The past year has been a great challenge for everyone across Italy, and it has forced us to change our perspectives — on pretty much everything. Like others around the world, Italians are still paying a high price for the pandemic, trying to balance their lives between the online and the real worlds. Frustration, dissatisfaction and fatigue are just a few of the feelings shared by the population.

With this in mind, I have chosen five Italian cultural productions that I feel best represent Italy in this particular moment. A famous comic artist, two books, an artistic project and a well-known magazine are the models that portray the expectations, emotions, and challenges of Italian life today.