Ideals and ambitions, hopes and disappointments, dignity and tragedy in a controversial nation…

At the end of the twentieth century, the 'death of the fatherland' was announced in Italy. Nowadays, we are witnessing a revival of the cult of the nation, while many still fear a gradual erosion of national identity. In reality, Italians have never had a uniform concept of their homeland, even if from the Risorgimento onwards and for over a century, the myth of a Great Italy influenced their lives. Over the centuries there have been many different Italy's, divided by competing ideologies, at times even resulting in civil war.

In this rigorous analysis, Emilio Gentile relates the history of a national legend in its various guises: the Risorgimento, the liberal state, the Great War, Fascism, the Resistance and the Republic, up to discovering the reasons why, from the mid-twentieth century onwards, the nation disappeared from the life of Italians to resurface again today, its future shrouded in uncertainty. A historical reflection on the past, to understand the present.