Murder Made in Italy: Homicide, Media, and Contemporary Italian Culture

The shocking conviction in an Italian court of Amanda Knox, an American student accused of murder, once more drew attention to crime and punishment in Italy. Looking at media coverage of three earlier, very prominent murder cases, Murder Made in Italy explores the cultural issues raised by the murders and how they reflect developments in Italian civil society over the past 20 years. Providing detailed descriptions of each murder, investigation, and court case, Ellen Nerenberg addresses the perception of lawlessness in Italy, the country’s geography of crime, its welfare state and savage youth culture, and the generalized fear for public safety among the Italian population. Nerenberg examines the fictional and nonfictional representations of these crimes through the lenses of moral panic, media spectacle, true crime writing, and the abject body.