Milan since the Miracle City, Culture and Identity

by Foot, John

• ISBN13: 9781859735459
• ISBN10: 1859735452
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-10-01
• Publisher: Berg Pub Ltd

Summary

This book is the first comprehensive post-war history of one of Europe's most vibrant cities throughout an extraordinary period of social, cultural and economic change. The capital of Italy's economic miracle of the 1950s and 60s, Milan was a magnet for immigrants, as industry, design and culture created a heady mix of wealth, innovation and conflict. By the 1980s, heavy industry had all but disappeared and the city had reinvented itself as the world capital of fashion and a dynamic post-industrial metropolis. Meanwhile, the urban landscape was darkened by the bleak estates of the peripheries and the corruption scandals that exploded in what became known as 'Tangentopoli', or Bribesville.This fascinating book traces Milan's 'biography' through its buildings, design, fashion, cinema, families, immigrants and television. The city emerges as a potent economic power-house and laboratory for change, where art and culture converge in a modern but problematic urban space. Anyone interested in Italian history, urban studies or the future of Europe's cities will find this book an essential read.

Author Biography

Dr. John Foot is a Research Fellow, at the University College London.

Table of Contents

List of Maps and Illustrations	ix
Acknowledgements	xi
Milan, City of Fragments	1	(18)
Mass Cultures and Popular Cultures in Milan: The `Boom' and After	19	(18)
City of Movement: Milan and Mass Immigration, 1950--2000	37	(34)
Divided City: Milan and Cinema, 1945--2000	71	(14)
Television and the City: The History and Impact of Television in Milan, 1945--2000	85	(24)
Capital of Design, Capital of Fashion	109	(26)
The Milanese Urban Periphery: Myth and Reality, 1950--2000	135	(22)
From Boomtown to Bribesville: The Images of the City, 1980--2000	157	(24)
Conclusion: Whose City? Which City?	181	(4)
Appendix 1: Films Cited	185	(2)
Appendix 2: The History of Milan since 1945 -- Society, Culture and Politics, A Personal Chronology	187	(14)
Bibliography	201	(28)
Index	229