Italian Studies: Books

Italy at the Polls 2022: The Right Strikes Back

Italian politics has changed course yet again. Thanks to the outcome of the 2022 general election, a coalition dominated, for the first time, by a party of the far right has taken office under Giorgia Meloni, the first woman to serve as prime minister in Italy's republican history. Italy has always been a kind of 'political laboratory' for Western democracies - one in which new political phenomena have developed with considerable potency. Consequently, the electoral analyses presented in this book make it possible for the reader to understand the challenges and related consequences that established democracies are currently facing, beyond Italy (Provided by Publisher).

A Grammar of Piedmontese : A Minority Language of Northwest Italy

Cerea, madamin, andoma bin? Less than a century ago, this was one of the most frequent greetings heard in Piedmont, a region in northwest Italy. Today, however, Piedmontese is severely endangered. This volume presents the first widely accessible and comprehensive grammatical description of the contemporary koine, covering its phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, pragmatics and typology, and drawing examples from both oral and written sources. Data on the history of the language and the local dialects and notes on revitalization efforts are also included (Provided by Publisher).

This title was acquired through the Library's Order a Book service.

A Companion to Italian Cinema

Includes essays from both established and more recent scholars, the Companion considers traditional areas of research such as neorealism, auteur cinema, commedia all'italiana, Italian silent cinema, politics, Catholicism, and terrorism. A significant section of the volume is also dedicated to more recent issues such as feminism, queer cinema, immigration, and digitalization. This volume addresses major films in the history of Italian cinema, from Cabiria (1914) to La grande bellezza (2013), and major directors such as Rossellini, Fellini, Antonioni, and Bertolucci. The role of music and issues of distribution and reception are also considered, and a comprehensive overview of the history of Italian cinema studies is provided. The result is a comprehensive, cutting-edge collection that will become a standard resource for academic and non-academic purposes alike (Provided by Publisher).

Conspiracy Theories in Contemporary Italy: Cultural Production and Political Uses

This volume explores the role played by conspiracy narratives in the contemporary Italian political, cultural, and social context, through a series of case studies. It begins with a historical and genealogical account of the troubled success of Italian conspiracy thinking from the early 1970s to the present day. Amongst the issues examined are the unclear division between legitimate/illegitimate forms of knowledge, the use of conspiracy as a confrontational discursive device, the emergence of moral panic and the stabilization of information outlets against dominant official explanations. The analysis covers the case of a well-known national survey, and a digital platform specialising in conspiracy storytelling. The second axis of the book concerns the pervasive use of conspiracy as a theory or narrative that currently circulates in various Italian cultural fields: multiculturalism, immigration, and racism; Catholic traditionalism; football fandom; small business economics; cooking and food. This volume will be of interest to researchers of conspiracy theories, and Italian politics and history.

(Provided by Publisher).

This title was acquired by the Library's Order a Book Service.

Bruegel & l'Italia = Bruegel and Italy : Proceedings of the International Conference held in the Academia Belgica in Rome, 26-28 September 2019

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, celebrated for his vivid depictions of peasant life and winter landscapes, is often associated with the Low Countries. Yet his work reflects influences beyond the local, notably the Alpine rock formations he encountered during his journey to Italy around 1552. Although few artworks from his Italian period survive, evidence suggests Bruegel travelled extensively, reaching Rome, Naples, and Messina. These experiences left subtle but significant traces in his later compositions, shaping his distinctive hybrid landscapes.

This book re-examines Bruegel’s Italian encounter within a broader cultural and historical framework. It explores the dynamic exchange between Italy and the Low Countries—artistic, political, and economic—during Bruegel’s time. Rather than focusing solely on his travels, the study investigates why Bruegel undertook this journey despite leaving no direct copies of Italian art. By analysing networks, traditions, and conditions that influenced his dialogue with Italy, the authors offer fresh insights into one of art history’s most enigmatic masters. (Provided by Publisher.)