In December 1959, several episodes of antisemitism occurred in West Germany. These events spread rapidly to other countries and were dubbed by newspapers the ‘swastika epidemic’. In Italy, the episodes sparked intense debate among the main political forces of the time, framing the interpretation of antisemitic episodes within a context that considered the comparison between the two countries, while also being influenced by the political transition of centrist governments shifting to the left and the transition of religious opinion on Jewish-Christian relations. The general and unanimous condemnation of antisemitism was accompanied by various interpretations of the racism of Fascist Italy and the historical responsibilities of the Catholic world. The result was an extremely fragmented picture, but with significant political and cultural implications in a year that would see the explosion of political violence.

This article examines the causes and geographical trajectories of the globalisation of vermouth, one of the most famous Made in Italy products in the world. Of all the fortified wines, vermouth stands out for its unique history. Originally a product of Piedmont consumed mainly by the aristocracy and the emerging bourgeoisie, vermouth became the subject of a growing export trade between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, gaining credibility thanks to the prizes won at international exhibitions and the marketing strategies of the main companies in the sector (Martini & Rossi, Carpano, Gancia, Cinzano). Despite the commercial difficulties it experienced in the twentieth century as a result of protectionist measures, the effects of war, the heterogeneous policies applied to the alcoholic beverage industry and widespread imitation and counterfeiting, vermouth has managed to maintain an appeal that has made it an international icon and one of the most resilient products in the medium to long term. This is partly the result of a media representation that was capable of deeply influencing the collective imagination of consumers.

Through an analysis of the Italian context, this article illustrates how censoring attitudes shaped the modern meaning of pornography between the last two decades of the nineteenth century and the years of the Great War. The difference between the ideas of pornography and obscenity is pointed out through a concise examination of censorship archive documents from the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom, the State of the Church, and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, followed by an overview about how sexuality was intended by Italian sexologists and moralist intellectuals during the period of nation-building following the unification of 1861. In their writings, pornography is described as a source of corruption, especially for young people, and a social threat to be stopped. From 1891 onwards, mobilisations and struggles against pornography were organised by associations and politicians: these activities and debates, which led to the demand for specific legislation to address this phenomenon, are here reconstructed through newspaper articles and archive documents until the Great War period, when the use of the word pornography became even wider, as well as the debates around it and its social meaning.

Over the last two years, the metaphor of war has often been used in Italy when discussing the fight against the pandemic, to describe the restrictions that have been introduced as a result, from lockdown to the Green Pass. Paradoxically, once the state of emergency ended, just as we were on the cusp of the long-awaited return to normality (to ‘peace’ in a sense), Russia's sudden invasion of Ukraine meant that war truly became part of Italians’ lives through the media. In this context, I have analysed the positions taken by the major Italian periodicals (Avvenire, Corriere della Sera, Il Fatto Quotidiano, Il Foglio, La Repubblica, La Stampa, Il Mattino di Napoli, Il Messaggero and Il Tempo di Roma) between 20 February and 5 March. What becomes clear through examination of the main articles is that the themes that would characterise the subsequent Italian debate – from a strategic, humanitarian, political, and economic point of view – were already present in the two weeks from the end of February to the beginning of March 2022.

This article explores Gabriele Basilico’s photographs of the contemporary Italian environment and argues for their status as both iconic – that is to say, distinctive, highly visible, and memorable – and anti-iconic symbols or images. The discussion first explores the anti-iconic impulse in Basilico’s work. It marks out his standing as one of the most prominent proponents of the trend in contemporary Italian photography which sought to counter the mythic view of the country’s landscape and highlights his involvement in the trend’s seminal exhibition, Viaggio in Italia (1984). The article then makes a case for the simultaneous iconic nature of Basilico’s photographs by looking at the 2007/08 exhibition Milano si mostra. 1 Km con Gabriele Basilico, examining the ways in which Basilico’s images were made into icons of Milan’s urban identity.

In this paper, the author proposes an analysis of the apparently contradictory attitudes towards transactional sexual exchanges, as they have emerged in public debate and informed legislation and policies in Italy over the past few years. The ambiguity towards commercial sex is linked to a specific dynamic of power, which denies sexual labour the status of work and makes it the object of repressive and criminalising policies, whilst at the same time habitually demanding sexual services in exchange for money, gifts or favours. The article shows how criminalisation functions as a prominent form for the control of subjects, related to the workings of sovereignty. In particular, the author considers the ways in which the criminalisation of prostitution and of undocumented migration, which compound in the figure of the migrant prostitute, represents a means for the exertion of sovereignty and relates to the centrality of desire, transgression and their disciplining in the contemporary context. However, closer examination of the subjective experiences of those who are supposedly excluded and criminalised, such as undocumented migrant sex workers in detention centres, reveals the incompleteness of disciplinary mechanisms.