This collection of articles arises out of the international conference ‘Italy on Screen’, held at the Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies, London, in February 2007. This volume assembles work on different aspects of the relationships between Italy and film, and confirms the variety of approaches which contemporary students are able to bring to this field. These essays display the reach of Italian cinema into fresh areas of film studies, as well as gender studies, theology, cultural studies and comparative literature. Through these explorations, new perspectives emerge on the historical and contemporary relationships between Italy and cinema, including rural landscapes and indigenous people, but also Catholicism and perspectives of non-Italians. This volume thus constitutes a platform for scholars and devotees of Italian cinema to share their original and non-standard work, incorporating some classic texts and filmmakers but also branching out to offer thought-provoking new perspectives.