Spagne di fine millennio

This article offers a survey on how Spain is discussed in the Italian press in the second half of the 20th century (the time of Franco’s death, the Transición period, the newly born democracy). In particular, newspapers such as La Repubblica and L’Unità will be analysed, as their interest for Spanish culture and literature was continuous over the years. The analysis concentrates on the press, rather than on institutional discourse and academic criticism, in order to better trace the patterns of Italian cultural reception of Spanish topics, especially when intellectuals (such as Marcoaldi) and journalists decide to ‘report on’ and ‘narrate’ Spain’s literary identity. The essay analyses a selection of articles by a number of different authors, to make perceptible the polyphonic effect of the various ‘Spains’.