In the first book of its kind, two of Sicily's leading historians and lecturers outline strategies and resources available in English for professors and other instructors wishing to introduce students to the world's most conquered island. Sicily boasts a cosmopolitan heritage, yielding lessons perfectly suited to our complex times. This guide is not only for educators. It's useful for anybody seeking sources of accurate information about Sicily, a place which over the centuries has been politically connected to Asia and Africa as well as Europe. The authors consider Sicilian Studies as a multifaceted field in itself, not merely a specialized niche within the broad field of Italian Studies. Most of the text consists of succinct descriptions or reviews of books and (in a few cases) articles useful to those seeking to learn about Sicily. The book includes a lengthy chapter setting forth the history of Sicily, along with numerous maps and a 3000 year timeline. This makes it very useful even for teachers who may be unfamiliar with Sicily yet interested in teaching about it. In addition to a consideration of how to teach about Sicilian history, archeology, literature and even cuisine and the Sicilian language, this book offers candid, practical suggestions for those planning study tours or courses in Sicily. This guide is more than a blueprint. It presents a pragmatic concept of what this field can be. This is based on experience. Over the years, the authors have advised professors on how to formulate such courses, and they have occasionally presented lectures to university students. The point of view, as well as the advice, is impartial, unbiased, because the authors are not beholden to any specific academic publisher or institution. Never before have so many works about Sicily covering the island's lengthy history in English been described in a single volume. Chapters are dedicated to foundational principles, historiographical concepts and the history of Sicily, followed by the consideration of works on ancient, medieval and modern Sicily, special topics (women's studies, genealogy, the Mafia), the Sicilian language, the arts (art, film, literature, music), culinary topics and, finally, study tours. At 250 pages, it is fairly concise, with no space wasted, yet highly informative. This guide makes it possible to teach a course related to Sicily even if your institution lacks an Italian Studies department. Its publication was long overdue.

This is the first major work in English on the political and social history of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, a state that flourished under five kings of the House of Bourbon from 1734 until its annexation to the newly-unified Italy in 1861.Formally constituted in 1816, the Two Sicilies united the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily to form the largest and most prosperous of the pre-unitary Italian states. At its demise in 1860, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies boasted a treasury of gold reserves exceeding those of all the other Italian states combined, and the largest royal palace in Europe, at Caserta outside Naples. It was the most industrialized state in the Italian peninsula, home to Italy's first railroad, first public pension plan, first unemployment benefit plan, and first recycling system.The Two Sicilies has left its mark on what the world perceives as Italian culture. Spaghetti, pizza and one of Europe's first chocolate recipes were born in this region, along with the first vernacular Italian literary language. It was from this part of Italy that most Italians migrated to the United States, Canada, Argentina and elsewhere at the beginning of the twentieth century, and this book complements studies of family history by those having roots in this region.In this volume, a leading historian brings us the true story of a semi-forgotten kingdom and its people. This long-awaited book will be of interest to Italophiles, travelers, armchair historians, researchers, Italian descendants around the world, and to anybody curious about the history of a unique region that traces its origins from ancient Magna Graecia and the medieval, multicultural kingdom founded by Norman adventurers during the twelfth century. It is a useful reference for libraries and an excellent introduction for students.In these pages is the untold story of the "other" Italy, the most typically Mediterranean region of a diverse country. While many histories of modern Italy focus on Rome and the cities to its north, the stars of this book are Naples and Palermo.Even readers familiar with Italy may find a few surprises here. This is an accurate, candid, unvarnished history that transcends clichés, stereotypes and clouded misperceptions. It includes a timeline, photographs, several maps, genealogical tables, seven informative appendices on such topics as coinage and heraldry, and a bibliography.Until now, books written in English about the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies have tended to focus on the ruling dynasty or arcane topics such as its orders of chivalry. There have also been specialized studies of the Italian unification movement and books about Italian history broadly. This is the first book in English that considers the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in a general way. Much of the information was drawn from original sources such as royal decrees and eyewitness accounts of events.The story of the Two Sicilies is the story of every family of southern Italy. It is an epic to be cherished for all time. Here is the identity of a people and a culture.

Covering seven eventful centuries, this is the first complete history of the Kingdom of Sicily ever published. The lively narrative traces the history of Sicily from the foundation of its multicultural kingdom under the Normans in the twelfth century to the end of its baroque monarchy in the nineteenth, with framing chapters covering the periods before and afterward. Here, in a text dripping with eloquence, passion and fact after fact, a leading historian tells the complex yet fascinating story of the world's most conquered, most contested island. Accompanied by 14 pages of maps, 5 pages of pedigree charts, 10 pages reproducing historical documents, and a 20-page chronology, it is a rare journey into understanding. Few histories of Sicily have ever been presented so clearly. This volume is a nearly complete overview of Sicilian history from the Bronze Age to around 1950. It begins by laying the groundwork of what was to come, recounting the experience of Sicily under its indigenous peoples, followed by the Greeks, Carthaginians and Romans. A chapter about the society of the Arabs and Byzantines the Normans found in 1061 sets the stage for a plunge into the next seven centuries, through dynasties from Germany, France, Spain and - finally - Italy. With erudition and focus, Mendola explains how the last monarchies ended in 1860 and 1946. Here the emphasis is not just kings and queens but an entire society and its identity. This volume is complementary to the author's previous entry, The Peoples of Sicily. Among the appendices are a list of the kings of Sicily, a list of the Sicilian peerage, and information on the knightly orders, details that make this an excellent book to consult. There are 35 pages of informative notes, with dozens of sources cited, including many scholarly (academic) articles published in Italy and Britain. The casual reader will find this work highly informative, while the university student will find it useful as a springboard for further study. Many books seek to recount history. This one touches it. The author explains how we are all Sicilians, and why it matters.

In Sicilian genealogy, a generation by generation lineage to the Late Middle Ages isn't unusual. This long-awaited, definitive guide shows you how to do it. Sicily boasts the world's best genealogical records, revealing the deep roots of a Sicilian identity and facilitating the construction of many pedigrees into the fifteenth century. Based on the author's 30 years of experience as a foremost expert in the field, this is the first complete guide ever published in English dedicated exclusively to Sicilian genealogical research. Its publication in 2013 established a new subject category in the Dewey catalogue, and it is the reference book consulted by professional genealogists researching Sicilian families. Topics range from parochial, civil and feudal records to DNA haplotyping, religion, rural life, cuisine, ethnography, coats of arms, surname origins and Jewish genealogy, with insightful, accurate information on historiography and research strategies - a few published here for the first time. With scientific rigor and disarming candor, "the Indiana Jones of Italian history" shows you how to "push the envelope" of your family history research into Sicily's multicultural medieval era. Family history is more than names, dates and pedigrees; it is the people and culture behind the names. Social context is not overlooked. If there were ever a handbook on Sicilian ethnology, this would be it. This book covers a wide range of topics in detail, transcending conventional strategies to explain the "how and why" of historical research: shortcuts and methods as well as advice on pitfalls to avoid. As a serious guide for dedicated researchers, it presumes some familiarity with basic genealogy, recommending introductory books to complement what one reads in this one, so don't expect photographs of vital statistics records and other documents. But even for family historians at the beginning of their research, this book is an excellent consultative reference. It brings to life an arcane, often elusive, field. Significantly, the author destroys a few myths about Italian family history, and about Italy itself, while describing real social history. Especially impressive is his refreshingly distinctive writing style, with blunt reality checks sprinkled throughout the lengthier chapters. That's the kind of pragmatism missing from many genealogical guides. While the chapters on the aristocracy and heraldry may interest fewer readers than those on simple lineal research, they are useful because most pedigrees before 1400 focus on the nobility. By his own admission, Mendola's tone is at times sardonic, as if this elder statesman were scolding the field's less disciplined historians while setting the stage for its beginners. Just when you think that his treatment of a particular topic has become tiresome or excessively dry and theoretical, he inserts a concrete example to make his point. It's an effective technique. In his assaults on the machinations of historical revisionists and genealogical fabulists, along with fake royalty and others who manipulate history for their own edification, the author takes no prisoners. Like Verres, the Roman governor of Sicily who fled into voluntary exile following Cicero's opening speech at his trial for corruption, genealogy's fantasists should flee the moment Lou Mendola enters the fray. In fact, quite a few have, as the author has been consulted over the years by journalists, law-enforcement authorities and others seeking to expose genealogy's identity tricksters. His role is not unlike that of a lone sheriff protecting a town or, for European traditionalists, the last knight defending a castle. He is one of Italy's most cosmopolitan historians, consulted by The History Channel, the Vatican, the Order of Malta, the Almanach de Gotha and the BBC. This is a reference work written by a highly knowledgeable, freethinking scholar, albeit one with close connections to Europe's traditionalist Establishment. The comparison to Indiana Jones, or even Rambo (!), is not inappropriate, except perhaps for Mendola's blue eyes. If you're a researcher, consulting this useful reference is like having an experienced, heavily-armed warrior escort you through jungles and mine fields to find The Truth on the other side. Not to worry. You'll get there. And when you do, your ancestors will be waiting to meet you.

Some travel books transport you over distance. This one takes you back in time. It's the perfect book to read before you get to Sicily, and to consult when you're there. This is the first guide written in English dedicated to the polyglot medieval heritage of three Sicilian cities where Europe met Africa and Asia for three magical centuries. Here two of Sicily's leading historians present accurate, timeless information about the Norman, Arab and Byzantine legacy of Palermo, Monreale and Cefalù. From emirs to kings, muqarnas to mosaics, this book includes details rarely published elsewhere, some drawn from the authors' original research. Included are numerous maps and (black and white) photos. Chapters are dedicated to specific sights, such as cathedrals and castles, as well as topics like religion, architecture and the local cuisine. There are informative chapters on Fatimid art and Byzantine iconography. There is an overview of the chief period covered (900-1200), a detailed chronology, a list of important historical figures and an index, along with a concise introduction to Sicily's ancient history. The chapters on popular sites, like Palermo's Palatine Chapel and Monreale's abbey, are detailed yet concise enough to be read quickly. Several sites in Palermo, Monreale and Cefalù were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2015. The authors describe those places and many more, including a few jewels that are generally overlooked. It's a well-kept secret that more churches standing in the twelfth century survive in Palermo than any other city in Europe. Though it has a useful chapter on schedules, sightseeing and access, this book is not the typical destination guide that lists hotels and restaurants, perhaps providing transportation information and other details. It complements such guides (and websites) by concentrating on the kind of information that interests the slightly more curious visitor, especially the medievalist. Its emphasis is on what makes the medieval art and architecture of this corner of Sicily different from the rest of Italy and most of Europe. The authors make the point that there's a bit of medievalist in all of us. Here the focus is the history and culture intricately interwoven into the medieval sights and sites you are visiting, or plan to visit. It's all about context and Sicily's place in the world. The authors are not travel writers but specialist historians who live in the place they write about. These pages reflect their passion. There is an abundance of information, far more than what is found in most guides, but the lengthy index can be used as a menu. No need to read the whole book. Just choose whatever seems most interesting at the moment. Among the book's immediately useful details are the diagrams indicating the placement of the mosaics in the churches, along with a simple genealogical chart showing how the kings and queens of the Norman era were related to each other. Equally informative are the maps of medieval Palermo. The first few chapters of this guide, eloquently setting forth the history of the Byzantines, Arabs and Normans in Sicily, were drawn from the authors' earlier book, The Peoples of Sicily. Here is the kind of information very few guides present in a cohesive way. This book is about more than superficial sightseeing. In describing the people and peoples behind the monuments, it invites you to embark on a journey from seeing to understanding. Along the way, you'll meet the Normans, Arabs, Greeks, Swabians and Jews who forged one of the most remarkable multicultural societies the world has ever known, something as timely as it is timeless. This guide will transform your visit into a learning experience.

Can the eclectic medieval history of the world's most conquered island be a lesson for our times? Home to Normans, Byzantines, Arabs, Germans and Jews, 12th-century Sicily was a crossroads of cultures and faiths, the epitome of diversity. Here Europe, Asia and Africa met, with magical results. Bilingualism was the norm, women's rights were defended, and the environment was protected. Literacy among Sicilians soared; it was higher during this ephemeral golden age than it was seven centuries later. But this book is about more than Sicily. It is a singular, enduring lesson in the way multicultural diversity can be encouraged, with the result being a prosperous society. While its focus is the civilizations that flourished during the island's multicultural medieval period from 1060 to 1260, most of Sicily's complex history to the end of the Middle Ages is outlined. Idrisi is mentioned, but so is Archimedes. Introductory background chapters begin in the Neolithic, continuing to the history of the contested island under Punics and Greeks. Every civilization that populated the island is covered, including Romans, Goths, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Germans, Angevins, Aragonese and Jews, with profiles of important historical figures and sites. Religion, law, geography and cuisine are also considered. The authors' narrative is interesting but never pedantic, intended for the general reader rather than the expert in anthropology, theology, art or architecture. They are not obsessed with arcane terminology, and they don't advocate a specific agenda or world view. Here two erudite scholars take their case to the people. Yes, this book actually sets forth the entirety of ancient and medieval Sicilian history from the earliest times until around 1500, and it presents a few nuggets of the authors' groundbreaking research in medieval manuscripts. Unlike most authors who write in English about Sicily, perhaps visiting the island for brief research trips, these two are actually based in Sicily, where their work appears on a popular website. Sicily aficionados will be familiar with their writings, which have been read by some ten million during the last five years, far eclipsing the readership of any other historians who write about Sicily. Alio and Mendola are the undisputed, international "rock stars" of Sicilian historical writing, with their own devoted fan base. Every minute of the day somebody is reading their online articles. This is a great book for anybody who is meeting Sicily for the first time, the most significant 'general' history of the island published in fifty years and certainly one of the most eloquent. It has a detailed chronology, a useful reading list, and a brief guide suggesting places to visit. The book's structure facilitates its use as a ready reference. It would have run to around 600 pages, instead of 368 (on archival-quality, acid-free paper), were it not for the slightly smaller print of the appendices, where the chronology, the longest Sicilian timeline ever published, is 20 pages long. Unlike most histories of Sicily, the approach to this one is multifaceted and multidisciplinary. In what may be a milestone in Sicilian historiography, a section dedicated to population genetics explains how Sicily's historic diversity is reflected in its plethora of haplogroups. Here medieval Sicily is viewed as an example of a tolerant, multicultural society and perhaps even a model. It is an unusually inspiring message. One reader was moved to tears as she read the preface. Can a book change our view of cultures and perhaps even the way we look at history? This one just might. Meet the peoples!

A defining reference work whose engaging narrative brings southern Italy’s Middle Ages to life. This is the first major history written in English about the Kingdom of Sicily under its Hauteville and Hohenstaufen dynasties in the High Middle Ages. Encompassing the island of Sicily and most of the Italian peninsula south of Rome, this multicultural society of Muslims, Jews, and Christians East and West, was a nexus where the civilizations of feudal Europe, Byzantine Asia, and Fatimid Africa flourished in synergy into the 13th century. Unlike most histories of the kingdom, this one brings the reader much information about social culture, such as the language and cuisine that emerged from this eclectic era to influence southern Italy and its people in ways still seen today. There are revealing chapters on the language popularized before Italian, and the culinary milieu that gave us spaghetti and lasagne. Women are never overlooked. Among them are Margaret of Navarre, regent for five years, Trota of Salerno, author of a medical treatise, Nina of Messina, the first woman known to compose poetry in an Italian tongue, and the unnamed Bint Muhammad ibn Abbad, who led a rebellion alongside her father. This long-awaited book presents an essential chronological history supplemented by concise sections on topics such as phylogeography, coinage, and heraldry, with dozens of maps and genealogical tables. It has hundreds of endnotes, a lengthy bibliography, a timeline, and appendices on regalia, the kingdom's first legal code, the coronation rite, the longest poem of the Sicilian School, and historiography. A long introduction explores sources, ethnic identity, historical views, and research methods, candidly dispelling a few myths. This hefty volume has something for everybody. It's a fine addition to library collections and a useful reference for students, while its lively narrative makes it an engaging read for anybody curious about this time and place. Those having roots in southern Italy will discover the origins of their ancestral culture, the ethnogenesis that led to what exists today. This long glimpse of a singular society was worth the wait.

This is a translation of the memoir of John of Procida written as a chronicle in Middle Sicilian around 1290 as Lu Rebellamentu di Sichilia contra Re Carlu, with accompanying commentary by one of Sicily's leading historians. The chronicle of John of Procida brings us the spy story, the swashbuckler, the wartime saga and the morality play in a work that transcends any single genre. For historians, the chronicle is a key source in the study of the Sicilian Vespers uprising of 1282, an event that changed the course of European and Mediterranean history. It is also the earliest known narrative prose (rather than poetry) in a vernacular Italian language, pre-dating by decades the first works of this kind written in Tuscan. Most medieval chronicles were written in Latin, but this one was meant for ordinary people. Middle Sicilian is the language that was spoken in Sicily, southern Calabria and parts of Apulia until around 1370. (So little has ever been published in English about this medieval tongue that, until now, it was rarely even identified by a specific name, yet it differs from modern Sicilian almost as much as Chaucer's English differs from what is spoken today.) This chronicle is the longest work in Middle Sicilian to find its way into English translation. John of Procida was a leader of the revolt that sparked the war of 1282. The chronicle recounts his efforts to plan the fall of King Charles I of Naples, culminating in the monarch's loss of Sicily. Largely overlooked until now, this most remarkable chronicle offers us timeless lessons that transcend languages and centuries. Issues like achieving justice for rape victims (Procida's daughter) leap from its pages. Presented by the author of some of the most readable histories of Sicily, the telling of Procida's story in these pages never lacks for style. Mendola's translation, while faithful to the medieval manuscript, makes for an interesting read. Indeed, the chronicle has been suggested as an early example of what today is known as narrative journalism, or creative nonfiction. Useful to students of literature as well as those studying medieval history, the book also includes the original Middle Sicilian text (with a glossary), a chronology, 5 pages of genealogical tables, 10 pages of clear maps, concise biographies of persons mentioned in the narrative, an engaging prologue, an introductory chapter setting forth the history of the Kingdom of Sicily up to the time the chronicle begins, heraldic information, and dozens of photographs of historical sites in Sicily, Aragon and Catalonia. It presents notes on the Sicilian language and the background of the chronicle and its manuscripts. Based largely on original research, the commentary is the lengthiest examination of the chronicle ever published in English. Not only is Mendola familiar with the history of the Vespers and the Mediterranean, his knowledge of medieval Romance languages shines as he cites examples in Catalan, Norman-French, Italian and Sicilian, along with Latin. His research in contemporary sources (like the royal decrees of King Peter III from 1282 conserved in Barcelona) reveals that the telling of Procida's adventures, despite the obvious fictionalizing of certain details, relies overwhelmingly on historical facts. The Middle Sicilian text is the first complete transcription of the Spinelli Codex, the chronicle's earliest surviving manuscript, to feature clear quotations and orthography (for example the letters U and V are clearly distinguished). The Spinelli Codex itself came to light only in the nineteenth century. Among the extensive supplementary material included is Ciullo of Alcamo's poem The Dialogue (il Contrasto) with an English translation; composed before 1240, this is the longest complete work in an Italian language known to survive from the reign of Frederick II. It is the lengthiest poem of the Sicilian School and a classic of the courtly romantic genre of its era. There is enough material in this book to make it a useful study guide on the War of the Vespers, and a fine introduction to two of the most important works in the Middle Sicilian canon. Lou Mendola, whose first scholarly article dealing with the Sicilian Vespers was published in an academic journal in 1985, is intimately familiar with Sicily, Calabria, Aragon and Catalonia, the regions that are the story's focus. Research for this book was conducted in Italy, Spain and the Vatican. Considering the knowledge of history and languages required to bring this work to us, Mendola is one of just a few people in the world who could have written it. Destined to become a literary and historical reference, this book will appeal to scholars as well as casual readers interested in the kinds of sources consulted in the writing of history. Its appeal will be found on every level. Whether the reader's interest is 13th-century history, medieval storytelling, the expressive language once spoken in southern Italy, the chronicle's unique literary form, or its timely message, it will be found in these 328 pages. The chronicle is a singular work. Its publication in English, after seven centuries, is a milestone in the study of medieval European literature.