This timely and vibrant edition of essays about Roberto Benigni covers the bases of Benigni's foundations as a comedian, from his directing debut You Upset Me, his brilliant comedyJohnny Stecchino, the apex of his work as a comic actor in The Monster, even musings about the ethnocentricity of the reception of Pinocchio.

This collection wisely focuses on Benigni's Oscar winning La vita e bella/Life is Beautiful, a film which has set off continuous and often bitter debate about Holocaust representation and historical consciousness. The topics covered in the collection offer rich insights from critics around the world in a compelling forum for the consideration of the wider issues that Benigni's films provoke.

The contributors are: Rebecca West, Umberto Taccheri, Mirna Cicioni, Victoria Kirkham, Erminia Passannanti, William Van Watson, Laura Leonardo, Vittorio Montemaggi, Gefen Bar-on, Janice Fernheimer, David Scott Diffrient, Grace Russo Bullaro and with a Preface by Carlo Celli.