Page 57 - Tuscany & Umbria: Rustic Beauty in the Italian Heartland

The Italians Md 7`TRT -L]eTYT .`W_`]P -L]eTYTɪ^ NWL^^TN MZZV ZʬP]^ ]PLOP]^ L ]PQ]P^STYRWd Q]LYV
discussion of the history and culture of his homeland, past and present.

, >SZ]_ 3T^_Z]d ZQ 4_LWd by H. Hearder (History) A concise chronology of Italian history from the
Ice Age to the present.

0aL >WPP[^ by Francesca Melandri (Literature) The novel follows Eva as she searches for her
identity and learns about her mother’s relationship with an Italian man named Vito. Eva’s
mother, Gerda, was a young girl from Austrian Tyrol, who met Vito while he was working
TY YZ]_SP]Y 4_LWd O`]TYR _SP WL_P $! ^ L _TXP OPʭYPO Md aTZWPYNP LYO _PY^TZY MP_bPPY _SP
Italians and the people of South Tyrol.

Suggested Movies

Italy
7L >_]LOL (1954, Drama) Masina was tiny and had an almost clown-like face, like a female
Charlie Chaplin. The plot is about a pair of circus performers who travel all over Italy, juggling
in the street. Quinn’s character is oblivious to the importance of his partner — in both life and
bZ]V ɧ `Y_TW _ZZ WL_P

7L /ZWNP AT_L ɭ?SP >bPP_ 7TQPɮ (1960, Comedy) An engrossing social commentary, and one of
Federico Fellini’s masterpieces (though the competition is keen). It’s a detailed panorama of
Rome’s modern decadence and sophisticated immorality, held tightly in focus by the detached,
wandering protagonist through whom we see it all.

?SP -TNdNWP ?STPQ (1948, Drama) As it follows a man desperate to retrieve the stolen bicycle that
T^ N]`NTLW _Z ST^ QLXTWdɪ^ ^`]aTaLW /P >TNLɪ^ ʭWX ^`M_Wd PcLXTYP^ _SP S`XLY NZYOT_TZY ^ZNTP_d
family, justice, and anguish in the poverty of post-World War II Italy.

1900 (1976, Drama) Bernardo Bertolucci’s epic history follows the lives of two friends (one a
peasant, the other a land owner) born on the same day in Italy. Their lives unfold with vivid
cinematography and lush imagery of the beautiful countryside. The movie jumps forward, to
the end of World War 1, and follows their story until 1945.

?SP .ZYQZ]XT^_ (1970, Drama) The story of a weak man persuaded by Fascist secret police to
L^^L^^TYL_P ST^ QZ]XP] `YTaP]^T_d []ZQP^^Z] L WPLOTYR LY_T 1L^NT^_ ?SP ʭWX Pc[WZ]P^ SZb L
totalitarian state manipulates people and how people allow themselves to be manipulated.
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L’Avventura $! /]LXL :YP ZQ _SP PL]Wd Pc[P]TXPY_LW ʭWX^ TY XZOP]Y 4_LWTLY NTYPXL _ST^
T^ ZYP ZQ _SP ʭ]^_ _S]TWWP]^ bSP]P bSL_ SL[[PY^ T^ YPaP] ]PaPLWPO% L bZXLY OT^L[[PL]^ ZY L
Mediterranean island and is never seen again. Antonioni uses this as metaphor to imply the
absence/disappearance of meaning in the lives of the surrounding characters.

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