This exciting, authentic text will enhance any Italian class or laboratory program. It consists of interviews with ordinary people speaking Italian-among them a farmer, a mechanic, a neurologist, a journalist, a nurse, and a secretary. Each interview focuses on aspects of everyday life: work, housing, soccer, poetry, the role of women in Italian society, politics, the use of language, and many other lively topics. Natural and unscripted, the interviews showcase a variety of accents, including Roman, Florentine, and Milanese. The video interviews related to the text can be obtained at Yalebooks.com/Italiacontemporanea. Designed for use with students at almost any level, Italia Contemporanea is ideal for improving listening and comprehension skills. The text includes complete transcripts of each interview, notes about vocabulary and usage, questions about the content of the interviews, as well as questions about the student's own experience.