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Book Reviews

Book Reviews © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2006 Medieval Encounters 12,2 Also available online – www.brill.nl BOOK REVIEWS Tommaso Astarita, Between Salt Water and Holy Water: A History of Southern Italy . New York: W. W. Norton, 2005. 352 pp. $24.95 (cloth); $15.95 (paper). One can scarcely imagine the sadly neglected south of Italy fi nding a more thoughtful, erudite, or committed chronicler than Tommaso Astarita. His history of the region for a general audience is accordingly a cause for celebration. His measured and even-handed style inspires con fi dence, while his lively prose keeps the reader engaged. At the same time, he does not blunt the conceptual or analytical tools used by contemporary historians to present his material to a broad readership. An instructor may, with con fi dence, assign readings from Astarita’s book to teach the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity in the Italian south from a number of historical perspectives: social, economic, literary, or broader cultural history. Astarita recognizes from the beginning of the book the central paradox of the Mezzogiorno: the contradiction “between the centrality of the Italian South to European life and culture on the one hand and the many elements of its http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Medieval Encounters Brill

Book Reviews

Medieval Encounters , Volume 12 (2): 296 – Jan 1, 2006
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 2006 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
1380-7854
eISSN
1570-0674
DOI
10.1163/157006706778884907
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2006 Medieval Encounters 12,2 Also available online – www.brill.nl BOOK REVIEWS Tommaso Astarita, Between Salt Water and Holy Water: A History of Southern Italy . New York: W. W. Norton, 2005. 352 pp. $24.95 (cloth); $15.95 (paper). One can scarcely imagine the sadly neglected south of Italy fi nding a more thoughtful, erudite, or committed chronicler than Tommaso Astarita. His history of the region for a general audience is accordingly a cause for celebration. His measured and even-handed style inspires con fi dence, while his lively prose keeps the reader engaged. At the same time, he does not blunt the conceptual or analytical tools used by contemporary historians to present his material to a broad readership. An instructor may, with con fi dence, assign readings from Astarita’s book to teach the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity in the Italian south from a number of historical perspectives: social, economic, literary, or broader cultural history. Astarita recognizes from the beginning of the book the central paradox of the Mezzogiorno: the contradiction “between the centrality of the Italian South to European life and culture on the one hand and the many elements of its

Journal

Medieval Encounters – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 2006

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