Italy

Pompeii Why does Pompeii continue to hold such a fascination for so many people? And which secrets are still to be uncovered from beneath the ashes? Dr Sophie Hay, a leading expert on the ruined I…

No country has enjoyed a greater influence on the English than Italy. Ahead of the European Championship final, Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland explore the history of Rome, Italy and England. A…

Now ready to take on Pompey and the Senate, Julius Caesar must take the final step and cross over into Italy with his legion. Join The Rest Is History Club for early access, ad-free episodes, bonu…

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discuss the 'first' fascist, Gabriele D'Annunzio, with historian Lucy Hughes-Hallett. D'Annunzio was a key figure in Italian literature before becoming a politica…

Wars, disease, and legacy. In the final episode of the trilogy, Tom and Dominic discuss the Byzantine reconquest of Italy, the arrival of the Justinianic plague, and the legacy of Justinian and Th…

Welcome to The Rest Is History's definitive guide to the history of the FIFA World Cup, which looks past the football and uncovers the personalities, geopolitics, and drama behind the tournament…

Mount Vesuvius' eruption in the autumn of AD79 remains one of the deadliest and best-known in history. The plume of super-heated volcanic gases spewed skyward formed a cloud 21 miles high, with the vo…

Within the turmoil of the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte stands out to his military superiors, first by defeating the British at Toulon, then by putting down a royalist mob in Paris when outnum…

The Battle for Italy in 1943 proved to be one of the bloodiest and most brutal episodes of the Second World War. Following hot on the heels of their recent victory in Sicily, the Allies crossed the St…

“Every man is the architect of his own destiny” Long before Rome reigned over the Mediterranean, there was Carthage: the supreme predator of Antiquity. But how did Rome rise to become one of the most…

In the third century BC, a clash which had been brewing for centuries finally erupted: Rome, the ruthless imperialist upstart dominating Italy, against Carthage, the ancient but sinister apex predator…

Rumours surrounding Lord Byron’s scandalous divorce rippled throughout the world. Finally, he had no choice but to abandon England in disgrace and flee to Italy, an exile but still the most famous man…

To coincide with the re-release of Rubicon in audiobook, now with Tom Holland himself narrating it, we have the book’s introduction for you to enjoy. Rubicon is a story of incomparable drama. This wa…

The unexpected evolution of Italian food can serve as a tantalising doorway into some of the greatest moments of Italian history: from medieval monarchs, murdered popes, and the Renaissance, to secret…

The story of Wojtek - the bear who took on the Nazis - amidst the death and devastation of the Second World War, and more specifically Poland's heroic resistance, is a flicker of redemption amidst an…

Why did Hannibal choose to cross the Alps with his elephants in 218 BC, when invading Rome? Was it a brilliant stratagem or a military disaster? What was the secret to the Roman Republic’s growing mil…

How did Hannibal achieve the remarkable feat of crossing the Alps with his army, and elephants? How many of his men survived the treacherous journey? Was it worth sacrificing so much of his army in or…

Did Lorenzo de’Medici’s rule in Florence incur prosperity, or was it a corrupt and autocratic regime, rife with torture, that would spell the doom of the former Republic? While building an edifice of…

What happened when the heroic Horatio Nelson, victor of the Battle of the Nile, sailed into the seething city of Naples? Why would his meeting with the glamorous celebrity, Lady Emma Hamilton, shape t…

Where did gladiatorial combat originate? Who was Spartacus, the legendary gladiator? How did he come to lead the most famous slave revolt in all Roman history? How did the rebellion unfold? And, what…