Abstract

Have Italians succeeded in a century and half to develop a sense of national belonging? This essay attempts to investigate if Italians have embodied a shared sentiment of national identity. Survey data show that the scarce sense of the nation is the direct result of a typical Italian attitude in his relation between the individual citizen and the national collectivity. A strong sense of community, useful to interpret one's own position vis-à-vis the «res publica», is missing. The «family» continues to be the privileged space where citizens learn the basic strategies to interact with the external world.