The pursuit of Italy : a history of a land, its regions and their peoples / David Gilmour.

Originally published: London: Allen Lane, 2011.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Machine generated contents note: 1. Diverse Italies -- Fractured Geography -- Italian Peoples -- Linguistic Italy -- 2. Imperial Italies -- Roman Italy -- Barbarian and Byzantine Italy -- Italia Germanica -- 3. Cities and Powers -- Communal Dreams -- Communal Realities -- Republican Italy -- Princely Italy -- 4. Adriatic Venice -- 5. Disputed Italies -- Foreign Rulers -- Enlightened Italy -- Napoleonic Italy -- Italy and the Restoration -- 6. Revolutionary Italies -- Romantic Italy -- Insurgent Italy -- Operatic Italy -- 7. The Making of Italy -- Piedmont, 1850s -- Lombardy and the Duchies, 1859 -- Sicily and Naples, 1860 -- Venice (1866) and Rome (1870) -- 8. Legendary Italy -- The Generation of Giants -- The Wisest Statesman -- The Noblest Roman -- Father of the Nation -- Some Generals and an Admiral -- The Risorgimento without Heroes -- 9. Making Italians -- Piedmont Comes to Naples -- Sicily Goes Downhill -- Rome and Parliament -- Beautiful Legends -- The Quest for Glory.

Contents note continued: The Bear of Busseto -- 10. Nationalist Italy -- Little Italy -- Bellicose Italy -- Ruptured Italy -- 11. Fascist Italy -- Italia Romana -- Italia Imperiale -- 12. Cold War Italy -- Christian Democrats -- Communists -- Affluent Italy -- 13. Modern Italy -- Centrifugal Italy -- Berlusconi -- Resilient Italy.