181 - Cesare Borgia flying high (1501 - 1502)

Episode OverviewHaving raced through the early 1500s following the Italian Wars, the Medici popes, Leonardo da Vinci, and the creation of the Medici duchy in Florence, it’s time to slow down and look at the parts of Italy we’ve left slightly out of focus.In this episode, we take ...  Show more

To celebrate the 200th anniversary episode, which coincided with the 8th anniversary, we decided to hear from you, dear constant listener to create a special episode to celebrate this great milestone with many more hopefully to come.As well as greetings, we'll hear about:Sieges v ...  Show more

The Age of the Condottieri - A Short History of Mediaeval Italy from 1409-1530 by Oscar Browning audiobook. Genre: history Italy from 1409 to 1530 is synonymous with the Renaissance, but this was also the age of the condottieri, Italian captains of mercenary companies and multina ...  Show more

The Frankish king, Charlemagne the Great, is one of the titanic figures of European history, simultaneously renowned and shadowy. His rise to supreme power is a staggering story of warring religious empires, betrayal, battle, blindings and brutal conquest. How, then, did this one ...  Show more

Following the bloody assassination of the twenty-eight year old Emperor Caligula, Rome found herself without a leader. Who then should fill the enormous power vacuum left by the death of an emperor? Should Rome return to a Republic? Then, one overlooked candidate - a scion of the ...  Show more

En 1309, le pape Clément V décide de s'installer à Avignon, plutôt qu'à Rome, en raison des tensions politiques avec le roi de France Philippe le Bel et des conflits internes à l'Église. Cette période, connue sous le nom de Papauté d'Avignon, dure jusqu'en 1377, lorsque le pape G ...  Show more