Encyclopedia of Contemporary Italian Culture

Paperback: 704 pages
Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (January 16, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0415285569
ISBN-13: 978-0415285568

From Library Journal
An abecedarian volume edited by Moliterno (formerly Italian studies, Australian National Univ.), this thorough, expansive reference book focuses on post World War II Italian culture. Entries, which range from fotoromanzo (photo romance story), poetry, and polenta to film director and art critic Valerio Zurlini and noted conductor Claudio Abbado, are amply cross referenced. For example, the entry for Forza Italia (FI), the conservative political party founded in 1994, explains that the name (translated as Go Italy ) was derived from a slogan for Italy!s national soccer team, Forza Azzura. It then goes on to reference its founder, media mogul Silvio Berlusconi; his corporation, Finivest, which owns a publishing house, a soccer team, and many of Italy!s newspapers; and the various right-wing parties that allied themselves with FI. (Like all entries, this one offers books and articles for further reading.) An entry on Pier Paolo Pasolini, the famous filmmaker, poet, and novelist, guides readers to several other novelists and film directors of Pasolini!s time and to a section on neorealism and the tumultuous student movement of the 1960s (which, surprisingly, the left-wing Pasolini thought of as senseless). While most entries are brief and the majority deal with people, the book devotes substantial space to such topics as the eternal Southern Question. With more than 1000 entries, this title makes an excellent bookend to The Italian American Experience (LJ 2/1/00). Recommended for all libraries."Mark Rotella, Jersey City, NJ
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

From Booklist
The newest edition to Routledge's Encyclopedias of Contemporary Culture series is a useful reference for all things Italian in the post-1945 era. The series has already covered Britain (1999), France (1998), Germany [RBB N 15 99], and Spain [RBB N 15 99]. As stated in the introduction, the volume interprets culture in a very broad sense. Thus, the topics covered include politics, religion, recreation, art, education, people, and much more. Entries for things such as Arts festivals, Cycling , and Trade unions are all readily available. Edited by Moliterno, former convener of Italian Studies at the Australian National University, the work offers more than 900 entries from nearly 100 contributors. Entries are arranged alphabetically and range in length from a few short paragraphs to a few pages. Regardless of length, the entries are well written and clear. Although the book focuses on modern topics, historical background is provided whenever needed. Many entries offer references to books and periodicals for further reading, and cross-references to related topics are also provided. Biographical entries, of which there are many, include birth and death dates and places. A thematic entry list can be found at the beginning of the book, a useful tool for those needing to find many entries on a broad topic. General readers will find this work a valuable source for needed definitions, concise but informative descriptions, and biographical material. Specialized researchers will likely appreciate the book's wide-ranging topical coverage and additional references. Recommended for any academic or large public library with users needing expanded reference coverage of Italy.REVWR
Copyright American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

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