
audiobook
by J.-C.-L. Simonde de (Jean-Charles-Léonard Simonde) Sismondi
STORIA DELLE REPUBBLICHE ITALIANE DEI SECOLI DI MEZZO
CAPITOLO XXXVIII.
CAPITOLO XXXIX.
CAPITOLO XL.
CAPITOLO XLI.
CAPITOLO XLII.
CAPITOLO XLIII.
CAPITOLO XLIV.
CAPITOLO XLV.
CAPITOLO XLVI.
A sweeping portrait of Italy’s fourteenth‑century republics, this work balances the era’s dazzling cultural achievements with its grim political realities. It shows how the revival of Greek and Latin learning, the birth of the Italian language, and breakthroughs in art, architecture and law coexisted with ruthless intrigue, mercenary violence and the shadow of famine and plague. The author guides the listener through bustling courts and restless streets, revealing the paradox of a society that produced timeless masterpieces while its leaders often ruled by fear and corruption.
Drawing on a rich French source, the narrative moves from the flourishing of poetry and scholarship to the darker currents that tore at city‑states such as Pisa, Florence and Lucca. Episodes of factional strife, the heavy hand of tyrants, and the exploitative use of wealth to sway public office illustrate how brilliance could be eclipsed by treachery. The tone remains scholarly yet approachable, inviting listeners to understand how the very talents that elevated Renaissance culture were also tangled in a web of moral decline.
Language
it
Duration
~8 hours (493K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Claudio Paganelli, Carlo Traverso, Barbara Magni and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
Release date
2013-10-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1773–1842
A sharp early critic of unchecked industrial capitalism, this Swiss historian and political economist wrote with unusual sympathy for ordinary people. He is remembered both for his sweeping histories of Italy and France and for economic ideas that later thinkers took seriously.
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by J.-C.-L. Simonde de (Jean-Charles-Léonard Simonde) Sismondi

by J.-C.-L. Simonde de (Jean-Charles-Léonard Simonde) Sismondi

by J.-C.-L. Simonde de (Jean-Charles-Léonard Simonde) Sismondi

by J.-C.-L. Simonde de (Jean-Charles-Léonard Simonde) Sismondi

by J.-C.-L. Simonde de (Jean-Charles-Léonard Simonde) Sismondi

by J.-C.-L. Simonde de (Jean-Charles-Léonard Simonde) Sismondi

by J.-C.-L. Simonde de (Jean-Charles-Léonard Simonde) Sismondi

by J.-C.-L. Simonde de (Jean-Charles-Léonard Simonde) Sismondi