Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides an interdisciplinary analysis of Italy's accelerated trajectory into the age of mass literacy, involving the multiple forms that it took and the people who made it possible. It presents an historical overview of the period covered by the volume in which John Davis challenges the commonly held view that the printed media in Italy lagged behind their European counterparts and started late in the nineteenth century. The book traces changing attitudes towards reading as expressed by writers, publishers, and policy-makers. It points out that, in contrast with the attention given to the questione della lingua, little has been said about the questione della lira. The book sets out to connect the two — the semantic volatility of the various currencies and the dynamic linguistic differences.