Abstract: In his article “Comparative Literature in Italian” Mauro Pala presents a historical, as well as contemporary overview of comparative studies in literature and culture. While there is no discernible school of comparative literature in Italy because the discipline is considered and practiced as part of literary criticism, there are broader orientations with regard to the understanding of art and culture. With regard to the contemporary status of the discipline, there are several areas since the 1990s where tenets of comparative literature have gained interest. These areas include postcolonial studies, the phenomena of hybridization, the relationship between town and countryside, identity formation, the role of language in the process of integration, travel literature, and processes of representation. On the institutional level, comparative literature has a relatively stable presence at a number of universities.

In 1997, Remo Ceserani raised the question as to whether it would be a possible to develop in Italy a specific school of thought and practices in the discipline of comparative literature (“Italian Literary”; see also Guida alio studio). In the time since then, a number of changes have taken place including the presence of several departments and programs in comparative literature. In contrast with the U.S. and Mainland China—two countries where the discipline has the largest institutional presence, as well as specific types of comparative literature (see Gillespie; Wang and Liu) or in contrast to Germany (see Lubrich) or France (see Tomiche)—in Italy there is no discernible school of comparative literature because it is considered and practised as part of literary criticism.