Stereotypical representations of the Mezzogiorno are a persistent feature of Italian culture at all levels. In Darkest Italy, John Dickie analyzes these stereotypes in the post-Unification period, when the Mezzogiorno was widely seen as barbaric, violent or irrational, an "Africa" on the European continent. At the same time, this is the moment when the Mezzogiorno became a metaphor for the state of the country as a whole, the index of Italy s modernity. Dickie argues that these stereotypes, rather than being a symptom of the failings of national identity in Italy, were actually integral to...

There is no European society whose modern history has been more deeply marked by disasters, both natural and social, than has Italy's. Disasters whether epidemics, earthquakes, floods, war, or terrorism--test the social fabric and the political system to their limits, as survival and rebuilding draw on the deepest cultural reserves. This book brings together new research on all aspects of the Italian experience of disaster from unification to the present day. It book is a significant contribution both to the understanding of Italian history, and to the study of the impact of disasters on...

This work outlines and analyses the legislative activity of the European Union in an area which is experiencing exponential growth in terms of both commercial activity and legal significance. The book covers pending and proposed Internet-related law on contracts, copyright, data protection, commercial communications, financial services, electronic cash and electronic signatures.