Travels with a Medieval Queen: The Journey of a Sicilian Princess to Reclaim Her Father's Crown

click here for more details, find new or used items	Mary Taylor-Simeti New from £2.98 Used from £0.34 Pages: 368 (Paperback) ISBN: 1842126482 Pub: Weidenfeld & Nicholson history Pub date: 2003-01-02 Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 339561

Reader Reviews:

Another wonderful book from Mary Taylor Simeti (4/4 people found this helpful)

Mary Taylor Simeti must be one of the most interesting writers on Sicily and Italy today. Her Travels with a Medieval Queen, which follows her earlier books (On Persephone's Island; Sicilian Food: A History of the Island's Cuisine; and Bitter Almonds: Recollections and Recipes from a Sicilian Girlhood), is a reconstruction of the journey made by the 12th-century Sicilian princess Constance of Hauteville to marry the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa. It offers a fascinating perspective on contemporary Sicily and Italy as, eight hundred years later, Simeti herself traces the route Constance took from Sicily to Germany and back again. Sometimes contemporary urban sprawl has completely obliterated any evidence of Constance; at others, the unchanged medieval towns prompt easy reflection on what Constance may have felt during her journey.

A long-time resident of Sicily and a chronicler of its history and folklore, Simeti is the ideal companion on Constance's journey. If you loved Alison Weir's Eleanor of Aquitaine, this book is for you -- and you'll also love Simeti's earlier books.

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