Synopsis
Like many foreigners, l love Italy more than many Italians do. But I was long aware of its difficult side, because I had read (and reviewed) The Dark Heart of Italy by Tobias Jones. As he details, daily life in Italy often unfolds under layers of bureaucracy, unwritten codes, and unresolved histories. Jones peels back the country’s seductive surface to reveal a nation fractured by geography, language, and ideology — where even a greeting like ciao contains centuries of hierarchy. Strongly recommended.
