Edmond About travelled through every part of the Papal States, talked with people of all opinions, and began publishing his notes until the pontifical government’s outcry forced him to stop. He then wrote this book, examining the pope as a temporal king, the patrimony of his state, and how plebeians, middle classes and nobility fared under clerical rule.
A witty, partisan classic of the Italian unification debate, still lively reading. Download the free EPUB.