Storia d'Italia dal 1789 al 1814, tomo I

At the close of the eighteenth century Italy was a patchwork of duchies, republics and kingdoms, each still bound by lingering feudal structures and a complex religious landscape. The opening pages set the scene by outlining how ancient privileges were being reshaped, how the Jesuit order had been suppressed, and how Enlightenment ideas were beginning to stir the minds of rulers and citizens alike.

The work then turns to the ambitious reforms of the era: the sweeping changes introduced by Emperor Joseph II, Pope Pius VI’s diplomatic journey to Vienna, and the enlightened administrations of the Duchy of Milan under the Count of Firmian, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, and the Neapolitan minister Tanucci. It sketches the governance of Sicily, Parma, Venice, Genoa, Lucca, San Marino and Modena, highlighting both the promising modernizations and the persistent challenges each state faced.

Through a careful, candid narrative, the author aims to illuminate the turbulent years that led Italy from a fragmented past toward the upheavals of the Napoleonic wars, offering listeners a clear portrait of a continent on the brink of transformation.