Between Salt Water and Holy Water: A History of Southern Italy

Nonfiction, History, Italy
Cover of the book Between Salt Water and Holy Water: A History of Southern Italy by Tommaso Astarita, W. W. Norton & Company
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Tommaso Astarita ISBN: 9780393254327
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Publication: July 17, 2006
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company Language: English
Author: Tommaso Astarita
ISBN: 9780393254327
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publication: July 17, 2006
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company
Language: English

"Lucid, evocative and richly detailed."—Jay Parini, author of The Apprentice Lover

Both the Romans and the Greeks were attracted to the dramatically beautiful coasts and fertile plains of the region later known as "The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies." In fact, all myriad influences that shaped modern civilization in the Mediterranean come together in Southern Italy and Sicily. The world's first secular university was founded in Naples. Many of the elements of Italian culture as we now know it in the rest of the world—from comic opera to pizza—were born in the South. Art and music flourished there, as did progressive ideas about education, tolerance, and civic administration.

Native Neopolitan and distinguished scholar Tommaso Astarita gives us a history both erudite and full of personality—from the freethinking, cosmopolitan King Frederick who conferred with Jewish and Muslim philosophers (and dared to meet with the Sultan) to the fisherman Masaniello who inspired artists and revolutionaries across Europe. In the medieval South, Jews, Muslims, and Greek and Latin Christians could practice their religions, speak their languages, and live in mostly peaceful cohabitation. From the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, Naples was on par with Paris, one of the largest and most cultured cities in Europe. During the Enlightenment, southern Italy captured the European imagination, and many people traveled far and wide to enjoy southern Italy's ancient ruins, beautiful landscapes, sweet music, and magnificent art, marveling at the lively temperament of the southern population. The drama and beauty of the region inspired visitors to claim that one had to "see Naples, and then die." Yet negative images of the Italian South's poverty, violence, superstition and nearness to Africa long fueled stereotypes of what was and was not acceptably "European." Goethe noted that he had gladly studied in Rome, but in Naples he wanted "only to live," for "Naples is a Paradise: everyone lives in a state of intoxicated self-forgetfulness, myself included.

From the Normans and Angevins through Spanish and Bourbon rule to the unification of Italy in 1860 and the subsequent emigration of vast numbers of Southern Italians, Between Salt Water and Holy Water captures the rich, dynamic past of a vibrant land.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

"Lucid, evocative and richly detailed."—Jay Parini, author of The Apprentice Lover

Both the Romans and the Greeks were attracted to the dramatically beautiful coasts and fertile plains of the region later known as "The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies." In fact, all myriad influences that shaped modern civilization in the Mediterranean come together in Southern Italy and Sicily. The world's first secular university was founded in Naples. Many of the elements of Italian culture as we now know it in the rest of the world—from comic opera to pizza—were born in the South. Art and music flourished there, as did progressive ideas about education, tolerance, and civic administration.

Native Neopolitan and distinguished scholar Tommaso Astarita gives us a history both erudite and full of personality—from the freethinking, cosmopolitan King Frederick who conferred with Jewish and Muslim philosophers (and dared to meet with the Sultan) to the fisherman Masaniello who inspired artists and revolutionaries across Europe. In the medieval South, Jews, Muslims, and Greek and Latin Christians could practice their religions, speak their languages, and live in mostly peaceful cohabitation. From the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, Naples was on par with Paris, one of the largest and most cultured cities in Europe. During the Enlightenment, southern Italy captured the European imagination, and many people traveled far and wide to enjoy southern Italy's ancient ruins, beautiful landscapes, sweet music, and magnificent art, marveling at the lively temperament of the southern population. The drama and beauty of the region inspired visitors to claim that one had to "see Naples, and then die." Yet negative images of the Italian South's poverty, violence, superstition and nearness to Africa long fueled stereotypes of what was and was not acceptably "European." Goethe noted that he had gladly studied in Rome, but in Naples he wanted "only to live," for "Naples is a Paradise: everyone lives in a state of intoxicated self-forgetfulness, myself included.

From the Normans and Angevins through Spanish and Bourbon rule to the unification of Italy in 1860 and the subsequent emigration of vast numbers of Southern Italians, Between Salt Water and Holy Water captures the rich, dynamic past of a vibrant land.

More books from W. W. Norton & Company

Cover of the book The Bank of Fear: A Novel by Tommaso Astarita
Cover of the book The Conference of the Birds by Tommaso Astarita
Cover of the book Among the Living and the Dead: A Tale of Exile and Homecoming on the War Roads of Europe by Tommaso Astarita
Cover of the book Tonight No Poetry Will Serve: Poems 2007-2010 by Tommaso Astarita
Cover of the book South Toward Home: Travels in Southern Literature by Tommaso Astarita
Cover of the book Testosterone Rex: Myths of Sex, Science, and Society by Tommaso Astarita
Cover of the book 8 Keys to Mental Health Through Exercise (8 Keys to Mental Health) by Tommaso Astarita
Cover of the book The Art of Sex Coaching: Expanding Your Practice by Tommaso Astarita
Cover of the book The End of Plenty: The Race to Feed a Crowded World by Tommaso Astarita
Cover of the book The Little Book of Neuroscience Haiku by Tommaso Astarita
Cover of the book Helga's Diary: A Young Girl's Account of Life in a Concentration Camp by Tommaso Astarita
Cover of the book The Art of Grace: On Moving Well Through Life by Tommaso Astarita
Cover of the book Utopia Is Creepy: And Other Provocations by Tommaso Astarita
Cover of the book Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness: Practices for Safe and Transformative Healing by Tommaso Astarita
Cover of the book Nevada: A Bicentennial History by Tommaso Astarita
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy