Fiona Greenland
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- September 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780226756981
- eISBN:
- 9780226757179
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226757179.003.0007
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
The logic of cultural accumulation reinforces Italy’s claim to be the world’s greatest cultural power, even as the government must find new ways to engage ordinary Italians in “their” heritage. This ...
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The logic of cultural accumulation reinforces Italy’s claim to be the world’s greatest cultural power, even as the government must find new ways to engage ordinary Italians in “their” heritage. This concluding chapter identifies further lines of inquiry made possible by theorizing cultural power as a distinct form of state power. It is a form of power constituted by control over cultural materials but is not limited to the cultural sphere. The tensile strength of state patrimony, not its metaphorical hardness or softness, provides us with a richer understanding of how Italy extends its sovereignty through cultural objects.Less
The logic of cultural accumulation reinforces Italy’s claim to be the world’s greatest cultural power, even as the government must find new ways to engage ordinary Italians in “their” heritage. This concluding chapter identifies further lines of inquiry made possible by theorizing cultural power as a distinct form of state power. It is a form of power constituted by control over cultural materials but is not limited to the cultural sphere. The tensile strength of state patrimony, not its metaphorical hardness or softness, provides us with a richer understanding of how Italy extends its sovereignty through cultural objects.
