Early Modern Italy: 1550-1796 (Short Oxford History of Italy) - Hardcover

Rao's closing chapter on the interconnection of politics and reform in the eighteenth century is outstanding. The ideology of the Enlightenment and its relationship with political realities are handled with particular clarity and insight throughout this book, which will serve as a valuable first introduction to early modern Italian history. (European Review of History)

This volume provides an account of early modern Italy, covering such themes as politics, Italy's experience of the absolutist state, the counter-Reformation, society and economy in both town and country, family and gender, the arts and intellectual life, popular culture, and Italy's distinctive role in Europe. Broad chronological and geographical coverage provides integrated treatment of the entire period and peninsula. The text provides both material and cultural historical analysis, allowing students to trace religious, cultural and scientific developments against their social, political and economic parameters. Thematic treatment is tied into a strong narrative framework, tracing changes and continuity along a chronological structure, and a team of historians provide up-to-date and revisionist interpretations that place Italy in a wider European context.