تحت طالِع الأسَد تاريخُ إيطاليَا الإسلاميَّة

n this book, Amedeo Feniello invites us to an exciting journey through the history of Italy during the Muslim presence in Sicily and southern Italy. The author guides us through events forgotten by most readers, especially Arabs. He starts with unfolding the first Muslim raids on the coasts of the Italian inland until Asad ibn al-Furat landed on the Sicilian coasts and confronted the Byzantines who had been ruling those areas. Then the entire conquest of Sicily, which was then ruled by Arab dynasties including Aghlabids, Kalbids (Banū Kalb) and others, until conquered in turn by the Normans. Through the eyes of the tenth-century Arab geographer and historian Ibn Hawqal, we see images of the country, wander through the alleys and markets of Palermo, and get to know its people. The explorer writer Ibn Jubayr takes us to other cities, including Syracuse, Trapani, and Castrogiovanni (modern Enna). Then we witness the verses of Ibn Hamdis, who makes the loss of Sicily unbearable to us, and feel nostalgic for its picturesque lands. Through renowned historians, travelers and poets, Feniello left no aspect of the story untouched. In a narrative style, he amazes us with pleasing scenes and guides us to an area that was once part of the Islamic world, where he left indelible marks in the memory of generations.