Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review"In this beautifully written and insightful study of the mutual entanglement between Italy's national art police squad and the deeply entrenched tradition of tomb robbing, Greenland's portrayal of the robbers--in whom Italians see heroic tricksters and traitorous villains by turns--is both sharply analytical and descriptively captivating. She deftly articulates historical and legal detail with a rattling good story."--Michael Herzfeld, author of Evicted from Eternity: The Restructuring of Modern Rome "Ruling Culture provides a detailed and thought-provoking analysis of the construction of Italian national identity. It promises to be a major contribution to our understanding of Italian national identity, the institutional and legal dimensions of heritage, and the disciplinary history of archaeology. Greenland has written a first-rate piece of work and a valuable scholarly contribution."--Joshua Arthurs, author of Excavating Modernity: The Roman Past in Fascist Italy "Ruling Culture is groundbreaking. Greenland addresses the problem of how culture is used by states and various non-state actors to foster allegiance to nations, investigating culture as a key building block of national identity and making a convincing case for the difference between cultural power and ideological power."--Richard Lachmann, author of First Class Passengers on a Sinking Ship: Elite Politics and the Decline of Great Powers
Table of ContentsIntroduction: The World’s Greatest Cultural Power
1 Art Squad Agonistes
2 The American Price
3 Distributing Sovereignty: From Fascism to the Art Squad
4 Tomb Robbers and Cultural Power from Below
5 Made in Italy
6 Farewell to the Tomb Robber
Acknowledgments
Appendix: Methodology
Notes
References
Index
