No other European country experienced the disruption of political and everyday life suffered by Italy in the so-called ‘years of lead’ (1969-c.1983), when there were more than 12, 000 incidents of terrorist violence. This experience affected all aspects of Italian cultural life, shaping political, judicial and everyday language as well as artistic representation of every kind. In this innovative and broad-ranging study, experts from the fields of philosophy, history, media, law, cinema, theatre and literary studies trace how the experience and legacies of terrorism have determined the form and content of Italian cultural production and shaped the country’s way of thinking about such events?