View a YouTube Video on The Priest’s Hat

View a YouTube video by translator Steve Eaton on Verbal Exchange, “The Priest’s Hat: The Story Behind Italy's First Crime Novel,”  

Steve discusses the novel and author, the actual historical event on which De Marchi based this novel, and the sensational reaction of Italian society to this murder. Please have a look at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pXAXDS-LxU

Hell on the Radio

On Sunday, September 26th, Eileen Gardiner will be interviewed on Tapestry, Canadian Broadcasting’s weekly show on faith. The show will be devoted to notions of the afterlife, and Gardiner’s segment will be discussing medieval and modern notions of hell. Mary Hynes hosts. Like NPR’s Speaking of Faith, this weekly program is an “engaging, provocative and unexpected hour of radio: an hour in which rabbis and poets get equal time on the topic of faith, science-fiction writers and physicist-priests ponder the great creation myths, athletes explore the hero’s journey as a spiritual metaphor, and architects examine the idea of space for the soul.”

Tapestry airs on CBC Radio One on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 Atlantic, Eastern and Central; 3:00 Pacific; and 4:00 Mountain. It is rebroadcast on Thursday at 3:00. After the first airing on September 26th, you can listen to the show or download a podcast at http://www.cbc.ca/tapestry .

Dr. Gardiner is the author of several books on Hell, including Visions of Heaven and Hell Before Dante, and is the curator of the website “Hell-on-Line.” She was recently one of the scholars featured on the History Channel special, “Gates of Hell,” which is now also available on DVD and iTunes.

Eileen Gardiner on History Channel

Eileen Gardiner will be appearing on the History Channel’s two-hour documentary, “Gates of Hell.” It premiers Tuesday, August 17, at 8:00 PM. Dr. Gardiner will be discussing St. Patrick’s Purgatory on Lough Derg, Ireland. Her related book, The Pilgrim’s Way to St. Patrick’s Purgatory, has just been published by Italica Press.

“Gates of Hell” explores six places across the globe believed to be actual entrances into Hell. They include a volcano in Iceland, a cave in the jungles of Central America, a lake of fire in Africa, Lago Averno outside Naples, a pagan sacred site in Greece, and St. Patrick’s Purgatory in Ireland. According to ancient myth and legend, each one is a passage to the infernal otherworld. Even today, some believe they are still portals. They share striking similarities. The History Channel visits these locations, and along the way, reveals how the concept of Hell emerged in history and why it still evokes such fascination today.

Please tune in!