A History of the Italian Republics: Being a View of the Rise, Progress, and Fall of Italian Freedom

Jean-Charles-Léonard Simonde Sismondi

ISBN 10: 0461905817 / ISBN 13: 9780461905816

Published by HardPress, 2021

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 26404470607

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A History of the Italian Republics: Being a View of the Rise, Progress, and Fall of Italian Freedom
• Publisher: HardPress
• Publication Date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0461905817
• ISBN 13: 9780461905816
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

A History Of The Italian Republics: Being A View Of The Rise, Progress, And Fall Of Italian Freedom by Jean-Charles-Léonard Simonde Sismondi traces how Italian city-states emerged from the collapse of Roman authority and developed autonomous, self-governing communities. Through northern and central city-states—Milan, Venice, Genoa, Florence, Pisa, Bologna—and Rome and southern towns, the work shows how walls, ports, and public works fostered civic life, and how republican forms and offices—parliaments, consuls, signoria, tribunals, militias, and the podesta—shaped political practice. It analyzes the interplay of imperial and papal power, the investiture conflicts, and the Guelph–Ghibeline divide, yielding a nuanced portrait of liberty contested by dynastic and foreign influence. The narrative surveys key figures and forces, from Charlemagne and the papal reformers to the Lombard leagues, Arnold of Brescia, the Visconti, and the Medici, illustrating how external domination pressed governance and civic virtue. The text frames the League of Lombardy and the Peace of Constance as milestones in liberties for city-states and traces the enduring tension between liberty and order in medieval Italy, setting the stage for broader European transformations.