The dark heart of Italy

In 1999 Tobias Jones emigrated to Italy, expecting to discover the pastoral bliss described by centuries of foreign visitors. Instead, he discovered a very different country, besieged by unfathomable terrorism and deep-seated paranoia, where crime is scarcely ever met with punishment. The Dark Heart of Italy is Jones's account of his three-year voyage across the Italian peninsula. 'In his superb appraisal of Berlusconi's Italy, Tobias Jones investigates the country's kickback and bribery culture, as well as its football, film and food fads.' Evening Standard 'A mixture of bigotry and Marxism. Worthy of a country where there's still a branch of the parliament where men wear wigs.' Maurizio Gasparri, Silvio Berlusconi's Minister of Communications