nell'Italia del tardo/dell'Ottocento

01:15 Aug 30, 2020 

If I'd done a PhD, I'd want the translation checked by a native speaker.

16:35 Aug 29, 2020 

for your explanation. My doubt was exactly whether to use or not the article when the text refers to a specific period within the century (late 1800s in this case).

13:19 Aug 29, 2020 

Although I don't quite understand the question, I will venture to add a discussion entry.

If the question is about the grammatical correctness in English of using the article "the" with "nineteenth century", I would say that the article _must_ be used when the last noun in the expression is "century", e.g., "in the (late) nineteenth century" or "in Italy of the (late) nineteenth century." However, it _must not_ be used when the last noun in the expression is a proper name such as "Italy," and this would be the case whenever "(late) nineteenth-century" serves as an adjective, e.g., "in (late) nineteenth-century Italy".

Of course, "in Italy in the 1800s" or "in the 1800s in Italy" would also be grammatically correct, but using "1800s" as an adjective ("in 1800s Italy") would be strange.

However, if the question is about the use of "late", I don't think its inclusion or omission will change whether "the" should be used or not.

Depending on the actual years in question, stylistic alternatives to "late" might be "in the second half of" "toward the end of", or "near the close of".

And of course, as Emmanuella pointed out, "nineteenth" can often be used interchangeably with "19th".