Buondì.
The tenth episode in our free Summer Series (of thirty in total) is now ready for you to read and listen to.
And if you’ve ever fancied being pope (‘papa’ in Italian), you should definitely take a look before emailing off your application form – today’s episode touches on some of the challenges of the role.
I confess that both Adrian and Leo III were new to me, so I took a look at their Wikipedia pages to double check our writer’s version of events.
Adrian, poor man, was regularly invaded by the Lombards, so had to rely on powerful Franks for protection. While Leo, his successor, suffered an attack by church rivals, who attempted to gouge out his eyes and cut off his tongue. Fortunately, he made a miraculous recovery, a perk of the job, he claimed.
But anyway, do take a look, even if the role of supreme pontiff doesn’t appeal. For reading and listening to each episode of our 30-part summer series (and last year’s, too, if you’ve time…) can’t help but boost your Italian comprehension skills!
Il Medioevo, Episodio 10, Roma e il papa (VI-VIII secolo)
It’s also linked to from our History page, where you’ll find the previous nine episodes, and last year’s Summer Series on the Romans.
A mercoledì, allora!
