Milan since the Miracle City, Culture and Identity [Hardcover]

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.

A pathbreaking book, drawing from a range of academic disciplines, which analyses in compelling fashion the history and culture of one of Europe's great cities. Paul Ginsborg, University of Florence

John Foot's remarkable book reveals the many facets of a major European city over the last half-century, from the industrial growth and labour migrations of the 1950s and 1960s to the deindustrialisation, economic restructuring and new immigration of the 1990s. Milan's transition to fashion and design capital in a globalised economy is examined alongside an analysis of the degradation of its suburbs and the images of the city generated by cinema and fiction. What emerges is a unique in-depth study which will be indispensable for anyone who wants to makes sense of our changing urban landscapes. Professor David Forgacs, University College London

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