Best sellers
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Meditations
- By: Marcus Aurelius
- Narrated by: Peter Batchelor
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
This audio consists of a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor AD 161-180, setting forth his ideas on Stoic philosophy....
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NOT GREGORY HAYES
- By Benjamin D. Mathes on 05-22-16
By: Marcus Aurelius
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Venice
- A New History
- By: Professor Thomas F. Madden
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 16 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
An extraordinary chronicle of Venice, its people, and its grandeur Thomas Madden’s majestic, sprawling history of Venice is the first full portrait of the city in English in almost thirty years....
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Excellently Done
- By Romney on 01-15-13
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The Medici
- Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Against the background of an age that saw the rebirth of ancient and classical learning, Paul Strathern explores the intensely dramatic rise and fall of the Medici family....
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An Intriguing Lens on the Renaissance
- By Matt Turner on 04-17-16
By: Paul Strathern
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Brunelleschi's Dome
- How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture
- By: Ross King
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Brunelleschi's Dome is the story of how a Renaissance genius bent men, materials, and the very forces of nature to build an architectural wonder we continue to marvel at today. Denounced at first as a madman, Brunelleschi was celebrated at the end as a genius....
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Architect during the Italian Renaissance
- By g. marks on 07-08-21
By: Ross King
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The Pope and Mussolini
- The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe
- By: David I. Kertzer
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
From National Book Award finalist David I. Kertzer comes the gripping story of Pope Pius XI’s secret relations with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini....
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It is not narrated well - the delivery does not keep it as captivating as this book should be
- By Karina Inigo on 07-14-15
By: David I. Kertzer
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The Borgias
- The Hidden History
- By: G. J. Meyer
- Narrated by: Enn Reitel
- Length: 19 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The startling truth behind one of the most notorious dynasties in history is revealed in a remarkable new account by the acclaimed author of The Tudors and A World Undone....
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Marvelous !
- By Cinders on 08-02-13
By: G. J. Meyer
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Meditations
- By: Marcus Aurelius
- Narrated by: Peter Batchelor
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
This audio consists of a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor AD 161-180, setting forth his ideas on Stoic philosophy....
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NOT GREGORY HAYES
- By Benjamin D. Mathes on 05-22-16
By: Marcus Aurelius
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Venice
- A New History
- By: Professor Thomas F. Madden
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 16 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
An extraordinary chronicle of Venice, its people, and its grandeur Thomas Madden’s majestic, sprawling history of Venice is the first full portrait of the city in English in almost thirty years....
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Excellently Done
- By Romney on 01-15-13
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The Medici
- Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Against the background of an age that saw the rebirth of ancient and classical learning, Paul Strathern explores the intensely dramatic rise and fall of the Medici family....
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An Intriguing Lens on the Renaissance
- By Matt Turner on 04-17-16
By: Paul Strathern
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Brunelleschi's Dome
- How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture
- By: Ross King
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Brunelleschi's Dome is the story of how a Renaissance genius bent men, materials, and the very forces of nature to build an architectural wonder we continue to marvel at today. Denounced at first as a madman, Brunelleschi was celebrated at the end as a genius....
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Architect during the Italian Renaissance
- By g. marks on 07-08-21
By: Ross King
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The Pope and Mussolini
- The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe
- By: David I. Kertzer
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
From National Book Award finalist David I. Kertzer comes the gripping story of Pope Pius XI’s secret relations with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini....
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It is not narrated well - the delivery does not keep it as captivating as this book should be
- By Karina Inigo on 07-14-15
By: David I. Kertzer
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The Borgias
- The Hidden History
- By: G. J. Meyer
- Narrated by: Enn Reitel
- Length: 19 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The startling truth behind one of the most notorious dynasties in history is revealed in a remarkable new account by the acclaimed author of The Tudors and A World Undone....
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Marvelous !
- By Cinders on 08-02-13
By: G. J. Meyer
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City of Fortune
- How Venice Rule the Seas
- By: Roger Crowley
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The rise and fall of the Venetian empire stands unrivaled for drama, intrigue, and sheer opulent majesty....
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A Wonderful Listen
- By Scot on 06-12-14
By: Roger Crowley
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101 Surprising Facts About St. Peter's and the Vatican
- By: Fr. Jeffrey Kirby S.T.L.
- Narrated by: Adrianne Price
- Length: 1 hr and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
What do you really know about Vatican City? The Vatican, comprising the Apostolic Palace, St. Peter’s Basilica, and various other buildings, serves as the headquarters of the Catholic Church. It has done so for nearly two millennium....
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The Florentines
- From Dante to Galileo: The Transformation of Western Civilization
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Florentines presents a sweeping and magisterial 400-year history of both the city and the people who gave birth to the Renaissance....
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Narrator ruins the narrative
- By amavita on 03-24-22
By: Paul Strathern
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Blood and Power
- The Rise and Fall of Italian Fascism
- By: John Foot
- Narrated by: Daniel Philpott
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A dark tale of violence, ideals and a country at war, in Blood and Power, historian John Foot draws on decades of research to chart the turbulent years between 1915 and 1945, and beyond....
By: John Foot
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Sicily: Three Thousand Years of Human History
- By: Sandra Benjamin
- Narrated by: Fred Filbrich
- Length: 16 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Tourists, armchair travelers, and historians will all delight in this fluid narrative that can be read straight through, dipped into over time, or used as a reference guide to each period in Sicily's fascinating tale....
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Surprisingly compelling!
- By P. Strayer on 08-25-12
By: Sandra Benjamin
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In the Name of Rome
- The Men Who Won the Roman Empire
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 17 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Each chapter paints a fascinating portrait of a single general, offering in-depth insight into his leadership skills and victories as well as each one's pioneering strategies....
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This pie was all crust, no filling
- By JLB on 04-11-17
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The House of Medici
- Its Rise and Fall
- By: Christopher Hibbert
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
This enthralling book charts the family's huge influence on the political, economic and cultural history of Florence. Beginning in the early 1430s with the rise of the dynasty....
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Laundry list of names
- By Elizabeth W on 01-02-17
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The Lady Queen
- The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily
- By: Nancy Goldstone
- Narrated by: Christine Lakin
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The riveting history of a beautiful queen, a shocking murder, a papal trial - and a reign as triumphant as any in the Middle Ages....
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Intriguing
- By Jean on 11-13-18
By: Nancy Goldstone
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The Invention of Sicily
- A Mediterranean History
- By: Jamie Mackay
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Sicily has always acted as a gateway between Europe and the rest of the world. Fought over by the Phoenicians and Greeks, the Romans, Goths and Byzantines, Arabs and Normans, Germans, and the Spanish and the French for thousands of years, Sicily became a unique melting pot....
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Great primer to Sicilian history
- By Gino M. on 04-08-22
By: Jamie Mackay
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History of Italy
- A Captivating Guide to Italian History, Starting from the First Settlements Through the Middle Ages to the Modern Period
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Jason Zenobia
- Length: 4 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
It is not an easy job to draw the border between the history of Italy and the history of Rome. In so many places, the two political and geographical entities collide. They wouldn’t be possible without each other, but they each have their own story....
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Great summary
- By Diana R Quintero on 04-21-22
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Saving Italy
- By: Robert Edsel
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When Hitler’s armies occupied Italy in 1943, they also seized control of mankind’s greatest cultural treasures....
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Fascinating story, excellent narration
- By MetroLady on 09-03-14
By: Robert Edsel
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Gomorrah
- A Personal Journey into the Violent International Empire of Naples' Organized Crime System
- By: Roberto Saviano
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A groundbreaking major best seller in Italy, Gomorrah is Roberto Saviano's gripping nonfiction account of the decline of Naples under the rule of the Camorra....
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Eye Opener
- By Roy on 02-20-09
By: Roberto Saviano
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A Concise History of Italy
- By: Christopher Duggan
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Since its formation in 1861, Italy has struggled to develop an effective political system and a secure sense of national identity. Christopher Duggan's acclaimed introduction charts the country's history from the fall of the Roman Empire in the West to the present day....
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Concise indeed
- By nikex on 03-22-21
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Sicily
- An Island at the Crossroads of History
- By: John Julius Norwich
- Narrated by: Michael Healy
- Length: 14 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
"Sicily," said Goethe, "is the key to everything." It is the largest island in the Mediterranean, the stepping-stone between Europe and Africa, the link between the Latin West and the Greek East....
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DISAPPOINTING
- By SRdto on 11-22-16
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Blood and Soil
- The Memoir of a Third Reich Brandenburger
- By: Sepp de Giampietro, Lawrence Paterson - foreword, Eva Burke - translator
- Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Brandenburgers were Hitler's Special Forces, a band of mainly foreign German nationals who used disguise and fluency in other languages to complete daring missions into enemy territory. Overshadowed by stories of their Allied equivalents, their history has largely been ignored....
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Memoir of a Liar and War Criminal? Perhaps.
- By Erik on 06-14-21
By: Sepp de Giampietro, and others
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The Unfinished Palazzo
- By: Judith Mackrell
- Narrated by: Julia Franklin
- Length: 16 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Commissioned in 1750, the Palazzo Venier was planned as a testimony to the power and wealth of a great Venetian family, but the fortunes of the Venier family waned....
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Nostalgia At Its Best
- By Dan on 01-09-18
By: Judith Mackrell
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Michelangelo, God's Architect
- The Story of His Final Years and Greatest Masterpiece
- By: William E. Wallace
- Narrated by: Simon Callow
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Michelangelo, God's Architect is the first book to tell the full story of Michelangelo's final two decades, when the peerless artist refashioned himself into the master architect of St. Peter’s Basilica and other major buildings....
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Michelangelo, architect, urban designer, artist
- By Marco on 09-16-20
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Io e il Duce
- By: Indro Montanelli
- Narrated by: Valerio Amoruso
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Il 9 febbraio 1944 il "Corriere della Sera" diede la notizia dell'arresto di Indro Montanelli, accusato di avere scritto articoli...
By: Indro Montanelli
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The Fall of the House of Borgia
- By: E.R. Chamberlin
- Narrated by: Tim Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Beginning with Rodrigo Borgia, Chamberlin charts this intelligent but ruthless man's passage to the top. He uncovers how, as Pope Alexander VI, he directed his family to carve out a Borgia kingdom in the heart of Italy....
By: E.R. Chamberlin
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The Book of the Courtier
- By: Baldassare Castiglione
- Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Set in the court of Urbino in 1507, Castiglione’s The Book of the Courtier presents an invaluable look at court life and culture during the Renaissance. Over four nights of dialogue, the book explores the key question, ‘What should a courtier be like?’ Listen for more....
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Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling
- By: Ross King
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins
- Abridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In 1508, despite strong advice to the contrary, the powerful Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo....
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History brought to life!
- By Anne on 05-17-03
By: Ross King
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1434
- The Year a Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance
- By: Gavin Menzies
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The brilliance of the Renaissance laid the foundation of the modern world....
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Fiction pretending to be history
- By Chupacabracito on 04-21-16
By: Gavin Menzies
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The Borgias
- Power and Depravity in Renaissance Italy
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Borgia family have become a byword for evil. Corruption, incest, ruthless megalomania, avarice, and vicious cruelty - all have been associated with their name. And yet, paradoxically, this family lived when the Renaissance was coming into its full flowering in Italy....
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Gossip
- By Amazon Customer on 10-02-19
By: Paul Strathern
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The City of Falling Angels
- By: John Berendt
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
It is John Berendt and only John Berendt who can capture Venice, a city of masks, a city of riddles....
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Worth the read if you are going to Venice
- By Toni on 07-03-11
By: John Berendt
New releases
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The Fall of the House of Borgia
- By: E.R. Chamberlin
- Narrated by: Tim Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beginning with Rodrigo Borgia, Chamberlin charts this intelligent but ruthless man's passage to the top. He uncovers how, as Pope Alexander VI, he directed his family to carve out a Borgia kingdom in the heart of Italy. The chaotic intrigues, alliances, and wars that Cesare and Lucrezia became embroiled with are exposed in fascinating detail as competing dynasties and cities struggled for survival before the family's fortunes crumbled.
By: E.R. Chamberlin
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101 Surprising Facts About St. Peter's and the Vatican
- By: Fr. Jeffrey Kirby S.T.L.
- Narrated by: Adrianne Price
- Length: 1 hr and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
What do you really know about Vatican City? The Vatican, comprising the Apostolic Palace, St. Peter’s Basilica, and various other buildings, serves as the headquarters of the Catholic Church. It has done so for nearly two millennium--ever since the first Pope, St. Peter, made it his home. Thousands of Catholics flock to the Vatican and its iconic basilica each year. But what do you really know about this great basilica and the city that houses it?
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Blood and Power
- The Rise and Fall of Italian Fascism
- By: John Foot
- Narrated by: Daniel Philpott
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
In the aftermath of the First World War, the seeds of fascism were sown in Italy. While the country reeled in shock, a new movement emerged from the chaos: one that preached hatred for politicians and love for the fatherland; one that promised to build a ‘New Roman Empire’, and make Italy a great power again.
By: John Foot
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Out of Italy
- Two Centuries of World Domination and Demise
- By: Fernand Braudel, Siân Reynolds - translator
- Narrated by: Paul Brion
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In the fifteenth century, even before the city states of the Apennine Peninsula began to coalesce into what would become, several centuries later, a nation, "Italy" exerted enormous influence over all of Europe and throughout the Mediterranean. Viewing the Italy (the many Italies?) of that time through the lens of today allows us to gather a fragmented, multi-faceted, and seemingly contradictory history into a single unifying narrative that speaks to our current reality as much as it does to a specific historical period. This is what the French historian Fernand Braudel achieves here.
By: Fernand Braudel, and others
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The Vatican
- A Look Behind the Scenes of the Catholic Church
- By: Kelly Mass
- Narrated by: Doug Greene
- Length: 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Vatican is a landlocked independent city state and enclave in Rome, Italy. The Vatican City State, also called the Vatican, acquired independence from Italy in the year 1929 with the Lateran Treaty, and it is a different terrain under the Holy See's "full ownership, special rule, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction", which makes sure the city state's temporal, diplomatic, and spiritual independence. This is one of the world’s most unique states/countries, something that is definitely worth understanding.
By: Kelly Mass
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Venetian Empire
- The Grand History of the Venetians
- By: Kelly Mass
- Narrated by: Doug Greene
- Length: 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
-
Story
When we think of Venice, we think of masks, canals, murals and frescoes, and little “gondoliers” with picturesque boats. Venice, indeed, has an impressive artistic history. But did you know that Venice was also, for a while, a considerably sized empire? Although no enduring historic records associate with the creation of Venice, the Republic of Venice's history is typically said to start at 12 a.m. on Friday, March 25th, AD 421, when authorities from Padua established the city to develop a trading center in that area of northern Italy.
By: Kelly Mass
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The Fall of the House of Borgia
- By: E.R. Chamberlin
- Narrated by: Tim Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beginning with Rodrigo Borgia, Chamberlin charts this intelligent but ruthless man's passage to the top. He uncovers how, as Pope Alexander VI, he directed his family to carve out a Borgia kingdom in the heart of Italy. The chaotic intrigues, alliances, and wars that Cesare and Lucrezia became embroiled with are exposed in fascinating detail as competing dynasties and cities struggled for survival before the family's fortunes crumbled.
By: E.R. Chamberlin
-
101 Surprising Facts About St. Peter's and the Vatican
- By: Fr. Jeffrey Kirby S.T.L.
- Narrated by: Adrianne Price
- Length: 1 hr and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What do you really know about Vatican City? The Vatican, comprising the Apostolic Palace, St. Peter’s Basilica, and various other buildings, serves as the headquarters of the Catholic Church. It has done so for nearly two millennium--ever since the first Pope, St. Peter, made it his home. Thousands of Catholics flock to the Vatican and its iconic basilica each year. But what do you really know about this great basilica and the city that houses it?
-
Blood and Power
- The Rise and Fall of Italian Fascism
- By: John Foot
- Narrated by: Daniel Philpott
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the aftermath of the First World War, the seeds of fascism were sown in Italy. While the country reeled in shock, a new movement emerged from the chaos: one that preached hatred for politicians and love for the fatherland; one that promised to build a ‘New Roman Empire’, and make Italy a great power again.
By: John Foot
-
Out of Italy
- Two Centuries of World Domination and Demise
- By: Fernand Braudel, Siân Reynolds - translator
- Narrated by: Paul Brion
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the fifteenth century, even before the city states of the Apennine Peninsula began to coalesce into what would become, several centuries later, a nation, "Italy" exerted enormous influence over all of Europe and throughout the Mediterranean. Viewing the Italy (the many Italies?) of that time through the lens of today allows us to gather a fragmented, multi-faceted, and seemingly contradictory history into a single unifying narrative that speaks to our current reality as much as it does to a specific historical period. This is what the French historian Fernand Braudel achieves here.
By: Fernand Braudel, and others
-
The Vatican
- A Look Behind the Scenes of the Catholic Church
- By: Kelly Mass
- Narrated by: Doug Greene
- Length: 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Vatican is a landlocked independent city state and enclave in Rome, Italy. The Vatican City State, also called the Vatican, acquired independence from Italy in the year 1929 with the Lateran Treaty, and it is a different terrain under the Holy See's "full ownership, special rule, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction", which makes sure the city state's temporal, diplomatic, and spiritual independence. This is one of the world’s most unique states/countries, something that is definitely worth understanding.
By: Kelly Mass
-
Venetian Empire
- The Grand History of the Venetians
- By: Kelly Mass
- Narrated by: Doug Greene
- Length: 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When we think of Venice, we think of masks, canals, murals and frescoes, and little “gondoliers” with picturesque boats. Venice, indeed, has an impressive artistic history. But did you know that Venice was also, for a while, a considerably sized empire? Although no enduring historic records associate with the creation of Venice, the Republic of Venice's history is typically said to start at 12 a.m. on Friday, March 25th, AD 421, when authorities from Padua established the city to develop a trading center in that area of northern Italy.
By: Kelly Mass