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A sparkling history of Italy from the post-war to the present by renowned historian John Foot

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A sparkling history of Italy from the post-war to the present by renowned historian John Foot

Italy emerged from the Second World War in ruins. Divided, invaded and economically broken, it was a nation that some claimed had ceased to exist. By the 1960s, Italy could boast the fastest-growing economy in the world, as rural society disappeared almost overnight.
In The Archipelago, acclaimed historian John Foot chronicles Italy´s tumultuous history from the post-war period to the present. From the silent assimilation of fascists into society after 1945 to the troubling reign of Silvio Berlusconi, and from the artistic peak of neorealist cinema to the celebration of Italy´s 150th birthday in 2011, he examines both the corrupt and celebrated sides of the country.
While often portrayed as a failed state on the margins of Europe, Italy has instead been at the centre of innovation and change - a political laboratory. Through stories of trials, TV programmes, songs and football matches, moments of violence and beauty, epochal social transformation and suffocating continuities, this new history tells the fascinating story of a country always marked by scandal but with the constant ability to re-invent itself.
Comprising original research and lively insights, The Archipelago chronicles the crises and modernisations of over seventy years of post-war Italy, from its fields, factories, squares and housing estates to the political intrigue of Rome.

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It´s an astonishing achievement, and structurally so innovative: a pointillistic portrait of a complicated country as the title suggests. It captures the sweep of post-war Italian history but is so precise and detailed as well. The assembling of great stories, anecdotes, quotations and characters makes reading it effortless but also immensely rewarding Tobias Jones

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Foot, John
John Foot is Professor of Modern Italian History in the Department of Italian, University of Bristol. He has published many books both in Italy and in the UK and lives in London.

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