Italy

An illustration from The Travels of Marco Polo, showing a teenage Marco on the deck of a ship sailing away from Venice

Why are Marco Polo’s travels so famous?

Sophie Hay answers listener questions on the Roman city that was destroyed by a volcanic eruption in AD 79. (Image by Getty Images)

Pompeii: everything you wanted to know

A mosaic that shows two Roman women exercising, one holds a flower and another holds a leaf

7 things you (probably) didn’t know about Roman women

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The death of Domitian: how aristocrats conspired against the Roman emperor

A portrait of a member of the Borgias family

The Borgias: everything you wanted to know

Bust of Lorenzo de' Medici

Lorenzo de’ Medici, the Magnificent: the astounding life of the ‘delightful tyrant’ of Florence

'The last Day of Pompeii', 1833. Briullov, Karl Pavlovich (1799-1852). Found in the collection of the State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Pompeii: a remarkable window into ancient Roman life

'The Journey of the Magi' by Benozzo Gozzoli, commissioned by Piero the Gouty for the Palazzo Medici Riccardi. It features his son Lorenzo, who would become known as Lorenzo the Magnificent, as one of the three kings

“They were on a level with today’s billionaires” – your guide to the Medici: bankers to the Pope, rulers of Florence, patrons of the Renaissance

Historian Catherine Fletcher responds to listener questions about the infamous Italian family, from their role in the Renaissance to stories of dark deeds and scandalous affairs. (Image by Getty Images)

The Medici: everything you wanted to know

From left to right: Queen Isabella of Castile; French regent Anne de Beaujeu; and Catherine of Aragon. (Photos by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/DeAgostini/Imagno/Getty Images)

Game of Queens: when women ruled Renaissance Europe

Brothers in arms Louis IX on his way to the Seventh Crusade, 1248. The French king kept his three brothers onside – preventing any potential family infighting – by providing them with huge lordships. (Photo by Leemage/Corbis via Getty Images)

How to run a medieval dynasty: survival secrets of ruling royal families

Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy (Photo by Alamy)

Ravenna: from Roman powerhouse to artistic hub

The feared WW2 German battleship 'Bismarck', May 1941. (Photo by ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

Quiz How well do you know your warships?

Partnered content World of Warships

Portrait of Catherine de Medici

Catherine de Medici: the ‘Serpent Queen’ who became one of France’s most powerful 16th-century rulers

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How Machiavellian was Machiavelli?