Karel Bačkovský entered the Czech literary and general artistic discussion in 1897 as a poet. His modest writing includes several prosaic texts and particularly series of translation and critical works that mediate and reflect contemporary Italian literary scene, mainly the modernist circle of the Marzocco magazine, which was published in Florence since 1896. Inspired by G. D’Annunzio and A. Conti, as well as by J. Ruskin or E. Key, some of Bačkovský’s texts got involved in the domestic time debate on the role of art and artists in the society. The work of K. Bačkovsky was, however, marked by visible tension: accentuation of the educating role of art, the idea of solemn association of an artist and the people (in essays and critical texts) is replaced by a perfectly introvert image in prose and poetry.
Stefano LuconiUniversity of Naples L’OrientaleItalyThe Troubled Presence of the United States in Italy’s Political Culture: An OverviewThis brief article examines the impact of US values on Italy’s political system since the end of World War II. It argues that, during the Cold War, the allegiance of the sizeable Communist Party to the Soviet Union, on the one hand, and the Catholics’ distrust of Americanism, on the other, prevented US principles from shaping the nation’s republican institutions and playing a significant influence on Italian political culture, notwithstanding Washington’s efforts to spread its own philosophy in the country. It also suggests that, after the end of the West-versus-East ideological conflict, the two major party coalitions paid only lip service to US values and referred to them mainly out of expediency while jockeying for position in their struggle for political power.
Current EU economic and security challenges on the territory of the EU’s ‘ring of friends’ open a new page of its history influencing European security and stability framework of development. Therefore, it’s crucial to understand circumstances that favored to the catalyst progress of unstable neighborhoods. The article presents an analysis of the Italy’s position towards European Neighborhood Policy and the Eastern dimension of this policy – Eastern Partnership. A special interest is focus on its view towards Ukraine, being a reality-check for the European Union officials after the Revolution of Dignity, the illegal annexation of Crimea and the hybrid war of Russia. This article is presenting the ideas that ENP was created by the EU as an instrument for the democratization which couldn’t prevent conflicts in the geopolitically diverse regions. Italy, being one of the founding members of the European Union, was reluctant advocate a balanced approach towards the neighborhood regions. It merely focused on the Southern dimension of the ENP, almost taking apart Eastern Partnership. In the first part, the article demonstrates the development process of the ENP with a special attention that it coincided with the EU 5th enlargement preparation. This dualism influenced on the ENP tailoring and subsequent implementation. The second part focuses on the of the Italy’s opinion development from ENP launch till 2009 when its Eastern dimension - Eastern Partnership – was introduced. The third part analyzes Italy’s perception of Eastern Partnership and its attempts to reschedule EU’s attention to the South flank of the ENP in the post-Crimea annexation period.
The article presents the genesis and the evolution of the Northern Italian separatist movement initially aiming at the foundation of the autonomist Padanian Republic. Among the main dimensions of the pro‑independence tendencies manifested by the members and followers of the Northern League party there are ethno‑linguistic diverseness and strong economic position which distinguishes the Northern regions of Italy from the rest of its territory. The article focuses on the analysis of both socio‑cultural and political‑economic backgrounds of the separatist tendencies. It underlines the special role of Celtic mythology and pagan symbols in the construction of the Padanian identity. The strategies of the political communication of the Northern League are described in relation to the Padanian rhetoric manifested through the electoral posters and slogans of the party.
Social housing in Italy, its historical and recent developments, and its criticalities are discussed considering both the pre- and the post-crisis period. The main effects of the crisis on Italian households and the exacerbating of housing problems are also analysed. A critical review of the main policy instruments implemented before and after the crisis is provided, with a special focus on new models of intervention. It is not clear how the housing needs of low income households will be addressed in the near future. Traditional public-managed social housing has been left with insufficient resources while the newly-built affordable housing sector is mainly targeting mid-income households. Several new policy instruments have been deployed and billions of euros invested. Nevertheless, it is still difficult to observe a consistent strategy oriented to increasing the level of social protection in the housing domain, beyond the conventional management of “emergencies”.
Physical Education in Italy, as a school subject, was introduced in 1859, formerly named “Gymnastics”, then “Physical Education” and now “Motor and Sport Sciences”. In the primary school no physical education teacher is required so PE is taught by the general teacher. In some schools a PE teacher works with the generalist teacher. Recently the Ministry of Education introduced a PE graduate specialist role in the primary school in order to improve action and give to physical education equal dignity compared to the other disciplines. The national curriculum specifies the essential level that must be granted by all school, the number of compulsory hours and the quota reserved to the autonomy of each school. On the secondary level PE is taught by Physical Education specialist teachers. Extracurricular sports activities are supported through the special funding from the Ministry of Education. The sports activities combine in the definition of the student’s curriculum and acquired competences as well as in the final mark attributed to the state exams. In the 1970s, the cooperation between the Ministry of Education and C.O.N.I. allowed the beginning of introducing into sports practice elementary and first-level secondary school children. To qualify as a Physical Education teacher a university master degree is needed, plus one year of teaching training (3+2+1). This is provided by faculties of physical education.
The article presents the Polish government’s attitude to the issue of participation of Poland in the war against Italy. On the one hand, it was affected by direct Polish interests, which required the policy of restraint (moderation) without getting involved in this conflict and, on the other hand, by Poland’s obligations as an ally of France and Great Britain, which were at war against Italy since 10th June, 1940. This problem became particularly acute when likelihood of a potential military conflict between Polish and Italian forces increased due to the deployment of Carpathian Rifle Brigade first to Palestine and then to Egypt. In result of the conviction that maintenance of political compliance between Poland and Great Britain was a supreme objective, on 19th August 1940 Polish government agreed to use Polish forces against the Italian army. Nevertheless, this consent did not entail that Poland declared war against Italy. Polish government claimed that it was exempted from such a decision because after 17th September 1939, French and British governments did not declare war against the Soviet Union against which Poland, in turn, was at war. Although the analogy invoked by the Polish government was debatable, it provided a possibility of reminding the British ally that Poland was also a victim of Soviet expansion in the face of increasingly intensive critique of the USSR after the annexation of Baltic States, Bessarabia and Northern Bucovina. The article has been mostly based on resource materials. Documents of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs from the Hoover Institute collection, whose microfilms were handed over to the Central Archives of Modern Records and then made available online in the Integrated Archive System, were particularly important. Documents from the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London were also used herein and, additionally, documents from the British National Archives. A query in Italian archives was not carried out for the needs of this article; yet published Italian documents were used herein.
This text is dedicated to the life and work of a renowned Italian scholar in the field of history and culture of Classical Antiquity and a prominent university professor, Franco Sartori (1922–2004). The main elements of his teaching work were the history and culture of Classical Antiquity. He was a member of an array of scientific and cultural institutions and received numerous Italian and international awards. In his research, he mainly focused on the political history of ancient Athens of the classical period, Attic theatre and dramaturgy, Athens between Macedonia and Egypt until the times of Chemonides, Magna Graecia and ancient Sicily, Plato as a political thinker, etc. Sartori is famous for his translations of Plato’s works.
The Italian Republic was created at the close of World War II by the political forces that had taken part in the Resistance, with an explicitly anti-fascist ideological foundation. However, the official commitment to anti-fascism and democracy was belied by the continuing role of neo-fascist parties and organizations in the political system. This role was firstly as a potential alternative source of support for the ruling Christian Democrats, and secondly as the key element of a hidden network ready to use violent and undemocratic means to condition the normal political process. This network moved into action at the height of the “strategy of tension” (1969–80). Analysis of this period leads us to reassess the nature of postwar Italian democracy. In the “Second Republic” (post-1994) Silvio Berlusconi has promoted a revisionist approach to Fascism and the Resistance as part of his own strategy to maintain himself in power, while also espousing a plebiscitarian conception of democracy that presents certain analogies with the methods and style of the Fascist regime.
The author analyzes political consequences of the transformation of the Italian media system, which is the result of the political crisis of the ‘90 – and the fall of the First Republic. He presents shape of the contemporary Italian media policy and its specificity in terms of conflict of interest, unprecedented in Europe. A conflict of interest was the result of the fact that the exercise of public functions, coming from a political choice, had been charged directly to the economic group, the head of which became of the former Prime Minister of the Italian government. Moreover, this conflict was intensified by the legislative initiatives of Italian government aimed to weaken the position of Silvio Berlusconi’s media empire market competitors.
The article endeavours to give a bird’s eye view of catechesis in Italy as from 1870 to the threshold of Vatican Council II – 1962. The point of departure is a study of the use of the Catechism as the handbook for catechesis. The study will then move on study the efforts of individuals – from priests to Pope Pius X – who sought to positively influence catechesis through their ministry and how different Congresses and Conventions helped in trying to formulate a more coherent catechesis throughout Italy. Finally, the paper will end by a study of the Active Method which was to be the unifying factor for catechesis in Italy prior to Vatican Council II.
In 1858 J. I. Kraszewski accomplished a trip around Italy, a country defined by Goethe as the artists' Arcadia. His trip was described in his travel diary Kartki z podróży 1858-1864 (Travel pages 1858-1864). Kraszewski's aims as an artist and art critic were to deepen his theoretical knowledge, to see the Antique Rome, since he was fascinated by archeology and history, and visit Dante's city, because he had translated The Divine Comedy around 1864.
The geomorphological analysis of historically urbanized areas is the best scientific way to understand how the extant geomorphological factors conditioned urbanization. It also provides a baseline to enable comparisons to be made with the modern environment. This paper considers four urbanized historical sites on the Adriatic coast (Italy) that owe their urban development to particular geomorphological and environmental conditions that were modified over the centuries from the Roman age to the present day. The focus here is on the evolution of the shoreline and associated geomorphic variables (streambeds and river mouths migration). These factors are fundamental for determining the development of a city, both as basic boundary elements – therefore including defence and protection – and also for the development of harbours.
The geomorphological analysis of historically urbanized areas is the best scientific way to understand how the extant geomorphological factors conditioned urbanization. It also provides a baseline to enable comparisons to be made with the modern environment. This paper considers four urbanized historical sites on the Adriatic coast (Italy) that owe their urban development to particular geomorphological and environmental conditions that were modified over the centuries from the Roman age to the present day. The focus here is on the evolution of the shoreline and associated geomorphic variables (streambeds and river mouths migration). These factors are fundamental for determining the development of a city, both as basic boundary elements – therefore including defence and protection – and also for the development of harbours.
This article analyses the impact of constitutional referendums on the political system in Italy. There were three constitutional referendums conducted in 2001, 2006 and 2016. All of them have been organised by the ruling parties, however, only the first one was successful. In the subsequent referendums, the proposals for amending the constitution have been rejected by voters. The article finds that lack of public support for the government resulted in voting „no” in the referendum. Artykuł omawia wpływ referendum konstytucyjnego na system polityczny Włoch. We Włoszech przeprowadzono trzy referenda konstytucyjne w 2001, 2006 i 2016 roku. Wszystkie referenda rozpisane zostały przez ugrupowania rządzące, ale tylko pierwsze z nich zakończyło się sukcesem. W kolejnych referendach propozycje refom konstytucyjnych zostały odrzucone przez społeczeństwo. Przyjęta hipoteza badawcza zakłada, że referendum przekształcało się w plebiscyt popularności rządu, a wyniki głosowania ludowego zależały od poparcia lub jego braku dla rządzących. Dla wyjaśnienia problemów badawczych zastosowano metodę dogmatyczną i komparatystyczną. Ta pierwsza pozwoli na analizę instytucji referendum w systemie prawno-konstytucyjnym Włoch. Z kolei metoda porównawcza wyjaśni różnice w wynikach referendum ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem podziału geograficznego kraju.
This paper represents the preliminary analysis of a pilot research carried out by CIR and the Department of social Studies of the University of Rome “Sapienza” (together with Italian non-profit organisations) on the level of integration of beneficiaries of international protection (both refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection) who had been living in Italy for at least 3 years. The pilot research described has been conducted under the Project “Le strade dell’integrazione” (The integration paths), co-financed by the European Union and the Italian Ministry of Interior under the European Refugee Fund 2010 – Action 2.1.A. Individual interviews and focus groups have been carried out in 7 different Italian territories, involving both beneficiaries of international protection and operators working with them. Questionnaires have been administered at national level. The preliminary analysis presented in this paper refers to some territories and to the partial material available. In the conclusion, results are discussed and recommendations for the final analysis are offered.
The article follows the recent developments in the labour markets of Spain and Italy. The two countries in focus represent the 'Mediterranean model' of capitalism, in line with the Varieties of Capitalism (VoC) approach. The impact of the global economic recession has been severe in both countries, which is reflected in high and rising unemployment figures. In the two countries, profound institutional reforms were implemented under pressure of the European Union (EU) prior to the crisis, yet the process has also continued after the onset of the recession. Using the field of labour relations as the example, the author looks at the tensions emerging between the embedded forms of capitalism (national context) and the 'disembedded' forms of capitalism which are imposed from above (EU context).
The aim of the article is to analyze the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative on the integrity of the EU community. The research problem boils down to the following questions: Has this initiative contributed to increasing the influence of the PRC in Europe? How did the EU react to Chinese ideas? What was Italy’s reaction to Chinese proposals and declarations? The article uses the descriptive method and a case study. The first part of the article will focus on the analysis of the intensification of Chinese activity in Europe by demonstrating cases of buy-outs of Old Continet’s key companies by PRC enterprises. The Belt and Road initiative and Chinese projects will be then briefly described. Aiming to demonstrate the impact of the initiative “Belt and Road” on the EU was selected for detailed analysis of Italy due to the geographical location of the country, long-term cooperation within the framework of the European Union and the fact that Italy was the first member of the G7, who “joined” Initiative Belt and Road. In the last part, the author will try to determine whether China has influence on the process of disintegration of the EU.
A very important act reforming healthcare in Italy was the Act of 23 December 1978, which initiated devolution of competence in the matter of healthcare, with the transfer of administrative and legislative functions in this field to regions. As a result of this reform, Italy underwent a transfer from the insurance model of healthcare financing to the model of national healthcare service. Other changes concerning, first of all, the form of the regional state and broadening regional autonomy were introduced by the Constitutional Act No. 3 of 18 October 2001, amending Title V of the Constitution and concerning the status of regions, provinces and communes. As a result of these reforms, it is regions that currently represent the most important level of administration between the central government and communes. The main result of the process of federalism is how the regions were granted authority to allocate owned funds in the healthcare system in the manner that they consider most appropriate for funding basic levels of services (LEA) in their territory, as well as the management of the organization of healthcare in their local area in the way that meets the requirements of the population living there.
PL
Bardzo ważnym aktem reformującym opiekę zdrowotną we Włoszech była ustawa z dnia 23 grudnia 1978 roku, którą zapoczątkowano dewolucję kompetencji w materii ochrony zdrowia, z przekazaniem regionom funkcji administracyjnych i legislacyjnych w tym zakresie. W wyniku tej reformy Włochy przeszły od ubezpieczeniowego modelu finansowania opieki zdrowotnej do modelu narodowej służby zdrowia. Kolejne zmiany, dotyczące przede wszystkim formy państwa regionalnego i poszerzenia autonomii regionalnej wprowadzone zostały w drodze ustawy konstytucyjnej nr 3 z dnia 18 października 2001 roku, która zmieniała Tytuł V Konstytucji i dotyczącej statusu regionów, prowincji i gmin. W rezultacie przeprowadzonych reform to regiony obecnie stanowią najważniejszy szczebel administracji pomiędzy rządem centralnym a gminami. Zasadniczym efektem procesu federalizmu jest przyznanie regionom kompetencji do alokacji posiadanych przez nie środków na opiekę zdrowotną w taki sposób jaki ich zdaniem jest najbardziej odpowiedni dla finansowania podstawowych poziomów świadczeń na ich terytorium, a także zarządzanie organizacją ochrony zdrowia na własnym terenie w sposób który odpowiada wymogom zamieszkującej je zbiorowości.
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