The Archipelago: Italy Since 1945

by John Foot

A sparkling history of Italy from the post-war to the present by renowned historian John Foot

Italy emerged from the Second World War in ruins. Divided, invaded and economically broken, it was a nation that some claimed had ceased to exist. By the 1960s, Italy could boast the fastest-growing economy in the world, as rural society disappeared almost overnight.

In The Archipelago, acclaimed historian John Foot chronicles Italy's tumultuous history from the post-war period to the present. From the silent assimilation of fascists into society after 1945 to the troubling reign of Silvio Berlusconi, and from the artistic peak of neorealist cinema to the celebration of Italy's 150th birthday in 2011, he examines both the corrupt and celebrated sides of the country.
While often portrayed as a failed state on the margins of Europe, Italy has instead been at the centre of innovation and change - a political laboratory. Through stories of trials, TV programmes, songs and football matches, moments of violence and beauty, epochal social transformation and suffocating continuities, this new history tells the fascinating story of a country always marked by scandal but with the constant ability to re-invent itself.

Comprising original research and lively insights, The Archipelago chronicles the crises and modernisations of over seventy years of post-war Italy, from its fields, factories, squares and housing estates to the political intrigue of Rome.

Genres: History, Italy, Nonfiction, Politics, Italian Literature, 21st Century, 20th Century

496 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[Monty Milne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is a friend and contemporary from Oxford days, although the last time I spoke to him was at a college Gaudy almost seven years ago. The strength of this book is that it illustrates its theme with a wealth of excellently chosen anecdotes, and it is written with elegance and clarity. I was very absorbed by it. I was surprised by how good it is at picking out the role of the Catholic church; when we were undergraduates I thought Foot didn’t really “get” religion but was baffled by something that was foreign to his background in atheist socialism. Well, he gets it now, and writes convincingly (and sympathetically) of Pope Francis, for example.

Foot is very much a Red Prince, the son of the distinguished journalist Paul Foot (whose book “Why you should be a socialist” I read and was entirely persuaded by when I was fifteen – though I later changed my mind). Both his grandfathers were socialist members of the House of Lords. Foot’s own sympathies are clearly very much on the left, although the book does strive to be even handed. For example, the role of the right wing Liga Nord in exposing the corruption of all the other parties is given due credit. The plague of terrorism from both left and right that bedevilled the 1970’s is discussed. But here, I felt uneasy at some of the language used: the Red Brigades are described with words like “fascinated”, “celebrated”, and “audacious”. The communist Togliatti is treated very uncritically and his enthusiasm for Stalinist violence and terror is glossed over. Contemporary disquiet over multiculturalism and illegal immigration is acknowledged but it is connected with the racist abuse of black football players. This is unjust: the former is a valid and legitimate concern, the latter is highly objectionable, and being concerned about one doesn’t mean you are are automatically guilty of the other, as Foot implies.

Those who share the author’s prejudices won’t mind all of this. Obviously, he hates Berlusconi, but he concedes that the “lawfare” conducted against Berlusconi by a highly politicised judiciary led to a loss of respect for the the legal system overall. (Obvious parallels here with Brexit and Trump). Those who led heroic campaigns against the Mafia are given due credit – even when, as was often the case, they themselves came from the far right. Italy’s huge economic success in the period 1958-61 is noted, but the reasons for it (presumably Christian Democrat policies?) could be explored more fully.

One aspect where the book really excels is in its treatment of the interactions between sport, politics and culture. I never expected to read anything so fascinating as the sections on cycling, and the description of the 1992 Football World Cup is superb stuff. I don’t suppose Foot will read this review, but I hope to see him again at the next Gaudy (they are septennial, and it is coming up fast) and thank him in person for a book that expanded my horizons and gave me great pleasure.

[Letizia Pierallini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bel libro di storia che si legge tutto d’un fiato come un romanzo. Magari ce ne saranno tanti altri dello stesso genere, ma questo è quello che - immagino - avrebbero sempre voluto leggere: senza dover essere appassionati di storia, avere un breve riassunto (commentato) di quello che ci è successo “intorno” dal dopoguerra ad oggi .... vedere tutto insieme è interessante...

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

[3.5]

[Keen Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars!

Like many nations around the world, the modern history of Italy is a familiar story of opposing divisions, in Italy’s case North v South, Republic v Monarchy, Communism v Fascism and of course Rich v Poor. These divisions would continue to play their significant part throughout the era in one way or another.

After the war the Italians had no serious purging process and so countless people got away with many appalling crimes, this also meant that many fascists and former fascists remained at large for years and sometimes decades afterwards, contributing to the political chaos that followed. In 1946 the country had a referendum which resulted in the monarchy being swept away in favour of the republic, but this would only be the start of the battles

In spite of various political and democratic setbacks, the popularity of Stalinism in post-war Italy was high, in fact money referred to as ‘Moscow gold’ flowed from the Soviet Union into Italian Communist party, illegally throughout the Cold War. It is described in here as, “A mass movement that reached into every corner of Italian society.”

Like many places, from afar the recent history of Italy can be viewed as a series of intense political and terrorist flashpoints that have shaped the country for better or worse. Various groups from the Red brigades and the Cosa Nostra to the Forza Italia party, have made their mark in one way or another. There is no lack of distinctive or memorable characters throughout this story, people like Padre Pio, Umberto Bossi and Bettino Craxi appear adding colour, texture and depth to Foot’s historical account.

A deeply ingrained culture of greed and corruption resulted in much dodgy engineering and poor building that would have devastating consequences for much of the population throughout the country. There was the Vajont disaster in 1963, a landslide and wave which killed around 2’000 people and then there was the Agrigento landslide in 1966, and of course let us not forget the recent case of the collapsing of a highway bridge in Genoa, which was already known to be unfit for use. This is before we even get onto the subject of the thousands of buildings that were not earthquake proof, which resulted in many more unnecessary deaths too.

Of the many other fascinating historical events, we learn about the Seveso disaster of 1976, an industrial accident, which resulted in various scientific studies and eventual standardised safety regulations, known as the Seveso II Directive. Then there was the case of Vlora, a ship that sailed from Albania in August 1991, arrived in the port of Bari, carrying around 21’000 Albanians that caused major political upheaval. One of the more bizarre and puzzling stories, is the deeply shocking tragedy of a 6 year old child by the name of Alfredino Rampi, who fell down a well in 1981 and the ensuing chaos was covered by live TV cameras, with the president even making an appearance on the scene. In spite of all the national coverage and intense attention, the authorities displayed a breath taking level of incompetence that saw one failed rescue bid after another and eventually the child died and they had to turn off the cameras in order to retrieve the body days later.

We also get some really interesting background into the rich cultural history, hearing from writers like Umberto Eco and Italo Calvino, and from the world of cinema, various films are referenced like “Lamerica”, “Paisa” and “The Working Class Goes To Heaven” and of course the huge importance played by football, helped in no small way by the national side’s surprise winning of the World Cup at Espana 82. It was the 80s that cemented the sport as the number one throughout the nation. The signing of Maradona (the best footballer in the world at the time) to Napoli in 1984, which saw them win their first two titles in their history. And of course the resurgence and then European dominance of Berlusconi’s AC Milan, also helped.

Though it is almost impossible to discuss Italian football without mentioning the multiple scandals that have plagued it for many decades, the likes of Totonero 1980, Totonero 1986 and of course the explosive Calciopoli in 2006 clearly illustrate an established cultural norm, more than the suggestion of a few bad eggs.

As the decades progress we see the eventual decline of the industrial north, from the 70s, though Milan soon reinvented itself as the glamour capital of Italy. This was an environment created in part by and for the benefit of Berlusconi. His shallow brand of crass populism soon found a dedicated audience. This was a bloated, narcissistic clown of a man, yet millions upon millions of people continued to go out of their way to vote for him and repeatedly put him in power. Almost everything about Berlusconi made a complete mockery of the Italian judicial and political system. He repeatedly made the nation a laughing stock and the fact that he’s still a free man, shows how corrupt and puzzling the country continues to be.

We learn that “Between 1981 and 1993 at least 500 people were killed in Palermo alone, 1200 in Catania, 500 in Agrigento. An estimated 2000 people were killed in Reggio Calabria over the same period.” Mind blowing statistics like these would eventually lead to the Maxiprocesso trial, sometimes dubbed the Nuremberg for the Mafia, a saga which lasted from 1986 to 1992. But even this huge event would pale in comparison to the impact of Mani pulite, (Clean Hands) a nationwide investigation started in 1992, which revealed the vast depth and scale of corruption throughout the entire Italian system, but of course as the rise and popularity of Berlusconi would prove, Italy would remain far from being cleansed of corruption.

Even though Berlusconi is no longer leading the country, their woes are by no means over. By 2015 at least 200’000 Italians were living in London and apparently there are eight times more recent Italian graduates living abroad than foreign graduates choosing to live in Italy. Since the introduction of the euro, Italy has posted the worst economic record of any state in the Union, twenty years of virtually unbroken stagnation. The current on-going tensions and political capital gained from the current wave upon wave of immigrants continues to put Italy in an increasingly unfavourable light.

So this was a nicely written piece of modern history that balances the cultural history fairly well with the profound political one. Foot clearly knows his subject well and he never tries to clutter the facts with too much verbiage, this is detailed without being tedious and I learned a lot of really interesting historical and cultural detail about modern Italy.

[Antonio Gallo · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Arcipèlago s. m. [voce formatasi nell’ital. ant., forse alteraz. (per incrocio con arci-) del gr. Αἰγαῖον πέλαγος «Mare Egeo»] (pl. -ghi). – 1. Aggruppamento di isole sparse nel mare ma abbastanza vicine tra loro e a volte con caratteristiche morfologiche analoghe. In origine, e come denominazione storica, il termine indicò in partic. il mare fra la Grecia, l’Asia Minore e la costa traco-macedone. 2. In usi fig. (sui quali ha notevolmente influito il titolo di un’opera molto diffusa dello scrittore russo A. I. Solženicyn, Arcipelago Gulag nella traduz. ital. del 1974), il termine ha assunto nel linguaggio giornalistico il sign. generico, che di volta in volta si precisa nei diversi contesti, di unione di «isole», cioè di gruppi, comunità o anche persone singole, isolate l’una dall’altra ma affini per condizioni socio-politiche o per orientamento ideologico, e in rapporto di reciproco e più o meno intimo scambio sia tra loro sia anche, spesso, con gli elementi che costituiscono altri «arcipelaghi»: l’a. della contestazione; l’a. della dissidenza; l’a. culturale laico." (Treccani)

Mi è piaciuto riportare per intero il significato della voce che il navigato scrittore inglese John Foot ha voluto dare come titolo del libro al nostro Bel Paese, fissandola su una targa stradale e facendola diventare la copertina. Quasi come a mettere le mani avanti per avvisare il viaggiatore verso l'Italia che sta per imbarcarsi in una quanto mai difficile navigazione, verso una frastagliata destinazione. Meno male che si è data una precisa data di partenza per il suo viaggio, altrimenti si sarebbe potuto perdere tra gli scogli del tempo. La sua storia inizia dal 1945.

C'era una volta nel 1945 un Paese chiamato Italia che era più agricolo che industriale, più cattolico che secolare, più paese di emigranti che di immigranti. Poi le cose lentamente cambiarono, come del resto sono cambiate anche in altri paesi. L'autore puntigliosamente elenca gli eventi grandi e piccoli i quali hanno causato gli stessi. Evita però di fare confronti con gli altri. Sembra che questi cambiamenti siano accaduti senza che nulla sia accaduto nel resto di quello che lui chiama "arcipelago". E' vero che nel 1946 soltanto ventuno donne sedevano nell'Assemblea Costituente Italiana, ma è anche vero che solamente 24 sedevano nella Camera dei Comuni in Inghilterra.

A quel tempo la Chiesa Cattolica era al centro della politica tanto da poter lanciare il suo avvertimento ai suoi elettori, che erano anche credenti, che quando andavano a votare, nella cabina elettorale c'era Dio che li vedeva. C'era il rischio di una scomunica alla quale nessun italiano aspirava. Questa spettava di diritto ai comunisti. La Chiesa controllava i giornali, la radio di stato, le banche, le case editrici, le compagnie di assicurazioni, i sindacati. L'autore dice che c'erano circa 250 mila tra vescovi, monaci, monache e preti che fiancheggiavano apertamente un partito che si dichiarava apertamente "cristiano" e che ha governato fino agli anni novanta.

Eppure, John Foot argutamente fa notare al lettore che quel partito non è mai riuscito ad avere la maggioranza assoluta ed è stato costretto a governare sempre con le più ardite coalizioni politiche. Non riesce a dare una ragionevole spiegazione, nè tanto meno tenta una analisi. Va detto che la stesura del libro è anteriore ai risultati elettorali del 4 marzo 2018 e non si pronuncia perciò sulla disfatta al referendum subita da quello che, in inglese, viene chiamato uno "scrapper", il "rottamatore" per antonomasia Matteo Renzi, finito poi rottamato.

Sarebbe stato interessante vedere cosa avrebbe scritto dei risultati di queste ultime elezioni. Quelle ardite coalizioni di natura non solo democratica, ma anche cristiana e socialcomunista, hanno generato una vittoria da un punto di vista strettamente tecnico alla coalizione del centro destra. In pratica, però, una vittoria di Pirro. La Santa Romana Chiesa non ci ha potuto mettere le mani. Berlusconi è stato dichiarato morto politicamente, facendo diventare la Lega Nord una semplice Lega, dando vita ad un'inedita alleanza tra opposti estremismi con un Movimento a Cinque Stelle, fondato da un "comedian" chiamato Beppe Grillo.

Ma il libro non si occupa soltanto di politica. Si legge di ciclismo con Fausto Coppi, di scrittori con Primo Levi, di musica con Arturo Toscanini, di cinema con Visconti e Rossellini, di Domenico Modugno, Claudio Villa e Dario Fo. Ci sono accenni anche al fascismo e all'antifascismo, ma mancano riferimenti ai problemi dell'economia, pur con accenni alle tendenze consumeristiche, all'impatto della tv sui comportamenti della gente, non senza aver cercato invano di dare risposte a domande riguardanti il fenomeno del "berlusconismo", "tangentopoli", la sfiducia generalizzata nella politica, i problemi degli immigranti, uno strisciante razzismo, la crisi del sistema giudiziario, la fuga dei cervelli.

John Foot conclude il suo libro di ben 496 pagine chiedendosi cosa avrebbe pensato di un Paese come questo "arcipelago" un viaggiatore del tempo vissuto nel 1945. Il libro di Foot, a dire il vero, elenca quasi tutto quello che secondo lui è accaduto, ma non ci dice il perchè. Nessuna meraviglia. Nemmeno noi Italiani sappiamo perchè accadono le cose che accadono in questo nostro amatissimo "arcipelago". Grazie a Dio non è un "gulag". Almeno non ancora!

[Luca Lamanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good coverage of the key moments in Italy since 1945: political, economic social, cultural etc (and calcio!!)

[Shayan Tadayon]

Three chapters have been read: 5. The Second Republic
6. Italy in the Twenty-First Century: Crisis, Post-Democracy, and the Triumph of Populism
7. Italy Today
Conclusion: Transformation and Crisis

[Stephen H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched, well written. A winding path through the history of Italy.

[Jamie Langan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good overview of post-war Italian history although the author does at points let his own niche interests take over. Still very impressive nonetheless.

[Matt Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

very readable, episodic rather than super analytic.

[Cristian N. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have learnt many things from this well-written and engaging study about the postwar Italy. It has been a stimulating reading and an immersive and insightful book. With all this, you can detect schematic leanings on the part of the author regarding the causes and the effects of the events with the usual suspects employed by the modern liberal academics in explaining the political, social and cultural phenomena: the stereotype of progressivism combined with the sophomore radicalism. With an attentive eye to the well-grounded chapters-sequences, you can extract the big picture and make your own conclusions about the fascinating history of Italy after the Second World War. I do highly recommend this book which is at his best when the author uses his remarkable pointilistic brush free from the distorting, ossified, and stereotypical-academic clichés. And that is, when he is free to think and question about things within his own mind ongoing the journey, and less with the freezing frameworks handed by schematic theoreticians and disqualified ideology especially in his more explanatory and general conclusions.

[Chris Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A very good book, but a little too fragmented to get a full four stars. I learned a *lot* from reading this book, which is probably the main purpose of the text, and its hard to imagine that you could cover this amount of history and have any sort of larger theme. So the strengths are the weaknesses, and vice-versa.

Two minor quibbles- the author is an academic expert on Milan, and the focus on Lombardy (the the exclusion of the South, the Center, even Rome) occasionally shows. Second, I periodically found myself asking how what the author was describing in Italy might be similar to, or different from, the rest of the West.

But I would recommend this book very much to anyone interested in the post-war history of Italy.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, well written, informed and accessible to the general reader (and especially an Italophile), although clearly from the mind of an academic. His approach benefits from an episodic and often anecdotal structure, topics addressed in short chunks with clear headings, usually in sequence, so you're never far from the next question (and answer) and you rarely get bored - and if you are, you can easily skip to the next section. Particularly strong on the immediate post-1945 years, but enthusiasts for the intricacies of modern Italian politics will also have plenty to chew on, together with a strong narrative covering the many social, religious and cultural changes over the last 70 years. Italy explained!

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative book on the history of Italy since 1945. I read this book in one week and learned quite a bit. It goes up to 2018 when it was published. It covers politics including the major parties, corruption, the mafia, football, business, factories, media, Popes, etc. The English-language section of la Feltrinelli in Rome is quite good (both Repubblica and Torre Argentina where I bought this book).

Edit: 10 September 2022: my opinion of this book has not changed but as I think more about it, the author at times did insert his opinions. This is really not the job of a historian to call things absurd or to give opinions of candidates like Trump for example. Rather than attempting to explain voting patterns and why they happen, it is easier to bash a candidate he obviously does not like. Sometimes reading history from the academy is like reading religious arguments from a priest. They always go one way. We all know there are no real journalists anymore writing objectively about current events. Historians are now the same writing about past events.

[Annalisa Ponti · Rating 3 out of 5]

La prima parte mi è piaciuta; è stato come mettere in ordine tra i discorsi degli zii più anziani e i miei ricordi. Solo qualche fastidio per qualche aggettivo un po’ frivolo e qualche approssimazione quantitativa (ma quante centinaia sono state le vittime del terrorismo). Poi però la narrazione esce un po’ dal seminato, i titoli dei paragrafi si fanno un po’ troppo leggeri e l’assenza di una autentica chiave interpretativa diventa un limite pesante. Peccato. Ma si legge volentieri.

[Björn Friðgeir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good overview of post war Italy

I can't even pretend to know Italy's post-war history well but this is a very good overview. Of course I couldn't tell how biased it is or where but for me it serves as a concise history.
Excellently written and readable and recommended for the casually interested.

[Niek Houpelyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I more or less expected having to struggle through this book, as I had rather limited knowledge of the topic before starting it. Quite to the contrary though, it turned out to be a surprisingly light and entertaining read. A must-read for anyone interested in Italian - or indeed European - post-war history, or trying to get a better understanding of Italian culture.

[Justin Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable popular history, touching on a lot of things, without going into too much depth. For some reason, what I really remember are the passages on cycling and the politics that got tied up in cycling. This definitely encouraged me to dive into the more academic histories of Italy that are available, and which I'm sure I'll enjoy much less.

[Burcu · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a great book if you want to learn about modern Italy, the transformation of the country after the World War II in almost every aspect. If you are not familiar with the political parties, characters and the judicial cases about mafia/corruption you will need to make a lot of web searches. Also I think the films referred in the books helps to learn better.

[Nasser Al-Mutairi · Rating 5 out of 5]

My second read of John Foot after “Calcio”, fantastic survey of Italy in all aspects: socially, politically, and the everyday life of Italians since 1945. If you are interested in Italy and want to know the shift of dynamics since WW2 this book is for you. Highly recommended for lovers of Italy/Italia.

[Gabriella Di Luca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazingly researched and interesting enough to keep you gripped until the end. It covers so many aspects of Italian society and politics, and (nearly) all the key events and players in Italy's recent history.

[Greg D'Avis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very smart book, covering an immense and varied amount without ever getting bogged down. Top notch.

[Louis Welvaert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was particularly fond of the small pieces linked together in a chronological chapter format

[Marcel Heere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well balanced overview of Italy after 1945, with interesting parallels with other countries (e.g the rise of populism)

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

John Foot is a simple, unrefined mind that believes countries are like real people, only bigger. Some sort of gods. And that crime is there because the government can't give away welfare from its own private coffers. A dishonest work that compares Italy to what it should have been and ignores the reality of a very poor country still mostly agricultural.

To the statement:

> The anti-fascist Action Party was extremely influential before, during and after the Resistance period. But it soon disappeared, although its intellectual legacy was long-lasting.

The footnote reads:

> Only 1.45 per cent of Italians voted for the Action Party in June 1946.

Oh, now I get it why the Action Party has a long lasting legacy!