-zhay".

[Jane Wetzel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A huge amount of information given in an intense format. Kenneth Bartlet is amazingly knowledgeable of Italian history. As the title reads, these lessons are about conflict and competition. So it is all about the the battlefield warriors, the conflicts in and with the church and the struggles of the ruling and wealthy classes. Bartlet discusses the rise and fall of some of the city-states of the various regions; the parts played by foreign conquers and influences as well as the conflicts with other Italian peninsular city-states. Again, I must listen to this lesson again, following the accompanying outline and some added maps of my own. Very interesting!

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of information and I'm glad I won't be getting tested on it. Well presented and informative given the vast amount on information.

I would have liked more about Sicily (Sicilia), but that history could probably be an entire course on its own. And Sicily is not about the conflict of the Pope in Rome (Guelphs) vs the those siding with the Holy Roman Emperor (Ghibellines), and more about external invaders.

[Gay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was hard to follow at times. I don't know if the problem was the narrator or the writing. There were some really long sentences that lost me at times. Also, the narrator would sigh. It was very distracting. However, I still was able to get the gist of the history of Italy. Very interesting.

[SJ Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed these lectures. Each one was a carefully constructed narrative essay, thoroughly entertaining. My last comment is not for this work, but Italian history in general: whenever a Pope referred to, it should be a matter of course that their family name is given too. It foreshadows their politics!

[Brittney Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Important information presented as "this happened and this happened." History doesn't have to be boring. The way we relate to it and lecture about it is boring. It has the potential more interesting if we dove deeper into cause and effect, why leaders made certain decisions, why certain policies mattered to citizens, and how themes/patterns relate to the present day.

[Fate's Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having been to many of the major Italian cities, I was very interested in this history of the pre-unification city-states. The whole country is stepped in history and tradition as well as deep regional identity and pride. Good lectures.

[Lamadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great course by The Great Courses! This is my second course by this professor, and he is great. He really presents this complicated information in a way that makes sense, and he is a great narrator for this audio format. He is a consummate professor.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This set of lectures is full of information, though I found it to be a bit dull. Beyond that, it's super annoying that Bartlett pronounces "peninsula" as "peninCHula" and it doesn't sound like he wants to do these lectures at all. There's a fair amount of huffing and sighing.

[Wes Bishop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent lecture series! Cannot recommend enough.

[Markus Pietilä · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5

[Kiki · Rating 4 out of 5]

CD course. An excellent course on the history of Italy after the fall of Rome.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm writing while still listening. While the recordings pack in tons of information, it's an overview and there could be more depth. But the annoying part is the narrator's pronunciations. I grew up hearing both Italian and English and the former is often painfully mispronounced.

[Melgar · Rating 4 out of 5]

great teacher, interesting history, well done all-round, good primer before visiting Italy

[Jeff J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covers a turbulent period of Italian history.

[JanaT · Rating 3 out of 5]

Divided according to the cities, so it takes time to put all the pieces together.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential for any Italian and even non Italian that are interested in Italian culture.

[Kayiris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. The lectures or talk are short (enough time for me to do my cardio) and informative. Having listened to the Renisance course some of this was repetitive; however, this helped reinforce the lessons. Explained a lot of the issues around "papal states" which had always eluded me. Definitely worth listening to

[Roberta Westwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent lecture series!

I can’t recommend Kenneth Bartlett’s lectures enough! He does a great job of bringing ancient history to life. It is hard to know where to start with Italian history, so it was good to learn how the many city states came together.

One thing he does really well is explain the Italian pride in their home villages and what is produced there. Now I know to never tell an Italian that I like a food item from another region better… what an insult that would be! Magnifico!

If I can make a suggestion, also check out Professor Bartlett’s lecture series The Italian Renaissance. The two together filled out my knowledge of Italian history.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a quick yet interesting swath through Italian history, but I very much enjoyed it. I would like to learn more about the various regions and topics he covers, but there is so much that I don't know where I would start. All in all, I definitely recommend this lecture series for anyone interested in Italy and Italian history.

(Buying using a subscription through Audible.com is much cheaper than through the Great Courses.)

[Bernard · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent history, very well told

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

i inherited hundreds of these great courses lectures, and they're all capably done. this one is no different. highly recommended

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

6: pretty interesting

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crazy, chaotic, violent, absurdly disorganized and fascinating.