Italy and the Bourgeoisie: The Re-Thinking of a Class

Italian bourgeoisie appears to have lived through a period of intense rethinking of its own role in society. This collection of essays examines what has been, and will remain, essentially Italian in the development of the Italian bourgeoisie from 1870 onward. The starting point of the liberal-bourgeois cycles full emergence and making in the peninsula is traditionally marked by the accomplishment of the Italian national unification, an event that took place in the heart of the nineteenth century. Starting with the role of the individual facing major changes and choices in post-Unification Italy each essay analyzes a particular aspect of bourgeoisie to be intended as the ruling classwhile Italy undergoes rather drastic political, economic, and social transformations to arrive at the issues concerning contemporary Italian society and its heterodox social heritage, marked by historical events of great importance, particularly the two World Wars, the Fascist ventennio, the colonial enterprises of Mussolinis regime, the Jewish persecution, the aftermath of World War II, and domestic terrorism in the so-called lead years. The role of Italian bourgeoisie as an indicator, inspiration, and conscience in current pop and high culture, what this means to today’s intellectuals, while also tracing the origins of this Italian identity in the past century is at the core of these essays.