In Marketing Modernity, Adam Arvidsson traces the development of Italy's postmodern consumer culture from the 1920s to the present day. In so doing, Arvidsson argues that the culture of consumption we see in Italy today has its direct roots in the social vision articulated by the advertising industry in the years following the First World War. He then goes on to discuss how that vision was further elaborated by advertising's interaction with subsequent big discourses in Twentieth Century Italy: fascism, post-war mass political parties and the counter-culture of the 1960s and 1970s.

Twentieth-century Italy was marked by a profound and often convulsive transformation in both society and culture, accompanied at various stages by war, violence and dictatorship. This was Italy’s ‘difficult’ entry into modernity. The voices of Italian literature responded to this transformation with a bewildering combination of excitement and anxiety, from the loud embrace of the new in Futurism to melancholy laments for tradition. In the process, some of the greatest works of modern literature were created.

Italian Resistance Writing is a collection of famous and rare archive texts about one of the more controversial periods in modern Italian history. The extracts are from a wide variety of different genres, including novels, memoirs, short stories, historical works and songs. Taking into account the significant changes in approach to, and interpretations of, the resistance movement, that have emerged since the early 1990s, Italian resistance writing includes works by, among others, Claudio Pauone, Italo Calvino, Gian Enrico Rusconi, Renata Vigano and Pietro Scoppola.

Given the centrality of Africa to Italy's national identity, a thorough study of Italian colonial history and culture has been long overdue. Two important developments, the growth of postcolonial studies and the controversy surrounding immigration from Africa to the Italian peninsula, have made it clear that the discussion of Italy's colonial past is essential to any understanding of the history and construction of the nation.

This rigorously compiled A-Z volume offers rich, readable coverage of the diverse forms of post-1945 Italian culture. With over 900 entries by international contributors, this volume is genuinely interdisciplinary in character, treating traditional political, economic, and legal concerns, with a particular emphasis on neglected areas of popular culture. Entries range from short definitions, histories or biographies to longer overviews covering themes, movements, institutions and personalities, from advertising to fascism, and Pirelli to Zeffirelli.

Lazzaro-Weiss studies the fiction of twenty-five contemporary Italian women writers. Arguing for a notion of gender and genre, she runs counter to many Anglo-American and French feminist theorists who contend that traditional genres cannot readily serve as vehicles for feminist expression.

A vivid new exploration of the operas of Puccini and sixteen of his Italian contemporaries, many never before published in English. Discusses the popularity of verismo,art nouveau and late Italian romanticism, and "the last acts" of opera composition before Fascism and World War II. A survey of sixty operas, production notes, map, and period illustrations. Whether one is new to opera or a seasoned listener, this book will be of value in increasing understanding of one of the most exciting and least acknowledged periods in the lyric theatre.

The contemporary Italian writer Gianni Celati has published work in many different genres, including critical and philosophical essays, fiction, and travel books. Well known in Italy, Celati is growing in popularity with readers in North America and England. This is the first book-length study in any language of his entire production of the last thirty-five years.

In a career that has spanned six decades-and shows no sign of slowing down-Dino DeLaurentiis has walked the cutting edge of lmmaking. He has personied the powerful, visionary Hollywood producer for one reason: he invented the role. Dino celebrates this living legend and his passionate, exhilarating life in the pictures. The son of an Italian pasta maker, DeLaurentiis was drawn to the cinema at an early age. He was essential in creating a groundbreaking Italian lm industry.

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In Italian Cultural Lineages, Jonathan White seeks answers to the elusive questions: what is Italian culture and what is the Italian identity? By tracing Italian life and art through several themes – viewing and spectatorship, fantasy, passion, justice, reputation, and lifestyles – White offers new ways of perceiving an ancient cultural tradition in the twenty-first century. In doing so, he challenges readers to discern rich poetic seams that bind together his varied subject matter.