1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910807694203321

Autore

Bosworth R. J. B

Titolo

Whispering city [[electronic resource] ] : modern Rome and its histories / / R.J.B. Bosworth

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New Haven, : Yale University Press, c2011

ISBN

0-300-17222-2

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

xvii, 358 p. : ill., maps

Classificazione

6,12

8,2

NR 8735

Disciplina

945/.632

Soggetti

Memory - Social aspects - Italy - Rome

Historic sites - Italy - Rome

Historic buildings - Italy - Rome

Architecture - Italy - Rome

Rome (Italy) History

Rome (Italy) Historiography

Rome (Italy) Description and travel

Rome (Italy) Buildings, structures, etc

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- CONTENTS -- ILLUSTRATIONS -- MAPS -- PREFACE -- INTRODUCTION -- 1. Rome and the Romes across time -- 2. Rome, revolution and history -- 3. A Holy City: its past and future restored? -- 4. Roman revolution, national revolution -- 5. Italian Rome: rational and humanist -- 6. Italian Rome: national and imperialist -- 7. Rome, its histories and Fascist totalitarianism -- 8. The Rome of Mussolini and his history wars -- 9. A second Restoration? The Catholic and imperial Rome of Pius XII -- 10. Olympic Rome: sport, blood and histories -- 11. Eternity globalised -- CONCLUSION -- NOTES -- INDEX

Sommario/riassunto

In Civilization and Its Discontents, Sigmund Freud claimed that Rome must be comprehended as "not a human dwelling place but a mental entity," in which the palaces of the Caesars still stand alongside modern apartment buildings in layers of brick, mortar, and memory. "The



observer would need merely to shift the focus of his eyes, perhaps, or change his position, in order to call up a view of either the one or the other."In this one-of-a-kind book, historian Richard Bosworth accepts Freud's challenge, drawing upon his expertise in Italian pasts to explore the many layers of history found within the Eternal City. Often beginning his analysis with sites and monuments that can still be found in contemporary Rome, Bosworth expands his scope to review how political groups of different eras-the Catholic Church, makers of the Italian nation, Fascists, and "ordinary" Romans (be they citizens, immigrants, or tourists)-read meaning into the city around them. Weaving in the city's quintessential figures (Garibaldi, Pius XII, Mussolini, and Berlusconi) and architectural icons (the Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica, the Victor Emmanuel Monument, and EUR) with those forgotten or unknown, Bosworth explores the many histories that whisper their rival and competing messages and seek to impose their truth upon the passing crowds. But as this delightful study will reveal, Rome, that magisterial palimpsest, has never accepted a single reading of its historic meaning.