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Il Medio Evo barbarico d'Italia (Italy's Barbarian Middle Ages) by Gabriele Pepe, published in 1941 by Giulio Einaudi Editore, is undoubtedly the longest selling Italian book about the Middle Ages. The goal of this article is to examine the reasons for this success, how the period in which the book was written influenced the depiction of the early medieval period in Italy, and how the volume was interpreted and used from the 1940s to the early 2000s in Italy and abroad. Challenging the conclusions of many scholars who have maintained that this work represents a "Fascist product," this essay also argues that several parts of this book can be interpreted as a criticism of the rise of the Nazis and of the alliance between Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A century after the Iberian Peninsula, Italy too became the target of Muslim campaigns. Sicily was first invaded in 827, was completely subdued during the ninth century, and remained under Muslim rule until the arrival of the Normans in the second half of the eleventh century. Muslim raids targeted many other parts of Italy, especially in the southern part of the Peninsula. The goal of this article is to examine how the authors of hagiographical texts about early medieval Sicilian-Calabrian saints described the Muslims and the relationships southern Italian Christians had with them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the ninth and tenth centuries Muslims conquered Sicily and led raids against many other Italian regions, including the central and northern parts of the Peninsula. The fact that all the early medieval Italian chronicles and several hagiographical works recorded their activities emphasize the relevance of their activities. The memory of the Muslim presence in those years did not disappear in the following centuries. Moreover, it was sometimes believed necessary to fill the gaps left in works written by early medieval authors and to change or omit details of their accounts that were not consonant with later concepts held about Christian and Muslim relationships. The goal of this article is to examine these later rewrites and the reasons behind them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes how the neighbors of the Byzantines, the Lombards (who occupied a portion of southern Italy), and the Normans (who put an end to Byzantine rule in southern Italy in 1071), described their common adversary. The examination of the features that the chroniclers living in early medieval southern Italy attributed to the Byzantines demonstrates that, at least for this part of Europe, there is evidence of strong hostility to Byzantium before the twelfth century, a period traditionally perceived as crucial for the deterioration of relations between Westerners and Constantinople. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an essay showing the key phases of the evolution of the word Venice before it became the modern city in Italy. Topics discussed include the geographical explanation of Lombard historian Paul the Deacon on ancient Venetia and the modern-day Veneto, the early stages of the formation of a "Venetia of the islands," and Lombard's invasion of Italy. Also mentioned are the kingdoms the Lombards created which were then subdivided into duchies including Verona, Vicenza and Trento.

At the end of the ninth century, the Cassinese monk Erchempert composed a chronicle (ca. 774-889) blaming the southern Italian Lombard leaders for recent Lombard defeats. Erchempert hoped that future generations might learn from their forebears' folly. This article analyzes the reasons why, in the wake of his monastery's destruction by Muslim raiders, Erchempert did not express a generalized criticism toward all the elites of his homeland. The article also demonstrates that Erchempert's attachment to his people and his pride in being Lombard sometimes led him to stray from his intended narrative of Lombard failures and catastrophes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prognostic factors affecting outcome of traumatic brain injury (TBI), despite their importance, are still under discussion. The purpose of this study was to describe risk factors of in-hospital mortality and outcome at 1 year in a homogeneously treated population of patients with moderate/severe TBI., Methods: A total of 193 consecutive patients with moderate or severe TBI (Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS] score 13-3, including patients with initial GCS score of 13 at high risk for subsequent neurologic deterioration), admitted to the intensive care unit, were retrospectively analyzed. In-hospital mortality and unfavorable outcome at 1 year, based on a Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended score ≤4, were considered as primary and secondary outcomes., Results: At 1 year, unfavorable outcome occurred in 47.2%, including an in-hospital mortality of 19.7%. Increasing age, GCS motor score <3, coagulation disorders, and intracranial hypertension were acute risk factors of in-hospital mortality. In the 155 remaining survivors, Oxford Handicap Scale (OHS), posttraumatic cerebral infarction, cerebrospinal fluid disturbances, and length of intensive care unit stay were associated with unfavorable outcome at 1 year, in univariate analysis. A cutoff OHS score ≥3 discriminated the probability of an unfavorable outcome (area under the curve, 0.87; P < 0.001; specificity, 74%; sensitivity, 84%). Combining the effect of acute and subacute variables in a multivariate analysis, increasing age and OHS score were independent predictors of outcome., Conclusions: The results of this retrospective study confirmed age as the main acute risk factor and identified OHS as new potential subacute predictor of unfavorable outcome in moderate and severe TBI., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Few data on the thromboembolic (TE) risk of paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) are available. This study aimed to assess the incidence of TE events in paroxysmal and persistent AF., Methods: We performed a subset post hoc analysis of 771 patients with paroxysmal and 463 with persistent AF enrolled in the multicenter, prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled GISSI-AF trial - comparing the efficacy of valsartan versus placebo in preventing AF recurrences - where the choice of antithrombotic treatment was left to the judgment of the referring physician. TE and major outcome events were centrally validated. AF recurrences were detected by frequent clinic visits and a transtelephonic monitoring device with weekly and symptomatic transmissions., Results: Eighty-five percent of patients had a history of hypertension, and the 7.7% had heart failure, left ventricular dysfunction, or both. The mean CHADS2 score was 1.41±0.84. TE and major bleeding events were observed at a low incidence among the overall population at 1-year follow-up (0.97% and 0.81%, respectively). The univariate and multivariable analyses revealed no statistically significant differences in the incidence of TE, major bleeding events or mortality in paroxysmal and persistent AF patients. TE events were more common among women than men (p=0.02). The follow-up examination showed under- or overtreatment with warfarin in many patients, according to guideline suggestions. Warfarin was more frequently prescribed to patients with persistent AF (p<0.0001) and patients with AF recurrences (p<0.0001). AF recurrences were noninvasively detected in 632 (51.2%) patients. In patients without AF recurrences, the TE event rate was 0.5% versus 1.74%, 1.28%, and 1.18% for those with only symptomatic, only asymptomatic or both symptomatic and asymptomatic AF recurrences, respectively, but the difference was not statistically significant, even after adjusting for warfarin treatment and the CHADS2 score (HR 2.93; CI 95%; 0.8-10.9; p=0.11)., Conclusions: TE and major bleeding events showed a very low incidence in the GISSI-AF trial population, despite under- or overtreatment with warfarin in many patients. TE events had a similar rate in paroxysmal and persistent AF., Trial Registration Number: NCT00376272.