An Italian in a right state! (5)
I believe the answer is:
roman
'an italian' is the definition.
(Roman is an example)
'a right state' is the wordplay.
'a right' becomes 'r' (common abbreviation).
'state' becomes 'oman' (Oman is an example**).
'r'+'oman'='ROMAN'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for roman that I've seen before include "Audrey Hepburn film (time off in Italy)" , "Manor (anag.)" , "eg Brutus" , "Caesar among others" , "A novel" .)