Commonly referred to as 'the years of lead', the 1970s have been seen as a self-contained parenthesis in Italian history, which was dominated by political violence and terrorism. The seventeen essays in this wide-ranging collection adopt different scholarly perspectives to challenge this monolithic view and uncover the complexity of the decade, probing into its many facets while also re-evaluating political conflict. The volume brings to the fore the ruptures of the period through an examination of literature, film, gender relations, party politics and political participation, social structures and identities. This more balanced assessment of the period allows the vibrancy and dynamism of new social and cultural movements to emerge. The long-lasting effects of this period on Italian culture and society and its crucial legacy to the present are lucidly revealed, exploding the widely-held belief that the 1970s are largely a regressive decade.