Description: This is the only comprehensive study on the subject since 1913. It expands and deepens our understanding of the tortured German-Italian relationship during the past two centuries. Schiller's impressive inspirational impact on the Italian mind - on poets, critics, musicians, and conspirators - is thrown into relief and evaluated against the turbulent background of the military and Romantic upheaval in the rest of Europe.
Review Quotes: «Focused on the reception in Italy of Schiller, the great poet, philosopher and historian, who together with Goethe made German thought an integral part of European culture in the modern era, this work throws light on important aspects of the transmission of ideas on art, politics, and ethics in the past two hundred years. What emerges is not only a scholarly treatment of Schiller's place in the imagination of Italian artists and intellectuals, but also a view of the whole course of recent Italian history from a particular point of view. A welcome addition to comparative studies.» (Olga Ragusa, Da Ponte Professor Emerita of Italian, Columbia University)
«In this book the author has admirably succeeded in collecting a wealth of material, some of it hitherto unknown or difficult to access, which impressively demonstrates Schiller's impact upon Italian literature, music, and politics. Kostka's pioneering study will be must-reading for Germanists, Romanists, and Comparatists, and in its uniqueness and scope, will be sure to attract a broader, general reading public as well.» (André von Gronicka, Professor Emeritus of Modern German Literature, University of Pennsylvania)
«'Schiller in Italy' represents a most welcome contribution to the field of German/Italian interdependence during the past two centuries, throwing a special light on certain aspects of German influence in Italy. The book certainly will have a public of general readers. But students of German, Italian, History, and Music will profit especially from Kostka's most perceptive and thorough analysis of Italy's everchanging political and artistic panorama.» (Maristella Lorch, Director, The Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America at Columbia University)
«This well-written book, 'Schiller in Italy', will be appreciated by those who enjoy reading Italian history of the past two hundred years. In a thoroughly researched study, Edmund Kostka looks at Schiller's influence in the past not only on Italian literature but also on Italian culture and criticism, history, politics, and music. In short, this is a study of interdisciplinary interest. It will be of special value to the general public as well as to scholars.» (Suzanne F. Wemple, Professor Emerita of History, Barnard College)