Italian Realisms and Idealisms.

What is it about?

This special issue of the Italianist collects ten essays that consider the multiple manifestations of realism and idealism in Italy from the Trecento to the present day. Notions of the ‘real Italy’ (and of ‘Italian realism’) remain fundamental for scholars working in various disciplines, while the exploration of the ideal Italies constructed throughout history continues to inspire innovative work on virtually every period of Italian culture. Rather than accepting the many assertions of realism and the many projections of idealism that have characterized Italian culture from its beginnings, this volume aims for a critical and multi-focal assessment of manifestations of realism and idealism in Italy. This introductory essay explains how and why the ten articles that follow fit together to give a comprehensive picture of realisms and idealisms in Italian culture from the Trecento to the present day.

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Why is it important?

Despite the pervasive importance of both realism and idealism to Italian culture, their different historical instantiations are rarely compared across time. Notions of the ‘real Italy’ (and of ‘Italian realism’) remain fundamental for scholars working in various disciplines, while the exploration of the ideal Italies constructed throughout history continues to inspire innovative work on virtually every period of Italian culture. This special issue of the Italianist includes essays by colleagues in the fields of Government, Intellectual History, Cultural History, and Film Studies in order to explore Italian realism from a number of angles, critically assessing rather than accepting the many assertions of realism and the many projections of idealism that have characterized Italian culture from its beginnings.