Description

Book Synopsis

An essential guide to the strange, sometimes sinister culture of contemporary Italy.

When Tobias Jones first travelled to Italy, he expected to discover the pastoral bliss described by centuries of foreign visitors and famous writers. Instead, he discovered a very different country, besieged by unfathomable terrorism and deep-seated paranoia, where crime is scarcely ever met with punishment.

Now, in this fascinating travelogue, Jones explores not just Italy''s familiar delights (art, climate, cuisine), but the livelier and stranger sides of the bel paese: language, football, Catholicism, cinema, television and terrorism. Why, he wonders, do bombs still explode every time politics start getting serious? Why does everyone urge him to go home as soon as possible, saying that Italy is a ''brothel''? And why do people warn him that ''Clean Hands'' only disguise ''Dirty Feet''?

The Dark Heart of Italy

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    A Paperback / softback by Tobias Jones

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      Book details

      Publisher Faber & Faber
      Published 18 July 2013
      ISBN-13 9780571302932
      978-0571302932
      ISBN-10 0571302939
      Also in:
      Travel writing

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      An essential guide to the strange, sometimes sinister culture of contemporary Italy.

      When Tobias Jones first travelled to Italy, he expected to discover the pastoral bliss described by centuries of foreign visitors and famous writers. Instead, he discovered a very different country, besieged by unfathomable terrorism and deep-seated paranoia, where crime is scarcely ever met with punishment.

      Now, in this fascinating travelogue, Jones explores not just Italy''s familiar delights (art, climate, cuisine), but the livelier and stranger sides of the bel paese: language, football, Catholicism, cinema, television and terrorism. Why, he wonders, do bombs still explode every time politics start getting serious? Why does everyone urge him to go home as soon as possible, saying that Italy is a ''brothel''? And why do people warn him that ''Clean Hands'' only disguise ''Dirty Feet''?

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