A. J. Frothingham, one of the founding fathers of art history, here explores the much neglected topic – both in his day and in ours – of Byzantine influences in the art and architecture of medieval Italy. The Byzantine empire, long dismissed as the “decadent” shadow of its Roman roots, is currently taking its place in academic discourse as a truly unique blending of Greek and Roman influences into one of the most long-lasting empires in Western history, a cradle of learning and culture directly continuing the legacy of Classical Greece and Rome. Here Frothingham's championing of Byzantine art and insistence on the importance of its impact in Italy is truly ahead of its time, and his work is still valuable in correcting the anti-Byzantine slant of traditional Classical and Medieval scholarship.