The south of Italy has a culture and history quite distinct from the more familiar Italy of Rome, Tuscany and the Veneto. Yet many of the things we find stereotypically Italian – from pizza to the Mafia – originated there. Anthony Grafton wrote of Between Salt Water and Holy Water: ‘this wonderful book offers the best introduction in any language to a complex and fascinating region. Southern Italy baffles, enchants and sometimes enrages foreigners – including most northern Italians! Tommaso Astarita’s wide-ranging book sets the fascinating and sometimes frightening society and culture of the South into the centuries of historical context that have shaped them and set them apart from the rest of Italy – and Europe.’

WW Norton & Co | Paperback 354 pp. |ISBN: 9780393328677