In the course the main lines that identify the contents of the modern age from the XV century to the first half of the XVII with preliminary attention to the historiographic categories, to the interpretative orientations, to the sources and the instruments proper of the discipline will be analyzed and discussed. The educational objective is to offer students solid foundations for acquiring a cognitive and critical familiarity with the "general history" of the modern age and in particular that linked to the events that have characterized the geopolitical area of ​​central Europe (Bohemia , Hungary, Rzeczpospolita (Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania), principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia and the Ottoman Empire.
The lessons will focus mainly on the following topics: Europe and its interrelation with non-European worlds; Crisis and identity of Italy and modern Europe; The ancient regime society: classes and classes; Economic models: the land, work, finance and the market in the modern age; Political systems and their dynamics: empire, monarchies and republics; Family and demography. A special and in-depth examination of the diplomatic relations between the Holy See and continental and center Europe will be made.