This book tells about the 'Images of Europe' through a journey of extraordinary photographic and iconographic value, which unites the history, culture, industry and trade of 27 countries that make up the European Union into one single, fascinating picture, interspersed with each nation's identity and with the great, transversal themes of our continent created by the economy, the organisation of work, the educational systems, fashions, the urban fabric of the cities and the landscapes. A picture emerges here which, apart from the obvious differences between the north and the south, the east and the west of our continent, leaves to the readers of this volume the certainty of a shared 'koine', which remains a legacy and a commitment for us and for future generations. European culture, European cultures - of which the photographs are an indelible trace of an essential historical journey - are where our differences can be found, but they are differences which enrich and which must be preserved and valued.
It is a Union which gathers together 27 nations, almost five hundred million people, twenty three languages and three alphabets, many religions but also deeply rooted humanistic convictions based on the force of science and of reason, a union which welcomes among its members during the next few years other populations and other cultures from the Slav territories and which has placed as an urgent question as to the form and the substance of its relationship with the neighbouring countries of the Mediterranean area.