Alumni Travel Reading Lists 2020: Portrait of Italy

Dianne Hales provides an entertaining account of the many ways Italian culture has influenced culture around the world.

Addresses the question of how Italy's modern history, from its prolonged process of nation-building in the nineteenth century to the economic crises of the last two decades, has produced a blend of modernity and traditionalism, which makes it unique within Western Europe.

Killinger considers Italy and Italians today taking into consideration the contributions of Italian Americans.

This collection brings together a selection of scholarly essays that explore the ways in which various people and groups in Italian society reacted to the advent of cinema.

Italian cinema is internationally recognized for its ground-breaking Neo-realism, Commedia all'italiana, Spaghetti Westerns, and the horror movies of the seventies. These essays go beyond the recognized Italian cinematic genres to focus on Italian cinema's connection to literature.

This book examines the national archive of film based on sound and listening using a holistic audio-visual approach.

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius was the most widely recognized volcanic eruption in recorded history, and the ruins it left behind are our most valuable archaeological record of day-to-day life in the Roman empire. This illustrated book illuminates the daily lives of the people of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

The removal of volcanic debris at Pompeii and Herculaneum, and the clearance of centuries of accumulated soil and vegetation from the ancient port city of Rome at Ostia, have provided us with the most important evidence for Roman urban life. Work goes on at all three sites to this day, and they continue to produce new surprises.

The fortifications of Pompeii stand as the ancient city's largest, oldest, and best preserved public monument. Each intervention on the fortifications marked a pivotal event of social and political change. This study redefines Pompeii's fortifications as a central monument that physically and symbolically shaped the city.

Italy has long been romanticized as an idyllic place. Italian food and foodways play an important part in this romanticization. This book examines how this perception has been constructed, sustained, and challenged.

This book profiles traditional artisans of Italy, from the Alps to Sicily, who persist despite the lowered standards of regulations that favor mass production.

This book provides insight into the preparation, eating, and the sociability of dining in Renaissance Italy. It takes readers behind the scenes to the Renaissance kitchen and dining room, where everyday meals as well as lavish banquets were prepared and consumed.

Parasecoli takes readers across the regions of Italy to explore the evolution of Italian cuisine and Italy's international renown as a destination for foodies.

Covering all regions from Turin's Palace of Labor in northern Italy to the Monreale Cathedral and Cloister in Sicily and all periods of Italian architecture from the first-century Colosseum in Rome to the Casa Rustica apartments built in Milan in the 1930s this volume examines over 70 of Italy's most important architectural landmarks.

A leading architect of the Italian Renaissance, Baldassarre Peruzzi (1481-1536) has, until now, been a little-known, enigmatic figure.This book reveals the full scope and artistic mastery of Peruzzi's work and its enduring influence.

Fired clay tiles were initially intended for the purpose of providing waterproof and fireproof cover for thatch-roofed homes. By the seventh and sixth-century in Etruria and Central Italy, the Etruscans used them as exceptional decorative additions to domestic and religious architecture.

From as early as the 1500s, artists visiting from all over drew sketches to capture memorable scenes. This collection brings together some of these views, which may serve to transport the reader to Italy. Something to pour over and reflect on after you return from your travels.

This book is a first full-length study of the influences of Renaissance prints on maiolica pottery and bronze plaquettes. Gabbarelli examines the works and designs of such artists as Mantegna, del Pollaiuolo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Parmigianino, and Albrecht Dürer.

Isaacson delved into thousands of pages from Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks to research this new text on da Vinci's life and work.

This important and innovative book by Penn Professor David Young Kim (History of Art) examines artists' mobility as a critical aspect of Italian Renaissance art.

Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William arrives to investigate. When his mission is overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William turns detective, using the insight and tools available to him in his time and place.

Svevo tells the story of a hapless, doubting, guilt-ridden man paralyzed by fits of ecstasy and despair and impressed by his own cleverness. His doctor advises him, as a form of therapy, to write his memoirs. In doing so, Zeno reconstructs and ultimately reshapes the events of his life into a palatable reality for himself.

This is the first of four connected novels by Ferrante that focus on the coming of age and relationship of two friends, Elena and Lila. Ferrante creates a portrait of these two women that is also the story of a nation, a neighborhood, and a city. Discover other books by Ferrante, including those in the Neapolitan Novels (Amica geniale) series

This heavily illustrated book presents an exhibition that examined contemporary Italian fashion and pop culture.

The14th Century in Northern Italy was a time of wild fashion excess. Stuard investigates the taste and choices of those who had the means to pay increased attention to fashion and ornamentation. Read more at the University of Pennsylvania Press.