'The Leopard' Offers A Close-up of Dramatic Societal Change in 1860s Italy, With Contemporary Lessons

Plus, how modern Italy and Germany were formed in the 19th century

“If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.”

This is a quotation from the classic 1959 novel “The Leopard” by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa.

“The Leopard” was made into a popular 1963 film and is now, in 2025, a streaming series on Netflix. The quote has been refined into a political doctrine called the di Lampedusa strategy. It…