Monday, September 22

Luzzi creates a personal portrait of Italy that leaps past clichés, delving into why Italian Americans have complicated relationships with the "old country" and how it is that Italy has produced astonishing and significant art while suffering from corruption, political fragmentation, and an enfeebled civil society.

With topics ranging from the pervasive force of Dante's poetry to the meteoric rise of Silvio Berlusconi, Luzzi relates the problems that plague Italy today to the country's historic roots. The "two Italies" — the earthy southern Italian world of Luzzi's immigrant childhood and the refined northern Italian realm of his professional life — join and clash in unexpected ways.

Organizing Institution: Calandra Italian American Institute