The Passeggiata and Popular Culture in an Italian Town by Giovanna P. Del Negro examines the relationship between the practices of everyday life and the negotiation of modernity in a town (to which Del Negro assigns the pseudonym "Sasso") in the Abruzzo province of central Italy. In her study, Del Negro examines a range of expressive culture from face-to-face events like the evening passeggiata (or promenade) and festive games to mass-mediated forms such as a popular soap opera, televised court proceedings, postcards, and reactions to local and national news stories. The result is a clear, accessible, and well-written work that transcends conventional genre and "folk"-oriented approaches to explore the interpenetration of cultural performance, consumerism, the mass media, and modernization.