Bologna, 1858: A police posse, acting on the orders of a Catholic inquisitor, invades the home of a Jewish merchant, Momolo Mortara, wrenches his crying six-year-old son from his arms, and rushes him off in a carriage bound for Rome. With this terrifying scene David I. Kertzer b…
Documents the story of the violent revolution that signaled the end of the political power of the popes and resulted in the emergence of modern Europe. Days after his prime minister was assassinated in the middle of Rome in November 1848, Pope Pius IX found himself a virtual pr…
