The History Book Group will be discussing Basilica by R. A. Scotti on March 16 at 7:00. Join us every third Wednesday of the month for great history discussions.

Scotti’s Basilica is the story of a brilliant piece of architecture and the trials and tribulations of its creation. The second Saint Peters Basilica was the vision of Pope Julius II. It was to be bigger, better, and more beautiful than any building constructed up to that point. The creation of it would take years, require the destruction of the original Saint Peters Basilica, and draw in some of the greatest artistic minds of the Renaissance.

As the subtitle says, Scotti does an excellent job of giving the reader both the splendor and the scandal of the church of Peter. The descriptions of the church’s architecture are laid out in loving but approachable detail. However, inter-layered with this are decadent popes, jealous artists and dodgy building contractors. This back and forth keeps the reader from getting bogged down in the immense detail that any book on Saint Peters would require.

A great book for anyone interested not just in the history of art and architecture, but also the nitty-gritty politics of Renaissance Rome.

If you are interested in attending our History Book Group, our next book, to be discussed on April 20 at 7:00pm, is In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made by Norman F. Cantor. Copies of the book will be available at the library.

The schedule-so-far is as follows:

May 18th | Liberty’s Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World by Maya Jasanoff
June 15th | As If An Enemy’s Country: The British Occupation of Boston and the Origins of Revolution by Richard Archer