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In 1949 Piero Calamandrei’s periodical, «Il Ponte», dedicated a double issue to Piedmont. The question that was being raised at the time concerned the need to create a new identity for the region following the demise of the House of Savoy. The issue opened with a brief yet articulate article by Luigi Einaudi, but it was the piece by Augusto Monti, entitled Piemonte, that characterised the Piedmontese identity as lying within the dialectic of its mountains and plains, i.e. brich and piana, and as being marked by its traditional proverbs and sayings, in particular those associated with work. The essay evoked a new vision of Piedmont tied to traditional rural labour, an interpretation that was picked up by Norberto Bobbio, who created a dualism between the categorical imperative of work and the refusal to accept change. The same line of reasoning has recently been adopted by Enzo Bianchi. However, Monti’s article sparked yet another interpretation, that of a job well done, embraced first by Cesare Pavese and then by Primo Levi. In each case, the Piedmontese identity was tied to the rural environment and did not give rise to any sort of industrial literature; rather, this call to the categorical imperative of doing one’s duty until death led to a devaluation of factory work with respect to agriculture.
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