Death and the Dolce Vita: The Dark Side of Rome in the 1950s

by Stephen Gundle

On 9 April 1953 an attractive twenty-one-year-old woman went missing from her family home in Rome. Thirty-six hours later her body was found washed up on a neglected beach at Torvaianica, forty kilometers from the Italian capital. Some said it was suicide; others, a tragic accident. The short life and tragic death of Wilma Montesi was played out against a fascinating backdrop. By the 1950s Italy, in the wake of Mussolini's brutal Fascist government, was in the process of reinventing itself. And with the help of Hollywood stars such as Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, it seemed to be succeeding. Suddenly Italy, Rome in particular, was the most glamorous place on earth. But the murder of Wilma Montesi exposed a darker side of Roman life—a life of corruption, cover-ups and carnal pleasures.

Genres: True Crime, Italy, History, Nonfiction

416 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2011

Reviews

[Wayne]

Oh,dear!!!
Is it ME?
Or is the style of this book so pedestrian and badly put together that it just doesn't seize and inflame you and have you engrossed.

I am reading another book like this,which is ENGROSSING... about how science was called in to solve suspected murders by poisoning and only because chemistry was becoming a respectable profession...the marriage of science and detective work.
So the story of the grisly crime on one side and then the history of the development of toxicology with the personalities involved on the other.
AND a decent author...Jurgen Thorwald.

In "Death and Dolce Vita" we have Movies and Hollywood given as part of a much wider background of Post-War Rome and the Gritty Reality of a Death. I Hope it is ME, but I came away from a second chunk of this book feeling...FLAT.

[Samantha · Rating 1 out of 5]

Beyond bad. The writing in this managed to make an interesting story come off as beyond dull. I was also stunned by how incredibly repetitive the content was. This part isn't the author's fault. He clearly did his research thoroughly. But did this book even have an editor? The final product was so clumsy, dull, and insistent on beating the proverbial dead horse that I can only conclude that whomever edited it was very poorly equipped to do the job.

[Matthias Jarosz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Judging by some of the other reviews on this forum, I think there is a fundamental misunderstanding about what this study sets out to achieve.

This is NOT a true crime story - although readers might be forgiven for thinking otherwise due to both the title and cover chosen by the publisher for the Kindle Version of this book. Canongate is a producer of mass market paperbacks and so, presumably, a decision was taken to present the study in such a way as to appeal to a general audience by packing what is fundamentally a deeply researched history of elite culture in 1950s Rome as, instead, a more popular/salacious work.

That is not to say that the work is inaccessible to an educated general reader. It is beautifully written - no small achievement given that Gundle has previously written for a largely academic audience - and manages to draw the reader into the murky world of post-war Italian politics and the seamy underside of Rome during the early Cold War. As the title suggests, Gundle is actively interrogating here the image of the city immortalised within Fellin's magnum opus, and he uses the Montesi murder case as a lens through which to shed light on Italian city during what was a transitional period in the country's history. Make no mistake, this is a serious work of social and cultural history. In my opinion, this is one of the few times I have a history that can genuinely be described as flawless.

[JW · Rating 3 out of 5]

An engrossing, but at times repetitive, account of a young woman’s mysterious death that resulted in a major scandal in 1950s Italy. Instead of “who done it”, the question became “who covered it up”. The author goes into depth to detail the social, political and cultural ramifications of the case. Interestingly enough, if Wilma Montesi had not met her untimely end, Fellini’s classic La Dolce Vita probably would not have been made.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars I suppose.
Interesting case with connections to things I am familiar with but the wrap-up seemed lacking. I've wanted to get down to the beaches south of Rome. Now if/when I do I'll have a dark story in my head. I also need to rewatch Dolce Vita.

[Lillie]

Unsolved mysteries

Not neatly wrapped up but an interesting look into a period of time.
I will look for la dole vita to watch.

[Becca Mertz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful read

This book never stayed I the subject and had so much detail that had nothing to
with anything . It sucks

[Claire Harrop · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting a true crime book but it was more using true crime as a way of explaining 1950s Rome, which was still interesting.

[Maggie Rubac · Rating 2 out of 5]

ERP

[george burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Italian Noir

Italian Noir

A young woman is found dead on a deserted beach. The obvious question is whether her death was the result of accident, suicide or homicide. Suicide was unlikely and accident was absurd. Nevertheless, through thick and thin, the authorities clung to accident. Homicide is most plausible, but why and who remain elusive. The mystery was played out in a city where official corruption, moral depravity and greed were rife. The author skillfully blends a murder mystery with colorful social history to produce a compelling story. His proffered is plausible but lacks evidentiary support.

[Simon Fellowes]

This was dense yet strangely compelling. It tells a story of a true-life murder that was covered up by the Italian judiciary in the late 1950's. What's striking about the book is the way what happened back then seems to mirror much of the corruptions in Italy today - no doubt the author's intention. Definitely worth reading in tandem with Tobias Jones' 'Dark Heart of Italy'.

[Michael Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting topic. Not your average true crime mystery, looking at a notorious unsolved crime's sociological impact on 1950s Italian society.

[Bradley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a satisfying read. Disparate elements forced together.