Settant'anni dopo : ripensare la storia dell'Italia repubblicana

The study and interpretation of the Republican age has long since been a main subject for Italian historians. We invited three of them, who recently published books on the subject, to discuss their approach with the French historian Marc Lazar, who offered an insight on the concept of crisis and on its use in historiography, and underlined the need for a European history of Italy. Piero Craveri took up the first suggestion, and reflected upon his interpretation of Italy's decline. Guido Formigoni stressed the importance of the turn of the late '70s for periodization, and focused on the connection between internal and international elements. Paolo Soddu read the Italian political history as a long search for a mutual, consensual recognition, which he considers a key element of modern democratic societies. [Publishers' text].