Product Description

Since its creation in 1861, Italy has struggled to develop an effective political system and a secure sense of national identity. This concise history, which covers the period from the fall of the Roman empire in the west to the present day, looks in particular at the difficulties Italy has faced during the last two centuries in forging a nation state. The opening chapters consider the geographical and cultural obstacles to unity, and survey the long centuries of political fragmentation in the peninsula since the sixth century. It was this legacy of fragmentation which Italy’s new rulers had to strive to overcome when the country became united, more by accident than design, in 1859–61. The book aims to weave together political, economic, social and cultural history, and stresses in particular the alternation between materialist and idealist programmes for forging a nation state.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #102294 in Books
• Published on: 1994-04-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 334 pages

Review
'... a detailed, well-structured guide to the problems that still dog the heels of this geographically booted country.' Teaching History

Review
‘… a detailed, well-structured guide to the problems that still dog the heels of this geographically booted country.’ Teaching History

Synopsis
Since its creation in 1861, Italy has struggled to develop an effective political system and a secure sense of national identity. This concise history, which covers the period from the fall of the Roman empire in the west to the present day, looks in particular at the difficulties Italy has faced during the last two centuries in forging a nation state. The opening chapters consider the geographical and cultural obstacles to unity, and survey the long centuries of political fragmentation in the peninsula since the sixth century. It was this legacy of fragmentation which Italy's new rulers had to strive to overcome when the country became united, more by accident than design, in 1859-61. The book aims to weave together political, economic, social and cultural history, and stresses in particular the alternation between materialist and idealist programmes for forging a nation state.

Customer Reviews

Great insight into Italy’s past – and present
This book offers the best introduction available to the history of Italy. In less than three hundred pages, Duggan offers a concise summary of the past 1600 years of the peninsula. His focus in this book is on the multitude of efforts during this period to build an Italian nation out of the rubble of the Roman empire, a goal only achieved in 1860 and then in an imperfect, fragmentary form, with subsequent generations left with the more difficult task of creating a national identity. Duggan recounts this with insight and the result is essential reading, not only for students of Italy’s past but for those seeking insight into the nation’s troubled present as well.

Great overview
As an introduction to Italian History particularly since 1860, this is an exceptional book. I found the chapters covering fascism particularly enlightening. I strongly recommend this as a starting point for anyone interested in improving their general knowledge on Italy.