Course Catalog

The Key to Everything: A History of Italy NEW!

For Goethe, understanding Italy was the key to understanding his own culture, and the same applies to us. Italy’s story is the story of everyone in the Western tradition, since the great parade route Western Civilization from the ancient Greeks to us spent more time on Italian soil than any other country. Yet her story is no straight line, but as ironic and convoluted as a Fellini movie. This course seeks to present an overview of the history of Italy, from the Romans to the Renaissance, the Bronze Age to the Age of Enlightenment, the Etruscans to the Fascists. Our course stars Aeneas, Archimedes, Berlusconi, Lucrezia Borgia, Julius Caesar, Caligula, Casanova, Cyclops, Dante, Dionysius, the Etruscans, Galileo, Garibaldi, Joe Bananas, Leonardo da Vinci, the Lombards, Sophia Loren, Santa Lucia, Machiavelli, the Mafia, Michelangelo (played by Kirk Douglas), Montessori, Monteverdi, Mussolini, Nero, George Patton, Pythagoras, Pyrrhus, Savonarola, St. Francis, Spartacus, Ulysses, Vandals (ancient & modern), Verdi, Vivaldi, and a cast of thousands, with images of Italy’s great art telling much of the story. About the Instructor: Douglas Kenning was conceived in Japan, born in California, raised in Virginia, and lived in many corners of the globe before finding home in Sicily. He received a doctor of philosophy from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and has been a biologist, actor, army officer, Manhattan taxi driver, academic administrator, university professor, tour guide, etc. He has published books, articles, and stage plays.

This class is not available at this time.

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