British Academy: The UK's National Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences
ITALIAN LECTURE
'Viva Savoia': The Cultural Foundation of the Kingdom of Italy, 1849-1878
Professor Andrew Lyttleton, University of Pisa
31 October 2001
This lecture will focus on the reign of Victor Emanuel II, the period during which the monarchs of the House of Savoy established themselves as the legitimate rulers of the whole Italian peninsula. It will include, however, a retrospective glance at the origins of Risorgimento culture, and a look forward to the later attempt to reinforce the national image of the monarchy.
The intention is not to examine political events except in very summary outline, but to explore how the supporters of the Savoy Monarchy established its cultural hegemony over other forms of patriotism. The importance of the interpretations and images of the national past will be particularly emphasised. After 1848, a narrative of history centred on the rise of the Savoy Monarchy from the 16th century onwards replaces a narrative in which the rise and fall of the free communes was dominant. The way in which leading cultural figures (e.g. Manzoni and Verdi) rallied to the cause of monarchy and the cultural consequences of this will also be examined. Finally, questions regarding the success of this 'cultural operation' and its limits will be addressed, including the revival of a republican and strongly anti-clerical vision of history in the 1880s, nourished by the myth of the 'secular saints' of the Risorgimento, Mazzini and Garibaldi.