Books published by Italica Press

In Rome on May 20, 1347 Cola di Rienzo, a young visionary with a gift for oratory, overthrew the rule of the barons and the pope. Cola's revolution then attempted to restore the greatness of the medieval commune, revive the ancient Roman Republic, and usher in a new age of liberty, justice and peace. The bright hope for Rome and Italy soon changed to disillusionment, however, as pope and barons conspired to isolate and then topple the Tribune of the People only seven months later. After a period of exile and wandering in the Abruzzi Mountains, he traveled to the Holy Roman Emperor in Prague where he was befriended by Charles IV but eventually arrested, imprisoned by the Inquisition, and turned over to his arch-enemy, Pope Clement VI in Avignon. In a bizarre turn of events he was freed and returned to Rome to restore the republic. Shortly thereafter the barons revolted again; and Rienzo was slain by a mob on the Capitoline Hill, near where his bronze statue now stands. Using their letters and other writings, plus many other contemporary documents, this book tells the story of the relationship between Cola di Rienzo and Francesco Petrarch, the poet and Renaissance humanist. Petrarch's initial break with the Tribune and his eventual bid to save him from death offer a remarkable case study of the interaction between the world of letters and politics - between the contemplative and the active lives - in the early Renaissance. Translated from Latin by Mario E. Cosenza. 3rd, revised, edition by Ronald G. Musto. Updated introduction, bibliography, map, notes and index.

The rugged landscape of Baronia on Sardinia sets the scene for this novel of crime, guilt and retribution. This novel presents the story of the Pintor sisters - from a family of noble landowners now in decline - their nephew Giacinto, and their servant Efix, who is trying to make up for a mysterious sin committed many years before. Around, below, and inside them the raging Mediterranean storms, the jagged mountains, the murmuring forests, and the gushing springs form a Greek chorus of witness to the tragic drama of this unforgiving land.Deledda tells her story with her characteristic love of the natural landscape and fascination with the folk culture of the island, with details about the famous religious festivals held in mountain encampments and the lore of the "dark beings who populate the Sardinian night, the fairies who live in rocks and caves, and the sprites with seven red caps who bother sleep."Introduction by the Sardinian ethnographer, Dolores Turchi.

Contemporary Italian Women Poets introduces English-reading audiences to the diversity of contemporary women's poetry in Italy during the past five decades. It includes twenty-five authors whose work has been published since World War II: poets from different generations and regions, some with international acclaim, others known primarily to those within women's literary circles.THE POETS who appear are:Mariella Bettarini, Cristina Campo, Anna Cascella, Patrizia Cavalli, Elena Clementelli, Rosita Copioli,Biancamaria Frabotta, Luciana Frezza, Vera Gherarducci, Margherita Guidacci, Armanda Guiducci, Jolanda Insana, Vivian Lamarque, Gabriella Leto, Dacia Maraini, Daria Menicanti, Alda Merini, Giulia Niccolai, Luciana Notari, Rossana Ombres, Piera Oppezzo, Amelia Rosselli, Gabriella Sica, Maria Luisa Spaziani and Patrizia Valduga. DUAL-LANGUAGE POETRY. Introduction, notes on the poets, bibliography & index of first lines.