Renaissance to 19th century , the founder of modern
political science The origins of Italian nationalism have been traced to
the Renaissance where Italy led a European revival of
classical Greco-Roman style of culture, philosophy, and art. In 1454, representatives from all the regional states of Italy met in Lodi to sign the treaty known as the
peace of Lodi, by which they intended to pursue
Italian unification. The
status quo established at Lodi lasted until 1494, when French troops intruded into Italian affairs under
Charles VIII, initiating the
Italian Wars. The Renaissance-era diplomat and political theorist
Niccolò Machiavelli, in his work
The Prince (1532), appealing to Italian patriotism urged Italians "to seize Italy and free her from the
Barbarians", by which he referred to the foreign powers occupying the Italian peninsula. Machiavelli quoted four verses from Petrarch's “Italia mia”, which looked forward to a political leader who would unite Italy. During the Italian Wars
Pope Julius II (1503–1513) made every effort to forge Italian alliances to drive the enemy – in his time the French – out of the country. And although his rallying cry
fuori i barbari (‘Put the barbarians out!’) is probably apocryphal, it very neatly sums up the feeling of many Italians. In his treatise ''Discorso sopra il concilio che si ha da fare, e sopra la unione d'Italia'', published in 1566,
Girolamo Muzio, a prominent man of letters of the mid-1500s, advocated for the first time the political unification of Italy. In 1559 the
Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis marked the end of Italian liberty and the beginning of a period of uncontested Spanish hegemony in Italy. During the long-lasting period of Spanish domination a vitriolic anti-Spanish polemic became widespread throughout Italy.
Trajano Boccalini wrote many anti-Spanish
pamphlets, such as
Pietra del paragone politico (Politick Touchstone), published after his death in 1615. Followers of Boccalini published similar anti-Spanish pamphlets in the same period, such as
Esequie delle reputazione di Spagna, printed in 1615, in which the corpse of the reputation of Spain is dissected by famous anatomists. Modern historians disagree on the strength of “Italianità” (Italian national identity) in the early modern period. By contrast, Spanish diplomats in Italy at the time were all too certain that Italians shared a common bond of resentment against the imperial power of Spain.
Charles Emmanuel I's expansionist policy ignited Italian nationalism and patriotism. In 1614
Alessandro Tassoni published in quick succession two anonymous
Filippiche addressed to the Italian nobility, exhorting the nobles to discard their lethargy, unite and instead of fighting each other, join
Savoy in ridding Italy of Spanish hegemony. At about the same time that Tassoni was inspired to write the
Filippiche,
Fulvio Testi, a young poet at the court of the duke of Este, published a collection of poems dedicated to Charles Emmanuel. Not all the poems were of a patriotic nature, but those that were clearly revealed the feelings Charles Emmanuel had stirred in freedom-loving Italians. More than fifty years later
Vittorio Siri still reminisced that “all Italy broke forth with pen and tongue in praises and panegyrics at the name of Carlo Emanuele, and in demonstrations of joy and applause that he had revived . . . the ancient Latin valor, wishing that he . . . [might] one day become the redeemer of Italy's freedom and the restorer of its greatness.” The failure of Charles Emmanuel's expansive foreign policy caused a widespread crisis among Italian nationalists. In
Vincenzo da Filicaja's late seventeenth-century sonnet “Italia, Italia O tu, cui feo la sorte” (Italy, Italy, O you, to whom fate has given) the 'unlucky gift of beauty' was the reason why Italy, 'the slave of friend and foe', had repeatedly been conquered, sacked and exploited throughout history. Filicaia's sonnet was well known, along with Petrarch's
Italia mia, as one of the great Italian patriotic lyrics. It appeared in
Sismondi's
De la littérature du midi (where it is praised as 'the most celebrated specimen which the Italian literature of the seventeenth century affords') and was frequently translated into English. In 1713 the Dukes of Savoy, who traditionally possessed the title of an
imperial vicar of Italy, obtained royal dignity, securing their pre-eminence among the Italian princes. When France started to annex
Corsica in the late 18th century (and then incorporated during
Napoleon's empire the regions of
Piemonte,
Liguria,
Toscana and
Lazio), the first movements to defend Italy's existence aroused with
Paoli revolt and were later followed by the birth of the so-called "irredentism". , the Corsican hero who made Italian the official language of his Corsican Republic in 1755 Paoli was sympathetic to
Italian culture and regarded his own native language as an Italian dialect (Corsican is an
Italo-Dalmatian tongue closely related to
Tuscan). He was considered by
Niccolò Tommaseo, who collected his
Lettere (Letters), as one of the precursors of the
Italian irredentism. The so-called
Babbu di a Patria ("Father of the fatherland"), as Pasquale Paoli was nicknamed by the
Corsican Italians, wrote in his Letters the following appeal in 1768 against the French: We are Corsicans by birth and sentiment, but first of all we feel Italian by language, origins, customs, traditions; and Italians are all brothers and united in the face of history and in the face of God ... As Corsicans we wish to be neither slaves nor "rebels" and as Italians we have the right to deal as equals with the other Italian brothers ... Either we shall be free or we shall be nothing... Either we shall win or we shall die, weapons in hand ... The war against France is right and holy as the name of God is holy and right, and here on our mountains will appear for Italy the sun of liberty....
1830s to 1848 . His thoughts influenced many politicians of a later period, among them
Woodrow Wilson,
David Lloyd George,
Mahatma Gandhi,
Golda Meir and
Jawaharlal Nehru. The initial important figure in the development of Italian nationalism was Giuseppe Mazzini, who became a nationalist in the 1820s. In his political career, Mazzini held as objectives the liberation of Italy from the Austrian occupation, indirect control by Austria, princely despotism, aristocratic privilege, and clerical authority. Mazzini was captivated by
ancient Rome that he considered the "temple of
humanity" and sought to establish a united Italy as a "
Third Rome" that emphasized Roman spiritual values that Italian nationalists claimed were preserved by the
Catholic Church. , celebrated as one of the greatest generals of modern times and as the "Hero of the Two Worlds" because of his military enterprises in South America and Europe, who fought in many military campaigns that led to
Italian unification Vincenzo Gioberti in 1843 in his book
On the Civil and Moral Primacy of the Italians, advocated a federal state of Italy led by the
Pope.
Camillo Benso, the future Prime Minister of the
Kingdom of Sardinia and afterwards the Kingdom of Italy, worked as an editor for the nationalist Italian newspaper
Il Risorgimento in the 1840s. Cavour was a clear example of
civic nationalism with a high consideration for values including
freedom,
tolerance,
equality, and
individual rights compatible with a sober nationalism.
Economic nationalism influenced businessmen and government authorities to promote a united Italy. The Revolutions of 1848 resulted in a major development of the Italian nationalist movement. Liberalization of press laws in
Piedmont allowed nationalist activity to flourish. The statesman
Daniele Manin seems to have believed in Italian unification years before
Camillo Benso of Cavour, who actually unified the country with
Giuseppe Garibaldi through diplomatic and military actions. During the 1856
Congress of Paris, Manin talked with Cavour about several plans and strategies to achieve the
unification of Italy; Cavour clearly considered those plans vain things, and after the meeting wrote that Manin had talked about "''l'unità d'Italia ed altre corbellerie''" ("the unity of Italy and other nonsense"). The Risorgimento was an ideological movement that helped incite the feelings of brotherhood and nationalism in the imagined Italian community, which called for the unification of Italy and the pushing out of foreign powers. Literature, music, and other outlets of expression frequently alluded back to the glorious past of Rome and the miraculous feats their ancestors had accomplished in defending their homeland and kicking out the foreign occupants.
Post-Risorgimento, World War I and aftermath (1870 to 1922) , whose actions as prime minister were characterised by a nationalism After the unification of Italy was completed in 1870, the Italian government faced domestic political paralysis and internal tensions, resulting in it resorting to embarking on a colonial policy to divert the Italian public's attention from internal issues. In these years, one of the most prominent political figures was
Francesco Crispi, whose actions as prime minister were characterised by a nationalism that often appeared as a form of obsession for the national unity and defence from hostile foreign countries. Italy managed to colonize the East African coast of
Eritrea and
Somalia, but failed to conquer
Ethiopia with 15,000 Italians dying in the war and being forced to retreat. Then, Italy waged war with the
Ottoman Empire from 1911 to 1912 and gained
Libya and the
Dodecanese Islands from Turkey. However, these attempts to gain popular support from the public failed, and rebellions and violent protests became so intense that many observers believed that the young Kingdom of Italy would not survive. Tired of the internal conflicts in Italy, a movement of bourgeois intellectuals led by
Gabriele d'Annunzio,
Gaetano Mosca, and
Vilfredo Pareto declared war on the parliamentary system, and their position gained respect among Italians. D'Annunzio called upon young Italians to seek fulfillment in violent action and put an end to the politically maneuvering parliamentary government. The
Italian Nationalist Association (
ANI) was founded in
Florence in 1910 by the jingoist nationalist
Enrico Corradini who emphasized the need for martial heroism, of total sacrifice of individualism and equality to one's nation, the need of discipline and obedience in society, the grandeur and power of ancient Rome, and the need for people to live dangerously. Corradini's ANI's extremist appeals were enthusiastically supported by many Italians. , as part of an Italian nationalist reaction against the
Paris Peace Conference of 1919, set up the short-lived
Italian Regency of Carnaro in
Fiume (now Rijeka,
Croatia). At the outbreak of
World War I in 1914, Italy initially maintained neutrality, despite its official alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary since 1882 on the grounds that Germany and Austria-Hungary were waging an aggressive war that it refused to take part in. In 1915, Italy eventually decided to enter the war on the British and French side against Austria-Hungary and Germany. Nationalist pride soared in Italy after the end of hostilities in November 1918, with the victory of Italy and Allied forces over Austria-Hungary and the seizure by Italy of former Austro-Hungarian territories. Italian nationalism became a major force at both elite and popular levels until 1945, when popular democracy became a much more important force.
Freemasonry was an influential semi-secret force in Italian politics with a strong presence among professionals and the middle class across Italy, as well as among the leadership in parliament, public administration, and the army. The two main organisation were the
Grand Orient and the
Grand Lodge of Italy. They had 25,000 members in 500 or more lodges. Freemasons took on the challenge of mobilizing the press, public opinion. and the leading political parties in support of Italy's joining the Allies. traditionally, Italian nationalism focused on unification, and undermining the power of the Catholic Church. In 1914-15 they dropped the traditional pacifistic rhetoric and used instead the powerful language of Italian nationalism. Freemasonry had always promoted cosmopolitan universal values, and by 1917 onwards they demanded a
League of Nations to promote a new post-war universal order based upon the peaceful coexistence of independent and democratic nations. , i.e.
Trentino-Alto Adige, the
Julian March and
Dalmatia (tan), and the
Snežnik Plateau area (green). Dalmatia, after the WWI, however, was not assigned to Italy but to
Yugoslavia.
Italy entered into World War I in 1915 with the aim of completing national unity, so it is also considered the Fourth Italian War of Independence, from a historiographical perspective, as the conclusion of the
unification of Italy. Italy, nominally allied with
German and the
Austro-Hungarian empires in the
Triple Alliance, in 1915 joined the
Allies, entering World War I with a
promise of substantial territorial gains that included west
Inner Carniola, the former
Austrian Littoral, and
Dalmatia, as well as parts of the
Ottoman Empire.The
Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919) and
Treaty of Rapallo (1920) allowed for annexation of
Trentino Alto-Adige, the
Julian March,
Istria, the
Kvarner Gulf and the Dalmatian city of
Zara. In particular, Italian nationalists were enraged by the Allies denying Italy the right to annex
Fiume on the principle of self-determination, which they claimed by disregarding its mainly Slavic suburb of
Sušak. Fiume was not included in Italy's demands agreed with the Allies in 1915, and a larger part of
Dalmatia which had a vast majority Slavic population and an Italian minority (namely the
Dalmatian Italians), claiming that Italian annexation of large part of Dalmatia would violate
Woodrow Wilson's
Fourteen Points. D'Annunzio responded to this by mobilizing two thousand veterans of the war who seized Fiume by force; this action was met with international condemnation of d'Annunzio's actions but was supported by a majority of Italians.
Fascism and World War II (1922 to 1945) titled himself
Duce and
ruled the country from 1922 to 1943. The
seizure of power by the
Italian Fascist leader
Benito Mussolini as
Prime Minister of Italy in 1922 and his development of a
fascist totalitarian state in Italy involved appeal to Italian nationalism, seeking to expand Italian possessions via irredentist claims based on the legacy of the Roman and Venetian empires. For this reason the fascists engaged in
interventionist foreign policy. In 1935, Mussolini
invaded Ethiopia and founded
Italian East Africa, resulting in international isolation and leading to Italy's withdrawal from the
League of Nations. Italy then
allied with Nazi Germany and the
Empire of Japan, and strongly supported
Francisco Franco in the
Spanish Civil War. In 1939, Italy
annexed Albania. There were three major themes in Mussolini's foreign policy. The first was a continuation of the foreign-policy objectives of the preceding Liberal regime. Liberal Italy had allied itself with Germany and Austria, and had great ambitions in the Balkans and North Africa. Ever since it had been badly defeated in Ethiopia in 1896, there was a strong demand for seizing that country. Second was a profound disillusionment after the heavy losses of the First World War; the small territorial gains from Austria were not enough to compensate. Third was Mussolini's promise to restore the pride and glory of the
Roman Empire. Italian Fascism is based upon Italian nationalism and in particular, seeks to complete what it considers as the incomplete project of
Risorgimento by incorporating
Italia Irredenta (unredeemed Italy) into the state of Italy. To the east of Italy, the Fascists claimed that
Dalmatia was a land of Italian culture. To the south, the Fascists claimed
Malta, which belonged to the United Kingdom, and
Corfu, which belonged to Greece, to the north claimed
Italian Switzerland, while to the west claimed
Corsica,
Nice and
Savoy, which belonged to France. Mussolini sought to build closer relations with Germany and the United Kingdom while showing hostility towards France and Yugoslavia. He fought communism in
Spain in 1936/37 and united
Albania to the Kingdom of Italy in 1939. In 1940, Mussolini entered
WW2 on the side of
Hitler's Germany, but in September 1943, Italy was forced to surrender to the Allies. After World War II, Italian irredentism disappeared along with the defeated Fascists and the Monarchy of the
House of Savoy. After the
Treaty of Paris (1947) and the
Treaty of Osimo (1975), all territorial claims were abandoned by the
Italian Republic (see
Foreign relations of Italy). The Italian irredentist movement thus vanished from Italian politics.
Post–World War II and current situation After the fall of Fascism and following the birth of the
Republic, the interest in Italian nationalism by scholars, politicians and the masses was relatively low, mainly because of its close relation with Fascism and consequently with bad memories of
World War II. The only notable and active political party who clearly declared Italian nationalism as its main ideology was the
neo-fascist Italian Social Movement (
MSI), which became the fourth largest party in Italy by the early 1960s. In these years, Italian nationalism was considered an ideology linked to right-wing political parties and organisations. Nevertheless, two significant events seemed to revitalise Italian nationalism among
Italians, the first one in 1953 with the
Question of Trieste when the claim of Italy on the full control of the city of
Trieste was largely endorsed by most of the Italian society with patriotic demonstrations. In 1995 the MSI developed in the
Alleanza Nazionale and was in the
Berlusconi governments of Italy: the party was part of all three
House of Freedoms coalition governments led by
Silvio Berlusconi. Gianfranco Fini (leader of Alleanza Nazionale) was nominated Deputy Prime Minister after the
2001 general election. In the 2000s, Italian nationalism seemed to gain a moderate support by the society, in particular during important days such as the
National Day Festa della Repubblica (Republic day) and the
Anniversary of the Liberation. The
President of the Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi has often praised patriotism among
Italians by mentioning in his speeches national events, including the
Risorgimento or the
Resistenza, and national symbols like the
Flag of Italy and the
National Anthem, although he seems to want to stress self-confidence rather than plain nationalism. Nationalist ideologies are often present during Italian anti-globalisation protests. Today, Italian nationalism is still mainly supported by right-wing political parties like
Brothers of Italy and minor far-right political parties like
The Right,
CasaPound,
Forza Nuova and
Tricolour Flame. Nonetheless, in recent times Italian nationalism has been occasionally embraced as a form of
banal nationalism by
liberal parties like
Forza Italia, centrist parties like the
Union of the Centre or even by centre-left parties like the
Democratic Party. Italian nationalism has also faced a great deal of opposition from within Italy itself.
Regionalism and municipal identities have challenged the concept of a unified Italian identity, like those in
Friuli-Venezia Giulia,
Naples,
Sardinia,
Sicily and
Veneto. Such regional identities evoked strong opposition after the Piedmontese-led unification of Italy to plans for "Piedmontization" of Italy. ==Symbols==