I am continuously fascinated by the ways architecture has (and does) shaped cultural identity.
A recent book by conservative British philosopher Roger Scruton entitled, The West and the Rest, describes the differences in architectural sensibilities between Islam and the West, noting how the Islamist looks at the Twin Towers as pagan defiance of the cultural of minarets, that is, one that points to God.
Scruton's book is sort of riposte to Samuel Huntingtion's "The Clash of Civilizations." Sandro Magister, Italian journalist and proprietor of www.chiesa news service profiles Scruton's book here. The book was recently released in Italy under the title, "L' Occidente e gli Altri," and published by Vita e Pensiero, the publishing house of the Sacred Heart University of Milan. Once again, as compared to other parts of Europe, Italian intellectual life seems rather robust. If only they had the birth rates to match it.