Modern Italy: A Very Short Introduction

Description

This Very Short Introduction considers the history of Italy from the Risorgimento (the movement leading to Italian Unification in 1861) to the present. It also discusses Italy's political system and style of government; economic modernisation; emigration, internal migration and immigration; and the modern Italian culture and lifestyle.

• Covers the history of Italy from the Risorgimento (Resurgence), the movement leading to Italian Unification in 1861, to the present
• Addresses the question of whether modern Italy is a modern country, and explores the extent to which modernity still represents a shared vision among Italian intellectuals, political leaders, and ordinary people
• Contemplates themes of identity and asks what Modern Italy stands for by looking at the different cultural and political projects of modernity which have unfolded in Italy since the Risorgimento
• Part of the Very Short Introductions series - over seven million copies sold worldwide

About the Author(s)

Anna Cento Bull, Professor of Italian Studies, University of Bath

Anna Cento Bull is Professor of Italian Studies at the University of Bath. She is the author of numerous books on Italian History and Politics, including From Peasant to Entrepreneur. The Survival of the Family Economy in Italy (with P. Corner, Berg, 1993), Social Identities and Political Cultures in Italy (Berghahn, 2000), The Lega Nord and the Northern Question in Italian Politics (with M. Gilbert, Palgrave MacMillan, 2001), and Ending Terrorism in Italy (with P. Cooke, Routledge, 2013). Her work on Italy has been wide-ranging, covering the economy and society, culture and identity, contemporary politics, terrorism, and collective memory. From 2005 to 2010 she was Editor of the interdisciplinary journal Modern Italy (Taylor and Francis) and in this role she both promoted and became familiar with new, original and ground-breaking scholarly work on all aspects of modern and contemporary Italy.

Table of Contents

Introduction
1:Projects of modernity
2:Governing Italy
3:Made in Italy
4:Emigration, immigration and citizenship
5:Art, culture, sport and diplomacy: Italy's 'soft' power
Conclusion
References
Further Reading
Index

Reviews

"They say 'good things come in small packages' and this compact tome definitely proves the point. Packed into its 140-odd pages is all any italophile needs to know about the evolution of Modern Italy from the Risorgimento in the mid-1800s to the present day ... this snappy small-format guide is crammed with detail but never dry - the tone easy and accessible. An excellent overview, not to be missed." - Italia!