Genoa Books

This is a very well researched book using the rich Genoese archives as well as material from other Italian collections. The subject, policy and power in Genoa, provides a good comparison with the more fully covered Venetian republic. It is a good contribution to the complex world of the Mediterranean in the Early Modern period.

There are many histories of Florence and Venice, but far fewer of Genoa. Genoa And The Sea: Policy And Power In An Early Modern Maritime Republic 1559-1684 is the story of one of Italy's great cities along the Mediterranean coast, and its transformation from a maritime republic into one of Europe's most crucial financial centers. When Spanish prosperity began to wane, Genoa, whose trade and prosperity had been closely linked with Spain, had to reinvent itself to continue its prosperity. A critical key to Genoa's success was a free-port policy that spurred trade and made it especially inviting to merchants. A thoroughly researched, scholarly scrutiny of a changing economic era as reflected in a bustling and complex metropolis.

Read this book with great interest, it clarifies lots of lies.
History is usually biased and in the case of Columbus it is not only biased but confused and erroneous. Finally we have a book that investigates and tries to unravel the confusion and cover up.

One thing is for sure Columbus was not an Italian. Columbus was NOT EVEN HIS NAME.

A must read...hopefully soon it will be in English.

«O Mistério Colombo Revelado»

15 anos de investigação científica rigorosa
arrasam a versão da historiografia oficial
Colombo não era genovês, mas sim um espião
português ao serviço de D. João II

Este é um ensaio de investigação histórica dedicado a vida do «descobridor da América» conhecido em Portugal pelo nome de Cristóvão Colombo. Trata-se de um estudo aturado com 648 páginas que marcará certamente a historiografia colombina. Conta com o prefácio do escritor e jornalista José Rodrigues dos Santos, autor do romance «O Codex 632», foi apresentado na próxima sexta-feira, 27/10, às 18h30, no auditório Victor de Sá da Universidade Lusófona, em Lisboa, pelo Prof. Doutor José Carlos Calazans, historiador da Expansão Portuguesa. O co-autor Manuel da Silva Rosa esteve presente.

«(...) este livro de Manuel Rosa e Eric Steele (...) vem confirmar que, qualquer que seja o seu verdadeiro nome, é a origem nobre portuguesa que melhor explica as enigmáticas contradições em torno da vida de Colon.»

José Rodrigues dos Santos
In «Prefácio»


Finalmente um trabalho de investigação histórica amplamente documentado que desmonta o embuste criado pela historiografia oficial e que oferece abundantes pistas para a descoberta do grande mistério que rodeia o «descobridor da América», e propõe a mudança da perspectiva histórica de análise.
É absolutamente claro que Cristoval Colon não foi Christopher Columbus, o tecelão de lã genovês que teria casado com uma nobre portuguesa, que escrevia num espanhol aportuguesado e que sabia latim. Mas o que transparece com evidência na procura autêntica, rigorosa e sem «pré-conceitos» da verdade histórica é o genial plano secreto do rei português D. João II, sem dúvida, um dos grandes génios e estrategas políticos do passado milénio.
Manuel da Silva Rosa e Eric James Steele transportam-nos até aos bastidores do período dos Descobrimentos num texto que se lê sofregamente página a página e está recheado de surpresas.

Como um exemplo das novidades que esta obra traz saliente-se, no capítulo V, a demonstração categórica do carácter espúrio do famoso Testamento de Colombo onde este se afirma genovês.

«Manuel da Silva Rosa emigrou para os Estados Unidos há mais de trinta anos e dedicou grande parte do seu tempo nos últimos quinze anos, em parceria com o experiente investigador Eric James Steele, à procura da verdade histórica relativa ao «Mistério Colombo». Na primeira reunião que com ele tivemos ficámos deveras impressionados pelo conhecimento que mostrou possuir da documentação disponível relativa a este tema apaixonante. À medida que ia expondo as suas teses e descobertas, abria janelas no seu computador exibindo os documentos em que baseava as suas asserções. Percebemos rapidamente que a edição deste livro constituía um contributo importante na procura da verdade histórica não só relativamente ao enigma do «descobridor da América» mas também ao descortinar mais amplo do genial plano dos Descobrimentos Portugueses onde, depois do período henriquino, emergiu a notável liderança de D. João II. (...)
(...) não podemos deixar de assinalar que nem sempre a procura da verdade histórica parece ser o objectivo principal de muitas academias; a experiência transmitida no prefácio por José Rodrigues dos Santos é paradigmática. Como afirma o autor do Codex 632: «Constitui uma total falta de rigor afirmar peremptoriamente que o descobridor da América era genovês, como o fazem a maior parte dos textos históricos.» E a maior parte dos historiadores portugueses, acrescentamos nós. Urge questionar: por que é que isso acontece?»

Paulo Alexandre Loução
In «Nota do Editor»


Relação dos Capítulos do livro:

I - O Homem, o Mito, a Missão
II - O Estado das Relações Entre os Estados
III - A Era das Descobertas Faz-se ao Mar
IV - Super Segredos de Marinheiros
V - Duplicidades, Inverdades e Falsidades
VI - O Rei e os Peões: Espião versus Espião
VII - Monges Militares Medievais
VIII - Cristo-Vam Colon: Membro que vai por Cristo
IX - O Tesouro e a Traição
X - Don Cristoval Colon «o Português»
XI - A Pavia e o S. Fernando Portugueses
XII - Os Mistérios do Prior Dom Tivisco
XIII - O Último Rebento de Henrique
XIV - Rastos de Sangue
XV - Nom de Guerre
XVI - Dar a Cara
XVII - Às Armas
XVIII - Colon: O Religioso e Ardiloso
XIX - A Fábula do Colombo Italiano
XX - Revelações Eminentes
Apêndice
Embaixadas de D. João II
Cartas de Toscanelli
«Desastre da Santa Maria»
Capitulaciones de Santa Fe
Codicil de Juanoto Berardi
Juramento de como Cuba era terra firme
Carta do Doctor Monetarius (Jeronimo Münzer)
Audiência com os Reis Católicos

The book has chapters about history, landmarks, itineraries, then museums, churches, villas, palaces, cemetery, port, excursions. It is very enterprising in use of fascinating details from artworks to illustrate history and famous Genoa people. The photographs are generally sharp and good in contrast and color. Text is 330 pages not counting color plates. It has a bibliography some 100 titles, Indexes of Names and Places, but no maps. Samples: "Portofino a fishing village of sheer enchantment" - but go in spring or autumn to avoid crowds. "It is a dream of what a fishing village should be." On the cathedral: ..."among the greatest artistic achievements...are the choirstalls which contain some of the best wood-carving, marquetry and intaglio work in Italy"

This book contains spiritual pearls

THE POTATO JOKE BOOK is a refreshing escape from our chaotic world. The
jokes are clever and well-organized for a book that flows. Jay and Geona have taken great care to write a book that can entertain the whole family.
These books would also make wonderful gifts for people from seven to seventy--especially if they have a potato obsession, are a potato farmer or if it is an Irish holiday. The illustrations are colorful and engaging. If you look at the book photo, how can you resist?

Near the end of the nineteenth century in Genoa, Rosa was born to a Luna brothel prostitute who died in childbirth; her father is an unknown patron of the facility. Madame C raises Rosa as her own with the help of her girls. However, they hide from the youngster what is going on upstairs in the house of ill repute although Rosa wonders about the "the game" upstairs played by men and her aunts.

On her sixteenth birthday, Rosa's friend Isabel the witch gives her a magical perfume to wear at a party Madam C is throwing for her. That night the Mayor caught by the essence plays "the game" with Rosa; when Madame C catches them, she angrily blames her ward and tosses Rosa out of the only home she has known because the mayor was the older woman's dream intended. Isabel takes Rosa in and soon afterward the teen finds a boyfriend longshoreman Renato, but hides her past from him. However, when she learns that she risks Renato's life and their love with her lies and omissions, Rosa must decide whether she should tell her beloved about being raised in a brothel.

This is an entertaining coming of age turn of the century romance starring a likable protagonist. Fans will enjoy the heroine's abrupt rush to adulthood following Rosa's olfactory tryst. Although at times Rosa's escapades seem to obvious for someone growing up in a brothel and moving in with a witch, historical romance readers will enjoy Lina Simoni's fine aromatic tale.

Harriet Klausner

What a great book! I have tabbed sections, highlighted information, and written notes in the margins. If you are looking for any information about the history of this great culture to where to eat in Rome, this is the book for you.

What I liked...super concise review of Italian history, nice "top 10" lists at the end; good basic information.

What I didn't like...this particular book was kind of a disappointment in comparison to other "Dummies" travel books I have used. I found the London and Paris "Dummies" books absolutely invaluable. Perhaps because this book covers an entire country, rather than an individual city, did I find it to be much too general. I also found the English/Italian dictionary at the end to be really lacking. I did not expect it to be by any means extensive; however, the 2-page listing in a "Time Out" guide that I bought was much more meaningful in the choice of helpful words.

Perhaps it is because I have done a bit more traveling, much of the basic information just seemed to be that...much too basic. What might be nice is if the "Dummies" series had just a book on "travel tips for Dummies," and then omitted a lot of that very basic content from these location guides. It would allow room to make the location guide much more comprehensive and meaningful.

If this is your first trip to Europe, then by all means, this is a great book. But if you have been to Europe before and are comfortable with your basic travel know-how, you might want to look elsewhere.

We found Italy for Dummies to be invaluable to our trip planning and in use on the trip. It was full of useful advice generally, and specifically, the maps and hotel and restaurant recommendations were apt and accurate. The Amazon online access was especially valuable, both because I was able to cut and paste (and print) custom maps specific to our plans before our trip, AND ON the trip because my fiance left the book on the kitchen table when we left. A best buy all round!

This book is great for planning, because it's packed with useful information so you know what to expect, especially if this is your first trip to Italy. I'm used to giving travel planning seminars on Italy all the time, and this book is a staple!! I like to recommend it to students who are going on an exchange program, as well as adults going on a family trip. I wouldn't say it's something you want to actually take with you on your trip, because it's big and a bit heavy. You don't want to compromise valuable suitcase space, when you know Italy is known for shopping!!!

ITALY FOR DUMMIES is so helpful. It's arranged so you can easily find famous sites, art, night spots, restaurants, discos and pubs, shopping, as well as practical how-to-get-where information for all the major tourist destinations and maps of many of the major cities. There are even sections to help you negotiate an upscale Italian menu as well as a pizza menu, which, believe me, is very useful to those of us who don't speak Italian. The excellent sidebar on Italian ice cream (which is probably the best ice cream in the world) recommends some of the most popular flavors, including my favorites bacio (hazelnut chocolate) and stracciatella (chocolate chip)! Try a dip of two or three flavors on your cone-that's the Italian way. Believe me, you'll walk it off. The book even tells you how to toss a coin in the Trevi Fountain Italian style. I highly recommend ITALY FOR DUMMIES, whether you are a first time traveler to Italy, or you've been there a half dozen times as I have. The book is great at telling you where all the great art is (some of the major works at each museum), how to get tickets and how long the lines will probably be. The book's weakness is that it doesn't help you understand the art--it's 5-word to 1-sentence descriptions of paintings and sculptures don't really do the job. It would be great if they offered a book called Italian Art for Dummies. They don't, so I got the next best thing, ART HISTORY FOR DUMMIES. I highly recommend the chapter on Ancient Rome, which is great for helping you understand the whole span of Roman art, architecture and history (and really fun and interesting to read!) and of course the Early and High Renaissance chapter, which is magnificent, the Mannerism chapter (which tells about one of the truly great off the beaten-path art sites, Palazzo Te in Mantova, aka Mantua, which isn't mentioned at all in Italy for Dummies), the Italian Baroque, and the really lively section on the Italian Futurists (who were around during the early 20th century). I packed both ART HISTORY FOR DUMMIES and ITALY FOR DUMMIES in my suitcase when I went to Venice, Florence, Rome and Mantua for ten days over the Christmas Holidays. Both of these books made my trip so much richer and more interesting than my previous five Italian adventures. I never saw so much of Italy in so short a time--I don't mean in terms of quantity but quality. These books help you to get inside the Italian experience much more deeply.

What an absolutely amazing book! The photos are simply stunning and painstakingly hand-coloured to bring them to life. The text is taken from Holmes' own writings which, in conjunction with the photos, gives us an insight into life back then all around the world. The things he saw and did are just staggering. This is a wonderful book that will be cherished for many years to come.

My husband saw this book at another store for a little more money than I found it for on Amazon. So I bought it here. He loves it!

I bought this book and found out much to my horror that part of the pages are upside down! It also contains hideous typos in major captions such as: RUSSIA: COLSSUS OF THE NORTH. Mistakes such as upside pages and unbelievable typos make one wonder about the value of the text since editing was obviously not an important part of production.
I tried to return this to Amazon but was told that since it was more than a month that I had it, they could NOT give me another book or a full refund on the cost of purchase.
As the saying goes, caveat emptor.

This book is something you`d tresure and enjoy each time you go through its pages,high quality in every aspect.A book you`d love to browse and comment with your family and friends sipping a cup of tea.

The world has been spinning extraordinarily fast the past several decades and fewer and fewer have memories of what life was like in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Burton Holmes had a camera and a great desire to share his travel experiences through photos, film and lectures.
Today, they are ours again in this wonderful book that takes us back to times and places that we don't recognize today. He shares the humanity of the past with the humanity of the present and future generations to come.
His journey shows us how life hasn't changed and how drastically it has changed since these photos were taken.
For me, it's very special. I have made it a gift to my family members and to my child. I want it to be seen and read for generations to come.
It helps me get a grip on what's really important on this planet. Sharing without borders.

Catherine of Genoa: Purgation and Purgatory, The Spiritual Dialogue (Classics of Western Spirituality)

This is a MUST READ!

For those of you who believe in heaven, purgatory, and hell, there is nothing I need to say. St. Catherine of Genoa says it all.

For those of you who believe in heaven and hell but not purgatory, I hope you aim for heaven and don't miss.

God in his mercy has given us purgatory as many of us are not nearly as pure as we might think. Persons undergoing additional purification in purgatory will get to heaven.

For those who do not believe in God that doesn't mean he doesn't exist. Science can only prove processes but how life came to be on this planet.

The others who miss and land in hell. Well, I'm sorry.

This is a must read! It will make you think and provide comfort.

I have not read any Christian mystic who more brillantly captured the excitement of the concept of God's infinite love. Where Luther or Augustine wrote volumes to give voice to the experience of unmerited grace, Catherine of Genoa does full justice to the topic in a few lines.

By contrast, the Spiritual Dialogue rings a little hallow after the thunder clap of Catherine's Purgation and Purgatory. The shadow-boxing between Body, Soul, Spirit and Self Love offers little fresh insight and no drama.

St Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510) has a special importance for me because it is her after whom I was named. :D On 13 January 1463, at the age of sixteen, Catherine was married to Guiliano Adorni. He is described as a man of "strange and recalcitrant nature" who wasted his substance on disorderly living. Having little in common with her husband, their marriage had many difficult years. As did Jeanne Guyon, Catherine maintained a strong spiritual relationship despite opposition in her marriage. Guiliano became a member of the Third Order of St. Francis, and both he and Catherine worked among the poor and the sick. In 1497, she nursed her husband through his last illness. In his will he extolled her virtues and left her all his possessions. Instead of becoming bitter for her experience, Catherine brought joy and peace to the sick and lame as rector of the hospital of St. Lazarus in Genoa. Although Catherine was no scholar, she was, at the same time, inspired, vehement and warm-hearted. Her work reads as though she poured out what she had to say on paper, not staying to choose words, not revising or hardly revising. If she is sometimes careless of exactitude, she compensates for it by spontaneity. In her simple honest expression, Catherine is able to address the complex issue, for example, of what is the cause of the LORD our GOD's great love for us who are so set against her, and what are we that GOD would be mindful of us. "Know first that I am GOD who change not, and that I loved man before I created him, with an infinite, pure, simple and clear love for which there was no cause, save that I cannot but love what I have created and ordained to minister, in its degree, to my glory. And I have provided man richly with all fit means to reach his end, with natural gifts and supernatural graces which he will never lack in so far as they depend on me; nay more, with my infinite love which by divers ways and means surrounds him so that he may be subject to my care." If you are interested in the faith expression of a woman of grace and courage, this book will be interesting to you.

I am a student writing my senior thesis on the Genoese, and above all the countless resources I have read and analyzed, Epstein's book has proved to be my best resource. His account of the Genoese is thorough and logical in order, while his speech is concise and understandable. I appreciate his personal thoughts on the matter, and his own personal research of the primary documents from Genoa makes this an interesting book. Thank you, Dr. Epstein for this great book.

An excellent overview of a historically important city that has received little attention from English language historians.

Epstein's book, a description of Genoa from its tenth century origins to its sixteenth-century decline, is fine as an economic history and also deals very competently with issues of local governance and administration. We briefly encounter leading luminaries such as Christopher Columbus and Andrea Doria, we learn of wars between Pope, King and Emperor and we read from contemporary medieval sources describing Genoans as proud, peevish and altogether difficult to get along with. But between these facts and events there is a real lack of narrative - especially compared with Norwich's History of Venice. Useful, but not hammock reading.