Paul Oldfield's second major book on the society of southern Italy moves from urban polities to explore the religious life of the peninsula. Drawing upon local studies of specific cults as well as broader syntheses of the complex ecclesiastical history of the region just prior to, and during, the Norman conquest, the book first examines the varieties of sanctity (Latin, Greek, eremitic, coenobitic and, in some cases, charismatic) before moving on to consider the attraction of cults in this region to pilgrim traffic. The section on pilgrimage underlines the contrast between those cults that attracted long-distance travellers and those whose reach remained highly localised and – in some cases – very brief. Of particular interest is Oldfield's close analysis of the discontinuities apparent in some cults, although in arguing for the disruption caused by the Muslim conquest of Sicily, he gives rather too much credit to Charles Stanton's recent work on Norman naval power, and totally omits any consideration of Michael McCormick's work in his analysis of saints (and relics) on the move in the early medieval period. The intransigence of some of the hagiographical evidence becomes clear as Oldfield re-uses particular examples through the book – some editorial intervention might have avoided the unfortunate repetitions visible within chapter ii and between chapters iii and iv. These points notwithstanding, the book helpfully brings to an Anglophone readership a comprehensive overview of recent Italian scholarship, as well as highlighting the variations in evidence and tradition between different parts of the south.