Contemporary Italy

This book offers an original and comprehensive study of the memory of the Rogo di Primavalle, a fatal arson attack on the home of a far-right family on 16 April 1973. Perpetrated by members of the militant left group Potere Operaio, this was the first attack on a domestic space during Italy’s Years of Lead. Through analysis of media coverage, books, and social media; observation of commemoration ceremonies; visits to sites of memory; and oral history interviews conducted by the author, The Politics of Sacrifice argues that memory of the Rogo di Primavalle has been instrumentalised by neo-fascist groups over the past 50 years. Drawing on contemporary theoretical debates relating to public and private memories, King connects the construction of a narrative of sacrifice to challenges faced by the institutional far right from the time of the Movimento Sociale Italiano in the 1970s, Alleanza Nazionale in the mid-1990s, and Fratelli d’Italia today. With the far right on the rise in Italy and abroad, the book identifies the characteristics of remembering that define far-right memory culture and investigates the role of memory in building support for the far right over time.

This essential book fills a serious gap in the field by synthesizing modern Italian history and placing it in a fully European context. Emphasizing globalization, Italy traces the country's transformation from a land of emigration to one of immigration and its growing cultural importance. Including coverage of the April 2008 elections, this updated edition offers expanded examinations of contemporary Italy's economic, social, and cultural development, a deepened discussion on immigration, and four new biographical sketches.

This essential book fills a serious gap in the field by synthesizing modern Italian history and placing it in a fully European context. Emphasizing globalization, Italy traces the country?s transformation from a land of emigration to one of immigration and its growing cultural importance. Including coverage of the April 2008 elections, this updated edition offers expanded examinations of contemporary Italy's economic, social, and cultural development, a deepened discussion on immigration, and four new biographical sketches.