How many days a year did a Roman citizen work? Why did Frederick Barbarossa wage war on the Italian communes? What was life like in a Renaissance court? Did Manzoni find it more difficult to write or speak Italian? Who was Garibaldi, really? At the end of the nineteenth century, how did a Milanese worker spend his wages, and how much polenta did a farmer in Mantua eat? What role did Italian emigrants play in the country's economic rise?
This book offers answers to these questions and many others often left unanswered in traditional textbooks. Italian history is told simply and clearly, yet interestingly and alternatively, from the perspective of people and their daily lives. It is not a standard historical work full of dates, names, and terms, but a different way of telling stories, stimulating curiosity and reflection, including comparisons between then and now: clientelism among the Romans was not so different from today; many people see similarities between the Italian university and medieval feudalism; the liberal state system for which the patriots fought has still not been fully realized; immigrants in Italy today are seen and treated in a similar way to Italians who once moved abroad in search of work.
The authors are a linguist (Pallotti) and a historian (Cavadi): the former ensured that the texts were universally understandable, while the latter verified their reliability. Together, they carefully selected and discussed the content to produce a narrative of 2,000 years of Italian life that will allow many, both in Italy and beyond, to discover how fascinating and useful history can be.
The text is suitable for independent reading from level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.