The Dark Heart of Italy by Tobias Jones

Reviewed by Mike Hunter

Tobias Jones is an English journalist who fell in love, moved to Parma in 1999, and was told by his girl's family that he was betrothed! He wasn't satisfied by the typical expatriate's view of Italy – climate, Renaissance culture and food – and was determined to delve deeper. This book is the result.

The first chapter ('Parole, parole, parole') aims to introduce the reader to Italian language and its pervading influence on Italian culture. How he managed to immerse himself in the language in so short a time, I don't know. But, throughout the book, he refers to social and political Italian idioms not found in my dictionary, fortunately always with a translation. Readers may find this interesting or, when he gets it wrong, infuriating.

His account of the political trials still ongoing in 2000, concerning a terrorist bomb in December 1969 in Milan's Piazza Fontana (The Mother of all Slaughters), I found opaque and depressing. Jones, himself admits defeat on this front and proceeds to his enthusiasm for football (Penalties and Impunity). As one completely ignorant of football, I found his account most entertaining, if somewhat anecdotal, on reputed political match fixing in the Serie A league.

Further chapters alternate between culture (e.g. Italian TV, Catholicism) and politics (e.g. the ‘Clean Hands’ political revolution in the early 1990s, Berlusconi’s election in 2001). The book is an account of his personal journey rather than an

academic treatise, although there are source references and a good index. Within each chapter, there are accounts of Jones’ experiences (in Roman type) and his distillation of recent Italian history (in italics).

These contrasts may be a clever device to illustrate his thesis that Italy, from the 1960s to the present day, remains politically split. But his left-leaning politics are all pervading and may not be to your taste. Big business may have non-transparent ownership, and suspected political influence, but surely not only in Italy as Jones implies. Are there not similar suspicions in the English-speaking world?

Again, Jones was shocked to find Italian TV awful, which of course much of it is, but isn't English-language TV heading the same way? He then goes on to explain the political angle of each channel. RAI3 is Communist? Perhaps you can work out the political persuasion of your favourite bar or restaurant from the TV channel they always have on?

Conclusion: Jones lived in ‘red Parma’ and taught in the University there. He did travel to Milan, Pisa, Palermo and elsewhere in pursuing his researches. But Italy, as he explains himself, is so diverse. He hasn’t met our neighbours in rural Tuscany. Certainly, an interesting book, but controversial. If you are green, leftist, anti-Berlusconi or a conspiracy theorist, you may love it. If you have more years of Italian experience than Jones, or differ in your political views, you may hate it.

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