Beauty is a central concept in the Italian cultural imagination throughout its history and in virtually all its manifestations. It particularly permeates the domains that have governed the construction of Italian identity: literature and language. The Idea of Beauty in Italian Literature and Language assesses this long tradition in a series of essays covering a wide chronological and thematic range, while crossing from historical linguistics to literary and cultural studies. It offers elements for reflection on cross-disciplinary approaches in the humanities, and demonstrates the power of beauty as a fundamental category beyond aesthetics.

Doyle constructs communion ecclesiology as a broad and inclusive category that makes room for a range of legitimate approaches. He examines the approaches of Johann Adam Mohler, Charles Journet, Henri de Lubac, Yves Congar, Karl Rahner, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Elizabeth Johnson, Joseph Ratzinger and many others.