Early Modern
Game of Queens
Several years ago, historian Sarah Gristwood’s Blood Sisters held me enrapt. She described the well-known events of the Wars of the Roses and the rise of the Tudor dynasty through the lives of the Plantagenet women. It was women’s history at its best* in that it not only told the story of often forgotten or…
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History, History, Everywhere…
From a history buff perspective, Florence was sometimes frustrating. I didn’t know enough and Florence wasn’t set up to fill in the gaps. The physical remnants of Florentine history are everywhere, but historical explanations are a bit thin on the ground. Renaissance palaces, forts, and churches are open as museums, but the emphasis is on…
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Road Trip Through History: Climbing Brunelleschi’s Dome
One of the first things My Own True Love and I did in Florence was visit Brunelleschi’s dome.* I suspect we are not alone in making that choice. The first thing you need to know about visiting the Duomo is that it is part of a complex of impressive buildings, made up of the cathedral,…
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