Overview

The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries marked a pivotal time for the United States as the nation emerged as a political and industrial powerhouse and fashioned its new value system. Amid waves of emigration and evolving cultural exchanges, Italy's relationship with America became a complex tapestry of admiration, critique, and adaptation. This study of Italy's Americanism explores social debates within Italy regarding emigration, the development of a Columbian narrative, European reactions to the Spanish-American War, the impact of American products on Italian society, and former US president Woodrow Wilson's military intervention and political propaganda during the First World War. It highlights discussions among Italians about the implications of emigration, contrasting prevailing negative views with a counter-narrative from Italian journalists, scholars, and missionaries who visited the United States. The negotiation of US imports and their incorporation into the Italian national context document the formation of a distinct American subculture and the early phases of the nation's Americanization. provides a unique perspective to assess the early stages of America's ""soft"" expansion, as the flow of departing and returning emigrants made Italy a favourable terrain for commercial penetration in Europe, transforming an export ideology into a complex network of transatlantic relations.

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9781487559984

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Reviews

""In The Rise of Americanism in Italy, Luca Cottini offers an original and convincing demonstration of the way ‘Americanism’ – the global acceptance of an image of the United States as a dynamic, industrializing nation founded on democratic ideals – functioned, and in the case of Italy, reciprocally, with effects on both countries that were profound and in many cases enduring."" -- William J. Connell, Professor of History and La Motta Chair in Italian Studies, Seton Hall University, and co-editor of the Routledge History of Italian Americans

Author Information

Luca Cottini is an associate professor of Italian Studies at Villanova University.

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