La Grande Italia traces the history of the myth of the nation in Italy
along the curve of its rise and fall throughout the twentieth century.
Starting with the festivities for the fiftieth anniversary of the
unification of Italy in 1911 and ending with the centennial celebrations
of 1961, Emilio Gentile describes a dense sequence of events: from
victorious Italian participation in World War I through the rise and
triumph of Fascism to Italy's transition to a republic.
Gentile's definition of "Italians" encompasses the whole range of
political, cultural, and social actors: Liberals and Catholics,
Monarchists and Republicans, Fascists and Socialists. La Grande Italia
presents a sweeping study of the development of Italian national
identity in all its incarnations throughout the twentieth century. This
important contribution to the study of modern Italian nationalism and
the ambition to achieve a "great Italy" between the unification of Italy
and the advent of the Italian Republic will appeal to anyone interested
in modern European history, Fascism, and nationalism.
Best Books for Special Interests, selected by the American Association
of School Librarians, and Best Books for Regional General Interests,
selected by the Public Library Association