Il colore del tempo

A series of essays reflects on the intellectual character of the modern age, arguing that press-driven ephemerality and accelerating life have reshaped literature, criticism, and public reputation. The author surveys the rise of scientific, positivist approaches to artistic judgment and a reactive idealism, describes criticism’s turn to analytic methods, and examines tensions between faith, science, and artistic individuality. He considers speculative hopes for technological mastery of life and space alongside moral and aesthetic anxieties, and presents a cautious portrait of a century marked by rapid change, conflicted beliefs, and shifting cultural values.