Buondì.
Italian history is replete with emperors, kings, princes, and various grades of aristocrat – dukes, counts, and the like.
But let’s not be forgetting the popes! Wikipedia has a list of all two hundred and sixty-six of them.
They weren’t all ‘Italian’ of course (neither were all the emperors and kings), and they weren’t all based in Rome, as today.
But a lot of them were, and for a long while, like more than a thousand years, the ‘Papal States’ were a significant player in the region, controlling large parts of the peninsula, including Bologna, where I live, and where we have our Italian school.
No. 255 in Wikipedia’s pocket list of popes, is Pius IX (Italians say ‘Pio’), whose curriculum includes the phrase ‘lost the Papal States to Italy’, which is the topic of today’s Summer Series episode.
So how did God come to lose his (pardon the sexist assumption) earthly capital to horny King Vittorio Emanuele?
Hint – it wasn’t in a poker game. The fault of course was further down the chain of command, with Pius Pio IX (a Count before he became Pope, by the way), who relied on a tried and tested tactic to defend Rome from enemy guns.
Unfortunately the trick was no-longer as effective as it had been in centuries past. One assumes Pius Pio’s boss wasn’t best pleased.
In a nutshell, then, the Papal States had long been allied to the French, so while the new Italian state had managed to grab a lot of the Papal States’ erm.. states, King Vittorio Emanuele and his advisors thought it unwise to go after the capital, Rome, for fear of provoking the powerful northern neighbor.
Until, that is, Prussia (a big part of what is now Germany) and France fell out over something, meaning that the French armies would be too busy losing a major war to interfere in the Italian peninsula in the interests of a minor ally, were long-standing scores to be settled…
The Italians seized their chance and sent their best troops to Rome (check out the video linked to at the end of Episodio 5), with a view to grabbing it for the Italian capital.
Read and listen to the episode to find out how Pius Pio IX managed to lose God’s remaining territory on earth:
Episodio 5. Roma capitale d’Italia (1870)
Così.
Isn’t this interesting? Aren’t we learning a lot about modern Italy? And there are another twenty-five episodes still to come between now and September!
But if you’ve been putting off starting our FREE Summer Series?
You’ve been busy, it’s hot, we understand!
Not to worry – Episodes 1-4 can be found on our History page. Scroll right down to find them. Start today, or whenever you have time, but do take a look.
History page | Episodio 5. Roma capitale d’Italia (1870)
A venerdì.
P.S. Four More Half-Price ‘Easy Italian Reader’ Ebooks from 2015
This week EasyReaders.org is doing their half-price ‘eBook of the Week’ offer on four more ‘easy reader’ ebooks published in 2015. The levels range from A2 (pre-intermediate) to B2 (upper-intermediate).
Any of them will cost you just £3.99 until Sunday 23rd July 2023.
Take a look at the FREE sample chapters to check the level of the material. Too easy or too difficult? There are plenty of other options, at levels from beginner to super-advanced, on our Catalog page.
L’amore ai tempi del supermercato (A2)
Claudio is a handsome young Italian architect with a passion for girls. That is, until the day he finds love… in a supermarket!
- .pdf e-book (+ audio available free online)
- .mobi (Kindle-compatible) and .epub (other ebook readers) available on request at no extra charge – just add a note to the order form or email us
- 8 chapters to read and listen to
- Comprehension questions to check your understanding
- Italian/English glossary of ‘difficult’ terms for the level
- Suitable for students at any level
- Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)
Buy L’amore ai tempi del supermercato, just £4.99 | FREE sample chapter (.pdf) | Catalog
Un viaggio nel tempo (A2/B1)
Antonino is newly-retired and is finding that, now he has as much leisure time as he could desire, his days pass rather too slowly. Depression threatens. But, with the help of his adult sons, he discovers the Internet and its potential for tracing friends from his youth and so making good one of his bitterest regrets…
- .pdf e-book (+ audio available free online)
- .mobi (Kindle-compatible) and .epub (other ebook readers) available on request at no extra charge – just add a note to the order form or email us
- 8 chapters to read and listen to
- Comprehension questions to check your understanding
- Italian/English glossary of ‘difficult’ terms for the level
- Suitable for students at any level
- Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)
Buy Un viaggio nel tempo, just £4.99 | FREE sample chapter (.pdf) | Catalog
Correre a tempo (B1)
Piero has just reached his thirtieth birthday! To prove to himself and his friends that his life is not yet over, he decides to run a marathon. But preparing for this challenge changes him in more ways than he imagines…
- .pdf e-book (+ audio available free online)
- .mobi (Kindle-compatible) and .epub (other ebook readers) available on request at no extra charge – just add a note to the order form or email us
- 8 chapters to read and listen to
- Comprehension questions to check your understanding
- Italian/English glossary of ‘difficult’ terms for the level
- Suitable for students at any level
- Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)
Buy Correre a tempo, just £4.99 | FREE sample chapter (.pdf) | Catalog
Aria di festa (B1/2)
Gianni is a gourmet journalist who is increasingly cynical about the popular ‘Slow Food’ movement. He persuades his editor to let him spend the summer searching out and reviewing ‘Slow Food’ events, but the more he finds out, the more his fears seem to be confirmed…
- .pdf e-book (+ audio available free online)
- .mobi (Kindle-compatible) and .epub (other ebook readers) available on request at no extra charge – just add a note to the order form or email us
- 8 chapters to read and listen to
- Comprehension questions to check your understanding
- Italian/English glossary of ‘difficult’ terms for the level
- Suitable for students at any level
- Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)
Buy Aria di festa, just £4.99 | FREE sample chapter (.pdf) | Catalog
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When your order is ‘completed’ (normally immediately after your payment), a download link will be automatically emailed to you. It’s valid for 7 days and 3 download attempts so please save a copy of the .pdf ebook in a safe place. Other versions of the ebook, where available, cannot be downloaded but will be emailed to people who request them. There’s a space to do that on the order form – where it says Additional information, Order notes (optional). If you forget, or if you have problems downloading the .pdf, don’t worry! Email us at the address on the website and we’ll help. Also, why not check out our FAQ?
P.P.S. 
And don’t forget to read/listen to Tuesday’s bulletin of ‘easy’ Italian news, will you?
Like our Summer Series, it’s FREE.
Subscribing is also FREE. Subscribers get each thrice-weekly bulletin emailed to them, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Subscribe here.
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