In The History of Italian Marxism, Paolo Favilli explores how cultures inspired by Marx and 'Marxism' developed in Italy from the time of the First International up till the eve of the First World War.

Paolo Favilli was a professor of Contemporary History and Head of Humanities Department at Genoa University. He is a scholar of the History of Cultures of Socialism. His studies on the history of Marxism include Il Socialismo italiano e la teoria economica di Marx (Bibliopolis, 1980), Marxismo e storia. Saggio sull'innovazione storiografica in Italia (1945-1970) (FrancoAngeli, 2006) and Il Marxismo e le sue storie (FrancoAngeli, 2016).