Italian History

Overview

There are various criteria by which to try to assess the history of Italy. It has been said, for example, that there are two fundamental aspects: the chequered national history and that of individual genius.

Virtually from the Fall of the Roman Empire (476) until 1861, Italy was never a united country and also had to endure centuries of foreign domination. At the same time, Italy’s contribution to civilization and human progress has been inestimable: over seventy per cent of the world’s art treasures are Italian. It is probably the only nation to have had two periods of greatness, Rome and the Renaissance, when its civilizing influence was at its height. And yet, the Renaissance coincided with the beginning of a long period of occupation by the Spanish, the French and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

These two themes, Italy’s lack of national unity and her civilizing impact, were, in effect, taken up by the Swiss historian, Jacob Burckhardt (1818-1897), who doubted whether the glories of the Italian Renaissance would have been created if there had not been the rivalry, in artistic patronage, between the Popes, the princes and the various noble families — such as the Medici in Florence, the d’Este of Ferrara and the da Montefeltro of Urbino — and, thus, the presence of different cultural centres, instead of the concentration in the capital city of a united country of the talent, art and energy of its people.

Features

The satisfactory completion of nine research papers and a dissertation will lead to the award of the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree in Italian History from Warnborough College.

The Programme will be conducted by distance learning, through self-paced research, under the guidance of the Programme Director.