This issue marks the end of our five year term of office as joint editors of Modern Italy. We are pleased to say that our excellent working relationship has remained undamaged by the experience, and that we have found the job to be continually interesting, stimulating and also challenging. There are many individuals that we would like to thank for all their help and kindness over the period. From our predecessors, Anna Cento Bull and Martin Bull, we inherited a journal which was efficiently run and well organised. We are very grateful to them for all their help and advice, particularly in the first year of our editorship. Our colleagues at Taylor & Francis have been very supportive throughout and we would like to record our debt of gratitude to the managing editors we have worked with, above all Madeleine Markey, as well as the two colleagues who have been at the sharp end, dealing with the production of the journal: Sarah Evans and Sarahjayne Smith.