Giorgio Bertellini traces the origins of American cinema's century-longfascination with Italy and Italian immigrants to the popularity of thepre-photographic aesthetic -- the picturesque. Once associated with landscapepainting in northern Europe, the picturesque came to symbolize Mediterranean Europethrough comforting views of distant landscapes and exotic characters. Taking its cuefrom a picturesque stage backdrop from The Godfather Part II, Italy in EarlyAmerican Cinema shows how this aesthetic was transferred from 19th-century Americanpainters to early 20th-century American filmmakers. Italy in Early American Cinemaoffers readings of early films that pay close attention to how landscaperepresentations that were related to narrative settings and filmmaking locationsconveyed distinct ideas about racial difference and national destiny.