Italy since 1945 [Paperback]

Italy since 1945sets in context the tremendous changes that Italy has undergone in the last 55 years. In place of the land of pizza, sunshine, and soccer, McCarthy describes a developing nation: an economy that has found its own road to success via thepiccole impresewith an increasingly strong stockmarket and more sophisticated banking; a dynamic, traditional, family-centered society; and a political system struggling to modernize after forty years of Christian Democrat rule and Communist opposition. McCarthy also looks at the role of the Church, including Pius XII's wartime activities and the 'foreign pope', John-Paul II before finally turning to sport in Italy - the only country to have 3 daily newspapers devoted to the subject.

Authoritative, accessible, and absorbing, the book examines modern Italy through the eyes of 10 leading commentators and explores the Italian experience in the wider context of both the nation's past and its wider contemporary European position.

Notes on Authors
Introduction,Patrick McCarthy
Italian Society Transformed,Percy Allum
Evolution of the Economy,Vera Zamagni
Political Development,Gianfranco Pasquino
Italy and the World since 1945,John L.Harper
Outline of the History of Italian Environmental Policies in the post war period,Simonetta Tunesi
The Church in post war Italy,Patrick McCarthy
The Mafia,Salvatore Lupo
Sport,Stefano Pivato
Memory and Identity: Popular Culture in post war Italy,Stephen Gundle
Impegnoand the Encounter with Modernity: 'High' Culture in post war Italy,Robert S.C.Gordon
Conclusion,Patrick McCarthy
Further Reading
Chronology
Maps

Patrick McCarthyis Professor of European Studies at John Hopkins University, Bologna.