Abstract

Constitutional history and law do not constitute just a whole of rules and institutions, but also a complex of values, memories, projects and culture that constitute the entire life of a society, in a continuous and mobile relationship between the people and the institutions. After having reviewed the essential phases of Italian constitutional history (liberal state, Fascist state, republican democracy), the author concentrates on more recent developments to shed light on the tensions and factors of crisis that the institutional circuit has been subject to from the perspective of relations with popular dynamics and society. In particular, the most recent developments show how on some occasions resistance - including on the part of public opinion - against attempts to erode some of the base values of the constitutional framework has been an effective counterweight.