Americana is a title that echoes loudly through Italian culture as it was originally the title of a controversial literary anthology, edited by Elio Vittorini in the 1940s. The collection included 33 American writers (dating from the early 1800s to the 1930s), all translated by well-known Italian writers and intellectuals, including Cesare Pavese, Eugenio Montale and Alberto Moravia. At the time, Vittorini was unable to publish Americana exactly as he wanted it, as Italy’s pre-war fascist regime refused to tolerate open displays of affection for any foreign cultures other than Germany. Despite such coercion, many Italian intellectuals (including a very young Fernanda Pivano) had shown an interest and actively participated in underground translations of American literature from as early as the 1930s. And, inevitably, Pavese and Vittorini were looked up to as leaders.