Both Germany and Italy take an intense interest in each other's history between the seizure of power (1922 in Italy, 1933 in Germany) and the end of the Second World War. From a comparative viewpoint there has however been relative neglect of the question of how academe, the state, and society have attempted to come to terms with the heritage of dictatorship and war after 1945. The a historiographic dialoguea in November 2003 provided an opportunity of pinpointing and discussing the parallels and contrasts in academic, political, and social confrontation with the history of dictatorship and the effects of the Second World War.

This book provides an introduction to the history of cultural relations between Germany and Italy and outlines the legal foundations of German cultural policy in Italy. It indicates the prejudices and national stereotypes German cultural policy in Italy has to engage with and in so doing shows where the tasks and challenges will lie in future. A detailed documentation section lists and describes the Federal Republic's central cultural agencies in Italy.

In Deutschland bot im Jahr 2001 die 300-Jahrfeier der Erhebung Preussens zum Koenigreich Anlass fur eine vertiefte wissenschaftliche und oeffentliche Auseinandersetzung mit der preussischen Geschichte. In Italien blicken die Geisteswissenschaften auf eine lange Tradition der wissenschaftlichen Beschaftigung mit preussisch-deutschen Themen zuruck. Die Veranstaltung des Deutsch-Italienischen Zentrums Villa Vigoni zum Thema "Italien und Preussen" vom Oktober 2002, deren Beitrage hier zusammengestellt sind, gab Gelegenheit zu einem 'Dialog' der italienischen und der deutschen Geschichtsschreibung.