Italy

F.M. Godfrey describes how, during the fifteenth century, the courtly civilization of Ferrara gave birth to splendid works of art.

E.E.Y. Hales profiles Pope Pius IX (1846-78), who saw the end of the Papacy as a temporal power as the opening of a new era in its world-relationships.

Scholar, humanist, aristocrat, Barbaro achieved distinction in many fields, and served the Venetian Republic well, as Alan Haynes records.

David Mitchell inspects Marinetti’s various admirations: the beauty of speed and war, and the destructive gestures of anarchists.

‘There is a middle state’, Landor once said, ‘between love and friendship, more delightful than either, but more difficult to remain in.’ Such was the affectionate association that the Duke and Lady Shelley long enjoyed, writes Prudence Hannay

David Stockton describes an important stage in the life of Cicero, the Roman philosopher, politican and theorist.

In the 1800s Rome became a microcosm for great power rivalries. E.L. Devlin describes a case of ambassadorial privilege that caused controversy between the papacy and the king of France.

The great conflagration, with Nero playing his lyre, as reimagined by Rob Murray.

Paul Lay reflects on a recent trip to Naples, the closest thing Europe has to a living, breathing medieval city.

As Cyprus attempts to solve its debt problem by targeting private assets, Alexander Lee finds some ominous lessons in 15th-century Florence.