Italy Biography

Eric Frattini relata en este documentado y sorprendente ensayo la historia del espionaje vaticano. Los cuarenta papas que han gobernado desde la creación de la Santa Alianza, desde Pío V a Juan Pablo II, han tenido que enfrentarse a descristianizaciones y cismas, revoluciones y dictadores, persecuciones y atentados, guerras civiles y mundiales, asesinatos y secuestros. Los sacerdotes-agentes de la Santa Alianza, cuya existencia jamás se ha reconocido por el Estado Vaticano, mataron, robaron, conspiraron y traicionaron en el nombre de Dios y de la fe católica por mandato del Sumo Pontífice.

Vilipendiado por la Iglesia, tergiversado por estadistas y líderes sociales, reconocido como fuente primigenia de la política moderna, Nicolás Maquiavelo goza de ese raro privilegio de no sucumbir a la usura del tiempo. La vida—y sobre todo la obra del florentino—muestra una vigencia creciente. Autor necesario para cualquier curso de teoría política, su obra en conjunto muestra los ángulos clave del precioso arte de la vida en común, por lo que acercarse a él se vuelve una fuente obligada de conocimiento y reflexión creativa.

HEADING SOUTH is a light-hearted account of an English brother and sister’s reconnection with the Spanish side of their family. When the author was just four years old their father, Francisco, left the family home in Preston, Lancashire and disappeared from their lives. One day Adam, now twenty-eight, receives a letter from his errant dad and decides to take a break from supply teaching and accept an invitation to visit him in rural Malaga. Later joined by his sister Kate, a series of events begins to unfold which promises to change both their lives forever. Please ‘look inside’ ...

THE HOUSE THAT JACK BOUGHT is a light-hearted, informative account of a Scotsman’s relocation to the Spanish hinterland. When Jack Waldie and his wife Nicola buy a house in rural Spain they intend to start a new life there, away from the hustle and bustle of Glasgow, but when things go awry between them Jack chooses to keep the spacious old place and moves there to write his crime novels in peace. In the small village in an area known as Spanish Lapland, due to its ever decreasing population, Jack befriends key local people who refuse to allow their birthplace to die. When he’s ...

*All three books in the series are now available in an omnibus edition under the title THREE MEN IN SPAIN* THREE MEN IN A VAN is a humorous and informative account which explores both Spain and the ups and downs of our middle-aged trio’s singular road trip. When the fifty-something friends from Lancashire decide to take some time out together, little do they know that they will end up traversing Spain from north to south in an old and somewhat unsightly mini-campervan. Garrulous Geoff, hefty Harry and the relatively rational Jeremy, unused to spending longer than an evening in each ...

"Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself. That is why some people with mediocre talent, but with great inner drive, go so much further than people with vastly superior talent." - Sophia Loren Among all the stars in Hollywood, there are few alive who have achieved as iconic a status as Sophia Loren. A stunning beauty whose career started because of an appearance in a beauty pageant in Italy Sophia quickly ascended to the top of the profession.

"Brutta, povera e comunista" disse di Teresa Noce la madre del suo futuro marito – nonché segretario del Partito comunista italiano – Luigi Longo. Quella di Teresa Noce, nata poverissima alle "Cà neire", il quartiere più difficile di Torino, all’inizio del ventesimo secolo, è la storia di una femminista ante litteram che attraversa controcorrente quasi tutto il Novecento. Proletaria, figlia di una lavandaia abbandonata dal marito, fin da giovanissima organizza i primi scioperi delle operaie tessili e da iscritta al Pci è protagonista dell’antifascismo dopo la presa del potere di Mussolini.

David Gross is working as a corporate lawyer in New York when he gets a call from a friend inviting him to move to Bologna to help turn around a legendary Italian motorcycle company, known for its dominance on the track and its inability to turn a profit. Off he heads to the fabled home of marbled meats, radical leftist politics, and bespoke shoes, diving into his new life as the "corporate image consultant" to gearheads while learning to navigate the giddy mores of Bolognese society.

The Sicilian mafia, or Cosa Nostra, is far from being Italy's only dangerous criminal fraternity. The south of the country hosts two other major mafias: the camorra, from Naples and its hinterland and the 'ndrangheta, the mafia from the poor and isolated region of Calabria that has now risen to become the most powerful mob of all. Each of these brotherhoods has its own methods, its own dark rituals, its own style of ferocity and corruption. Their early history is little known, indeed some of it has been entirely shrouded in myth and silence until now.

this exciting story illuminates the captivating world of the late Renaissance - in this case its plagues, remedies, and alchemy - through the life of Leonardo Fioravanti, a brilliant, remarkably forward-thinking, and utterly unconventional doctor. Fioravanti's marvelous cures and talent for self-aggrandizement earned him the adoration of the people, the scorn of the medical establishment, and a reputation as one of the age's most colorful, combative figures.

Letters from Italy is a story of true love that spans an ocean. Against all odds, an orphaned girl and a young dreamer find solace in a romance sparked by a single photo and years of transatlantic letters. From a tiny Italian town in pre-WWII to New York City in her golden age, hopeful immigrants take a chance at living the American dream.

Was Don Juan an unconquerable womanizer and a philanderer whose life choices were driven by his loins, not his mind? A rich man of noble blood, indeed. But also, a scoundrel of the highest order. Still, not every story sees him as such. Some say he is more victim than culprit, others that there is nothing wrong with enjoying life, provided doing so harms no one and nobody is induced to do something they would rather not. Our challenge is to find out exactly what kind of man Don Juan really was. The answer might surprise us.

A personal story promising laughs, surprises, tears, and joy, and guaranteed to warm your heart! When a grandmother embarked on a two-week travel adventure to Italy with her eighteen-year-old twin granddaughters, Margie Miklas’s long-awaited dream became a reality. Excited to share her beloved Italia, she hoped to create a special experience they’d treasure for the rest of their lives.

The 'Ndrangheta is the world's most powerful Mafia and it's behind a litany of violence, organised crime and corruption around the world. Bound together by blood ties, silent but deadly, and steeped in religious ritual, they are a Mafia unlike any other, and vastly more dangerous. In Mafiopoli, the first comprehensive book to be published in English about the 'Ndrangheta, Sanne De Boer takes us deep inside this extraordinary criminal organisation.

Explore the captivating story of Julius Caesar, the military genius and political mastermind whose actions reshaped the Roman Republic and laid the foundations for the Roman Empire. Julius Caesar was a figure of immense ambition and strategic brilliance, and a complex personality who blended political acumen with unmatched military prowess. This book lets you look into Caesar's life in more detail, exploring his motivations, explaining his rise to power, and considering his enduring legacy. From his early days in Rome to his dramatic assassination, Caesar's journey is a testament to the ...

Immerse yourself in the life and legacy of one of the most extraordinary figures in the history of art, Michelangelo Buonarroti. "Michelangelo: Enigmatic Artist, Renaissance Genius" offers a comprehensive and captivating exploration of the artist's life, revealing the man behind the masterpieces that have defined the Renaissance and continue to inspire the world today. Born in 1475 in the small town of Caprese, Michelangelo's journey from a modest upbringing to becoming a towering figure of Western art is nothing short of remarkable. His story is one of relentless pursuit of perfection, ...

One Sunday morning in 1993 a 16-year-old girl named Eliza Claps goes missing from a church in the centre of Potenza, Italy. Shortly before her disappearance, Elisa had met Danilo Restivo, a strange local boy with a fetish for cutting women's hair on the back of buses. Elisa's family are convinced that Resitvo is responsible for their daughter's disappearance, but he is protected by local bigwigs: by his Sicilian father, by a doctor with links to organised crime, by a priest who had vices of his own. Years go by, and Elisa's family can find only false leads.

La familia Gambino es un ejemplo paradigmático de las familias del crimen organizado, sus luchas internas y diversos estilos de liderazgo han definido la era de la mafia. Desde principios del siglo XX, la familia ha pasado por una serie de nombres y líderes, pero siempre se mantuvo en la cima del régimen mafioso de Nueva York y ha conservado sus vínculos sicilianos.

Galileo Galilei’s contributions to modern science were so fundamental to a variety of fields that even though he died almost 400 years ago, his name retains international acclaim. This 17th-century natural philosopher is often credited with the invention of the telescope, thanks to his many discoveries using that specific instrument, and though he was not, in fact, its inventor, the myth still persists.

This is the story of freedom fighters who defied Italy’s despot by opposing the rising tide of populism and xenophobia. Chief among them: poet and aviator Lauro de Bosis, firstborn of an Italian aristocrat and a New Englander, who transformed himself into a modern Icarus and amazed the world as he risked his life in the skies to bring Il Duce down. Taras Grescoe’s inspiring story of resistance, risk, and sacrifice paints a portrait of heroes in the fight against authoritarianism. This is an essential biography for our time.