Think of Italy and imagine the pastoral tranquillity of Tuscan olive groves and Piedmont’s vineyards, mandolins and boater-hatted gondola oarsmen, or the relaxed charms of Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in the romantic comedy Roman Holiday.
In 2011 the country had a very different feel: frenzied, gut-wrenching and nightmarish for politicians, bankers, small savers and large institutional investors, as they rode the roller-coaster of Italian share prices and treasury bond yields. The right-wing coalition government led by media-mogul Silvio Berlusconi trembled. Just where, when and how would it end, many wondered. With almost €62bn of government debt redemption due in September 2011, far more than in any other month over the next year, this month may provide a pointer.