Cinecittà, ’50s. The “oversized” – so the nickname Sandro Continenza – trigger episodes of collective delirium, make a sensation in newspapers, are contested by the main producers: are seductive and publicly celebrated. They are divas. Ranging in sources and methodological research, Federico Vitella observes the phenomenon of divism in its being social fact that generates new forms of representation, conveys gender discourses and contributes to defining the identity of the new Republican Italy.
In dialogue with Dario Tomasello, University of Messina.
