The Italian nation-state has been defined by practices of mobility. Tourists have flowed in from the era of the Grand Tour to the present, and Italians flowed out in massive numbers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries: Italians made up the largest voluntary emigration in recorded world history. As a bridge from Africa to Europe, Italy has more recently been a destination of choice for immigrants whose tragic stories of shipwreck and confinement are often in the news. This first-of-its-kind edited volume offers a critical accounting of those histories and practices, shedding new light on modern Italy as a flashpoint for mobilities as they relate to nationalism, imperialism, globalization, and consumer, leisure, and labor practices. The book's eight essays reveal how a country often appreciated for what seems immutable - its classical and Renaissance patrimony - has in fact been shaped by movement and transit.

About the Author

Ruth Ben-Ghiat is Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University.

Stephanie Malia Hom is President's Associates Presidential Professor of Italian at the University of Oklahoma.

Reviews

The methodological value of this volume consists precisely in finding connections between past and present while using the larger umbrella of mobilities studies as a comparative lens through which to study a variety of historical phenomena. The volume explores at great length the formation of Italianness through mobility.-Cristina Lombardi-Diop, Loyola University Chicago, Italian American Review, Volume 8, Number 1,

This is a great read for anyone who studies Italian emigration, colonialism or immigration, as it allows the reader to see quite clearly how these three topics are deeply interconnected. It lays bare the synchronic and diachronic global webs that run through Italy, connecting and disconnecting multiple flows of people.
Avy Valladares, Berkeley City College, Altreitalie

Book Information
ISBN 9780367869861
Author Ruth Ben-Ghiat
Format Paperback
Page Count 206
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 353g