Canniffe, E., 2007.

The Politics of the Piazza: the history and meaning of the Italian square

This book presents the history of Italian urban spaces traced through their relationship with political and cultural changes. The period covered is that from antiquity to the present day, with each chapter discussing a number of significant examples.
The book is divided into four sections (i) the ancient and medieval city, considering the foundations of Italian urban form, (ii) renaissance and baroque space, emphasising the aspects of perspective and theatricality (iii) the early modern period to 1945, and the search for an expression of Italian national identity in urbanism, and (iv) the period from 1945 to the present day and responses to urban crisis of modern architecture. The themes of continuity and historical memory are explored throughout the book.