The Lombard Age stretches from the sixth to the eleventh century and features a 200-year kingdom based in the Northern-Central part of the Italian peninsula and a lengthy extension of that domination among Southern principalities until the Norman conquest. It was a significant era in the history of Italy, for it marked the initial political fragmentation of the peninsula, after centuries of Rome-supported unity, and left an important legacy in various areas, including the self-identity of individual regions. The persistence of a Lombard memory in Italy has recently manifested itself in the recognition of a protected serial site in the UNESCO’s World Heritage list. This book, written by a renowned specialist, offers readers a history of the Lombards in a new, up-to-date version that includes novel interpretations stemming from recent archaeological findings.

Claudio Azzara teaches Medieval History at the University of Salerno.