Darkest Italy The Nation And Stereotypes Of The Mezzogiorno, : The Nation and Stereotypes of the Mezzogiorno 1860-1900

he preparation and publication of this book has been so drawn out (through no fault of St. Martin's Press, it should be stressed) that a list of all the people who have played an important role in it would read like an index to my personal and academic autobiography over a decade. So many members of the community of scholars working on Italy have influenced and helped me that I am reluctant to offer individual thanks here lest I miss anyone out. I hope, therefore, that my friends and colleagues will not think my gratitude any less sincere for its being expressed to them collectively. Nevertheless, I owe a special debt to David Forgacs, the supervisor of the doctoral thesis on which this book is based; his meticulous and stimulating comments on my submissions were of inestimable value. I would never have been able to pursue my work without Anna Maria Nardini's friendship and hospitality during my time in Italy. My thanks are also due to the institutions that provided the time and money without which it would have been impossible to write this book: the British Academy; the

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 the way Italy’s bourgeoisie imagined themselves as Italian. Drawing on recent theories of Otherness and national identity, Dickie brings a new light to an important and well-established area of Italian history--the relationship between the South and the nation as a whole.

Library Journal

Defining a nation's identity can involve the use of an other, a foreign and alien group to which the bourgeoisie can (favorably) compare themselves. For newly united Italy in the late 19th century, that group was its own southern inhabitants, especially Sicilians. Southerners were seen as violent, ill-mannered brigands and peasants, barely able to function in a civilized, industrialized society. Dickie (Italian studies, Univ. College, London) sketches aspects of this dialectic in four short essays, examining the objectification of southerners by politicians, writers, and the public at large. Dickie's tone is dense and theoretical enough to limit its audience to advanced scholars. Some of the sections are too narrow and specific, while others try to tackle too many topics too quickly. While some good points are made, the result is somewhat esoteric. For academic libraries with strong Italy collections only.--Robert Persing, Univ. of Pennsylvania Lib., Philadelphia Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

"Stereotypical representations of the Mezzogiorno are a persistent feature of Italian culture on all levels. In Darkest Italy, John Dickie analyzes these stereotypes in the post-Unification period, when the Mezzogiorno was widely seen as barbaric, violent, and 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 the way Italy's bourgeoisie imagined themselves as Italian. Drawing on recent theories of "Otherness" and national identity, Dickie brings a new light to a key and well-established facet of Italian history - the relationship between the South and the nation as a whole."--BOOK JACKET. 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 the way Italy s bourgeoisie imagined themselves as Italian. Drawing on recent theories of Otherness and national identity, Dickie brings a new light to an important and well-established area of Italian history - the relationship between the South and the nation as a whole. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgments......Page 8 Introduction......Page 10 1 A Word at War: The Italian Army and Brigandage......Page 34 2 The Birth of the Southern Question......Page 62 3 The Power of the Picturesque: Representations of the South in the Illustrazione Italiana......Page 92 4 Francesco Crispi’s sicilianità......Page 130 Conclusion......Page 152 Notes......Page 158 Bibliography......Page 198 B......Page 212 D......Page 213 H......Page 214 M......Page 215 R......Page 216 S......Page 217 Z......Page 218 Cover 1 Contents 6 Acknowledgments 8 Introduction 10 1 A Word at War: The Italian Army and Brigandage 34 2 The Birth of the Southern Question 62 3 The Power of the Picturesque: Representations of the South in the Illustrazione Italiana 92 4 Francesco Crispi’s sicilianità 130 Conclusion 152 Notes 158 Bibliography 198 Index 212 A 212 B 212 C 213 D 213 E 214 F 214 G 214 H 214 I 215 J 215 K 215 L 215 M 215 N 216 O 216 P 216 R 216 S 217 T 218 U 218 V 218 W 218 X 218 Y 218 Z 218 In four essays, Dickie (Italian studies, U. College London) looks at the centers of power in the newly unified Italy stereotyped people in its southern third as barbarous, primitive, violent, irrational, feminine, and African. He argues that such representation was a foil without which Italians in the north could not have forged a sense of national identity. Stereotypical representations of the Mezzogiorno are a persistent feature of Italian culture at all levels. John Dickie analyzes these stereotypes in the post Unification period, when the Mezzogiornio was widely seen as barbaric, violent or irrational, an "Africa" on the European continent