456 pp. - colour ill. - softbound - 2nd ed. 2013
Italian text

2 editions
ITALIAN - ENGLISH

ALSO AS FREE BOOK (class B)

OLYMPIC GAMES TELL HISTORY THROUGH PHILATELIC IMAGES
Facts, curiosities, anecdotes, from Olympia to London 2012

Introduction by Giovanni Malagò, Chairman of CONI

Through postage stamps, some essays, colour and printing proofs, postcards, even rare philatelic cancellations, and other postal documents, the Olympic Games phenomenon, analysed following political, social and time elements, religious and social aspects, discoveries and inventions, Coubertin and the XX century events.

A new kind of collection, giving importance not only to main protagonists, organizers and athletes, but also to events and people that have characterized and influenced about 3000 years of history. A well documented and detailed history, illustrated by thousands of philatelic and postal images.

The book is divided into four parts.

Part One - "The Games in Ancient Greece" - This section provides information concerning the most significant games in Ancient Greece, highlighting myth, legend and religious and social aspects.

Part Two - "The Revival" - After a gap that followed the end of the ancient Greek games, the modern Olympics were born. Here, above all in the eighteenth century, we come across the most important technological advances, outstanding historical events and prominent sporting achievement, all of which had a considerable influence on Pierre de Coubertin, the man who subsequently became a crucial figure in the Olympic revival. World events, ranging from the use of oil in industry, the discovery of electricity and invention of the telephone, were decisive in their contribution to the revival of the sport's world - to means of transport (which made getting from one place to another quicker and easier) and the great archaeological discoveries…; from Marxism to the Industrial Revolution, followed by the birth of Rugby, Oxford and Munch Wenloch with Père Didon and Evangelis Zappas.

Part Three - "Pierre Fredy de Decoubertin" - The revival of the Olympic games as seen through the work of this charismatic character.

Part Four - "The Games of Modern Era" - A look at the modern Olympics. This chapter examines the period of the Olympics ranging from Athens 1896 to London 2012. Not only the usual chronological list of dates and figures, but detailed information linking Olympia to world events and society in general. It focuses on people and the most relevant facts which influenced events in that period. The First World War, Nazism and its downfall, the Popular Olympics in Barcelona, concentration camps, the birth of Israel with all its inherent problems, China and Taiwan, Vietnam and Korea: the Maccabiah Games, the Spartakiads, the Asian Games, the Paralympics, apartheid, doping, Islamic terrorism… in other words, modern history, as seen through the eyes of the Olympic Games.
It also includes amusing facts and anecdotes relating to athletes who have, over the years, added lustre to the Olympic movement.