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World Literature
and Its Times
World Literature and Its Times
Profiles of Notable Literary Works and the Historical Events That Influenced Them
Volume 7: Italian Literature and Its Times
Joyce Moss, Editor
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Moss, Joyce, 1951Italian literature and its times / Joyce Moss.
p. cm. – (World literature and its times; v. 7)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7876-3725-4 (hardcover: alk. paper)
1. Italian literature–History and criticism. 2. Literature and history–Italy.
I. Title.
PQ4038.M67 2005
850.9’358–dc22
2005015914
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
Contents
Preface
vii
Acknowledgments
xi
Introduction
xiii
Chronology of Relevant Events
xvii
Contents by Title
xxxi
Contents by Author
Image Credits
Entries
Index
xxxiii
xxxv
1
503
v
General Preface
T
he world at the dawn of the twenty-first century is a shrinking sphere. Innovative modes
of transmission make communication from
one continent to another virtually instantaneous,
quickening the development of an increasingly
global society, heightening the urgency of the need
for mutual understanding. At the foundation of
World Literature and Its Times is the belief that
within a people's literature are keys to their perspectives, their emotions, and the formative events
that have brought them to the present point.
As manifested in their literary works, societies
experience phenomena that are in some respects
universal and in other respects tied to time and
place. Italo Calvino's The Path to the Spiders' Nest,
a novel set in Italy during the Second World War,
and Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, a play set
at an unspecified time and place but reflective of
events in World War II France, both draw on
popular Resistance movements to the Nazi war
effort. Yet while they reflect the same phenomenon, a close look at the two works and the related historical developments reveals differences
that are indeed tied to time and place. In much
the same way, Rosario Fere's "The Youngest
Doll," a short story set in mid-twentieth-century
Puerto Rico, and Furugh Farrukhzad's "The
Mechanical Doll," a poem set in mid-twentiethcentury Iran, both concern the limitations placed
on the female population of their respective societies. While even the titles suggest a similarity,
in this case too an informed reading of the two
works reveals illuminating differences.
World Literature and Its Times regards both fiction and nonfiction as rich mediums for recognizing the differences as well as the similarities
among people and societies. In its view, full understanding of a literary work demands attention
to events and attitudes of the period in which it
takes place and of the one in which it is written.
The series therefore examines novels, short stories, biographies, essays, speeches, poems, and
plays by contextualizing a given work within
these two periods. Each volume covers some 50
literary works that span a mix of centuries and
genres. The literary work itself takes center stage,
with its contents determining which issuessocial, political, psychological, economic, or
cultural—are covered. The entry on a literary
work discusses the relevant issues apart from the
work, making connections to it when merited
and allowing for comparisons between the literary and the historical realities. Close attention is
given to the work as well, in the interest of extracting historical understandings from it.
Of course, the function of literature is not necessarily to represent history accurately. Nevertheless, the images and ideas promoted by a
powerful literary work—be it Marco Polo's narrative The Travels of Marco Polo (set in China and
Southeast Asia), Jose Hernandez's poem The
Gaucho Martin Fierro (set in Argentina), Isak
Dinesen's memoir Out of Africa (Kenya), or William
Shakespeare's play Macbeth (Scotland)—leave
impressions commonly taken to be historical. In
taking literature as fact, one risks acquiring a
vii
I Preface
viii
mistaken notion of history. The gaucho of Argentina is a case in point, having inspired poetry
by non-gauchos whose verse conveys a highly romanticized image of these cowboylike nomads,
albeit one that includes some realistic details. To
adjust for such discrepancies, this series distinguishes between fact and its literary reworkings.
On the other hand, literary works can broaden
our understanding of history. They are able to
convey more than the cut-and-dried record by
portraying events in a way that captures the fears
and challenges of a period or that draws attention
to groups of people who are generally left out of
standard histories. Many of the literary works covered in this series—from Miguel de Cervantes's
Don Quixote (Spain) to Nelson Mandela's "The
Rivonia Trial Speech" (South Africa)—draw attention to elements of society that have been
neglected in standard histories. This is well illustrated by writings about women in wartime, from
Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate (Mexico)
to Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa (Kenya), Elizabeth
Bowen's The Heat of the Day (Britain), Hanan alShaykh's The Story of Zahra (Lebanon), and Elsa
Morante's History: A Novel (Italy). As illustrated by
these works, literature in various societies engages
in a vigorous dialog with mainstream texts, offering alternative perspectives. In fact, many of the
works covered in this series feature characters and
ideas that counter deeply ingrained stereotypes,
from Friar Bartolome de las Casas's A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies (mid-1500s
Latin America) to Mongo Beti's Mission to Kola
(mid-1900s Cameroon Republic).
Even nonfiction must be anchored in its place
and time to derive its full value. Jose Ortega y
Gasset's set of essays Meditations on Quixote concerns itself with the search for Spanish identity
in light of recent imperial losses and in relation
to a European philosophy of the day. Primo
Levi's Survival in Auschwitz is the memoir of a victim of Fascist anti-Semitism in Italy, trying to
process his experience as a survivor of the Holocaust. A third entry, on Frantz Fanon's The
Wretched of the Earth (about the merits of violence), considers his views as an outgrowth of
the ravages in colonial Algeria.
The task of reconstructing the historical context of a literary work can be problematic. An author may present events out of chronological
order, as Mexico's Carlos Fuentes does in The
Death of Artemio Cruz, Or a work may feature a
legendary character that defies attempts to fit her
or him into a strict time slot. The heroic queen in
The Arabian Nights, who puts a stop to her king's
execution of an unfortunate series of wives, is one
such character. In the first case, World
Literature and Its Times unscrambles the plot, providing a linear rendering of events and associated
historical developments. In the second, the series
profiles customs and background information particular to the culture at the times the epic is set
and written, arming the reader with details that
inform the hero's adventures. The approach sheds
light on the relationship between fact and fiction,
both of which are shown to provide insight into
a people and their epic heritage. As always, the
approach is taken with a warm appreciation for
the beauty of a literary work independent of the
related historical facts, but also in the belief that
ultimate regard is shown for that work by placing
it in the context of pertinent events.
Beyond this underlying belief, the World Literature and Its Times series is founded on the notion that a command of world literature bolsters
knowledge of the writings produced by one's
own society. Long before the present century,
writers from different locations influenced one
another through trends and strategies in their literatures. In our postcolonial age, such crossfertilization has quickened. Latin American
literature, having been influenced by Spanish
trends, among others, itself influences Chinese
writers of today. Likewise, Italy's and Africa's literary traditions have affected and been affected
by France's, and the same relationship holds true
for the writings of Spain and Germany, and of
India and Great Britain. The degree of such literary intermixture promises only to multiply
given our increasingly global society. In the
process, world literatures and their landmark
texts gain even greater significance, attaining the
potential to promote understanding not only of
others, but also of ourselves.
The Selection of Literary Works
The works covered in World Literature and Its
Times 7: Italian Literature and Its Times have been
carefully selected by professors in the field at the
universities listed in the Acknowledgements.
Keeping the literature-history connection in
mind, the team chose titles for inclusion based
on a combination of factors: how frequently a literary work is studied, how closely it is tied to
pivotal events in the past or present, and how
strong and enduring its appeal has been to readers in and out of the society that produced it. Attention has been paid to literary works that have
met with critical and/or popular acclaim, from
the inception of Italian literature in the thirteenth
century to the present. There has also been a
careful effort to represent female as well as male
authors, to cover a mix of genres, and to treat
literary works that depict the experiences of different regions of the country and elements of the
population, including recent immigrants from,
for example, Africa. The literary works were furthermore limited to those that have been already
translated into English. There are, of course,
many more valuable works of Italian literature
than one could include in the volume. The inclusion of the selected list of works at the expense of these others has been made with the
above-detailed concerns in mind.
Format and Arrangement of Entries
The volumes in World Literature and Its Times are
arranged geographically. Within each volume,
the collection is arranged alphabetically by title
of the literary work. The setting of a literary work
appears at the beginning of the entry. Each entry is organized as follows:
1. Introduction—provides identifying information in three parts:
The literary work—specifies the genre of a
work, the place and time period in which
it is set, when it was written and/or first
published, and when it was first translated
into English; also provided is the title of the
work in its original language.
Synopsis—summarizes the storyline or
contents of the work.
Introductory paragraph—introduces the
literary work in relation to the author's life.
2. Events in History at the Time the Literary Work Takes Place—describes social
and political events that relate to the plot
or contents of the literary work. The section may discuss background information
as well as relevant events during the period in which the work is set. The subsections in this section vary, depending on the
particular literary work. In general, the
section takes a deductive approach, starting with events in history and telescoping
inward to events in the literary work.
3. The Literary Work in Focus—summarizes the plot or contents of the literary
work in detail, describes how it illuminates
history, and identifies sources used to generate the work and the literary context sur-
rounding it. The section begins with a detailed plot or contents summary, followed
by a subsection on an aspect of the work
that illuminates our understanding of
events or attitudes of the period. This subsection takes an inductive approach, starting with the literary work and broadening
outward to events in history. A third subsection specifies sources that inspired elements of the work and discusses its literary context, or relation to other works.
Preface
4. Events in History at the Time the Literary Work Was Written—describes social,
political, and/or literary events in the author's lifetime that relate to the plot or contents of a work. Also discussed in this section are the reviews or reception accorded
the literary work.
5. For More Information—provides a list of
all sources that have been cited in the entry as well as sources for further reading
about the issues or personalities that have
been highlighted in the entry.
If a literary work is set and written in the same
time period, sections 2 and 4 of the entry on that
work ("Events in History at the Time the Literary Work Takes Place" and "Events in History at
the Time the Literary Work Was Written") are
combined into the single section "Events in History at the Time of the Literary Work."
Additional Features
Relevant primary-source material appears where
appropriate in the text and in sidebars. Other
sidebars provide historical details that amplify issues raised in the text and anecdotes that promote understanding of the temporal context. At
the front of the volume is a set of timelines that
presents a historical overview of the society or
societies featured in a volume. The timelines are
correlated to the literary works treated in the volume. Timelines also appear within entries to
summarize intricate periods of history. Finally,
historically relevant illustrations enrich and further clarify information in the entries.
Comments and Suggestions
Your comments on this series and suggestions for
future editions are welcome. Please write: Editors, World Literature and Its Times, Thomson
Gale, 27500 Drake Road, Farmington Hills,
Michigan 48331-3535.
IX
Acknowledgments
orld Literature and Its Times 7: Italian
Literature and Its Times is a collaborative effort that evolved through a series of stages, each monitored by experts in the
fields of Italian literature and history. Deep appreciation is extended to Professor Barbara Zecchi of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst
for her invaluable guidance at every stage of the
development, from the selection of literary works
to the review of entries, illustrations, and front
matter. A special note of gratitude is also extended to Professors Geoffrey Symcox of the University of California at Los Angles and Claudio
Fogu at the University of California at Santa Barbara for their monitoring of the accuracy of historical details throughout the volume.
Professor with expertise in particular authors
and literary works reviewed the manuscripts of
the selected entries. The editors express appreciation to the following professors for their examination of the entries to insure accuracy and
completeness of the information conveyed.
Andrea Baldi, Rutgers University, Department
of Italian
Franco Betti, University of California at Los
Angeles, Department of Italian
Susanna Ferlito, University of Minnesota,
French and Italian Department
Claudio Fogu, University of California at Santa
Barbara, Department of French and Italian
Stephanie Jed, University of California at San
Diego, Department of Italian Studies
W
Carol Lazzaro-Weis, University of MissouriColumbia, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures
Edwin McCann, University of Southern California, School of Philosophy
Karen Pinkus, University of Southern California, Departments of French and Italian and
Comparative Literature
Lucia Re, University of California at Los Angeles, Department of Italian
Franco Ricci, University of Ottawa, Modern
Languages and Literatures
Margaret F. Rosenthal, University of Southern
California, Department of French and Italian
Risa Sodi, Yale University, Italian Department
Geoffrey Symcox, University of California at
Los Angeles, Department of History
Barbara Zecchi, University of Massachusetts at
Amherst, Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
For their painstaking research and composition, the editors thank the writers whose names
appear at the close of the entries they contributed. A complete listing follows:
Robert D. Aguirre, Professor, Wayne State
University
Loredana Anderson-Tirro, Senior Language
Lecturer, New York University
Sarah Annunziato, Ph.D. candidate, Gilman
Fellow, Johns Hopkins University
^
AcknowledgI ments
Andrea Baldi, Associate Professor, Rutgers
University
Amy Boylan, Visiting Assistant Professor, Colorado College
Carlo Celli, Associate Professor, Bowling
Green State University
Gary Cestaro, Associate Professor, DePaul
University
Elena Coda, Assistant Professor, Purdue
University
Terri DeYoung, Associate Professor, University of Washington at Seattle
Jacqualine Dyess, Lecturer, University of
North Texas
Flora Ghezzo, Assistant Professor, Columbia
University
Nicoleta Ghisas, Ph.D. candidate, Johns Hopkins University
Martin Griffin, Lecturer, Pomona College
Margherita Heyer-Caput, Associate Professor,
University of California at Davis
Rebecca Hopkins, Ph.D. candidate, University
of California at Los Angeles
Martha King, Lecturer, University of Maryland—
European Division
Pamela S. Loy, Ph.D., University of California
at Santa Barbara; professional writer
Diane R. Mannone, M.A. candidate, California State University at Dominguez Hills
Paolo Matteucci, Ph.D. candidate, University
of Southern California
Jorge Minguell, Ph.D. candidate, Johns Hopkins University
Valerie Mirshak, Ph.D. candidate, Johns Hopkins University
I xii
Letizia Modena, Ph.D. candidate, Johns Hopkins University
Maria Laura Mosco, Ph.D. candidate, University of Toronto
Arndt Niebisch, Ph.D. candidate, Johns Hopkins University
Courtney K. Quaintance, Ph.D. candidate,
University of Chicago
David D. Roberts, Albert Berry Saye Professor
of History, University of Georgia
Federica Santini, Lecturer, University of California at Los Angeles
Tiziana Serafini, Ph.D. candidate, University
of California at Los Angeles
Risa Sodi, Senior Lecturer and Italian Language Program Director, Yale University
Elissa Tognozzi, Lecturer/Director of Italian
Language Studies, University of California
at Los Angeles
Cristina Villa, Ph.D. candidate, University of
California at Los Angeles
Colin Wells, M.A., Oxford University; professional writer
Petra Wirth, Adjunct Lecturer, University of
Arizona
Laura Wittman, Assistant Professor, Stanford
University
A final note of gratitude is extended to Michael
L. LaBlanc of Thomson Gale for his careful editing and co-ordination of copy and illustrations,
and to Anne Leach, who indexed the volume
with great sensitivity to readers and subject
matter. Lastly the editors thank Lisa Granados,
Danielle Price, Lorraine Valestuk, and Monica
Riordan for their skillful execution of the editing, proofreading, and word processing.
Introduction
7 Italy" chants a despairing Petrarch
in a poem that he penned some 500
years before Italy became a unified
nation. Then the area was just a collection of separate regions with a common memory. Resounding from Tuscany, his lament invoked a single
name for the already long-disunited regions—
Italia—an ancient appellation for territory that
once formed the heart of the Roman Empire and
that roughly corresponds to Italy today. Remarkably, for 1400 years, from the fall of the Roman
Empire in 476 C.E. to unification in 1861, the regions remained separate yet conceived elements
of a national identity. Fundamental to this
achievement was a common literary language in
a land of multiple dialects.
Italy's is a history of dramatic extremes. Its regions continually sought to recapture the cultural
and political heights scaled by the Roman Empire even as they suffered invasions and domination by outsiders. After the Empire's definitive
fall as a result of the Ostrogoth invasion in 476,
the area succumbed to centuries of devastating
warfare, including battles between the Goths and
the Byzantine Empire, and invasions from the
north by the Lombards, a semi-nomadic people
who conquered the northern and central Italian
Peninsula in 569. The Lombards mostly respected local custom, even assimilating with the
surrounding populace, but they never conquered
the whole territory. The Byzantines remained in
Sicily, in much of the South, and in Venice, while
the popes kept Rome and its environs under
"M
Church control. Italia fell subject to a fragmented
existence that would ensue for centuries. In the
North, the Lombards established somewhat centralized political structures on the foundation of
those left by the Romans, and a degree of stability ensued. Meanwhile, the Arabs began to conquer the far less stable South in 827. Under Arab
rule, Sicily in particular prospered for a time.
New technical and cultural inventions were introduced, and Palermo became a vibrant intellectual and artistic center.
From his vantage point in the country's center, the pope kept a worried eye on the Arab
threat, responding to both it and renewed Lombard expansion by calling in the Franks to defend papal interests. The Prankish leader,
Charlemagne, went on to claim the northern
peninsula, attaching it to his empire, and becoming an absentee ruler, a common role in the
northern and central regions.
All of the fragmentation and absentee rule
helped render northern and central Italy ripe for
the growth of independent urban centers in the
tenth and eleventh centuries. These regions saw
the rise of the communes, self-governing, republican cities, ruled not by foreigners but by influential families of insiders, with a role for
representative councils and popular assemblies.
The communes faded in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as large cities incorporated
smaller ones—Milan swept Pavia into its fold;
Venice conquered Padua. Some of the prominent
cities grew into states, which often fell under the
xiii
I Introduction
xiv
sway of local notables who turned despotic. By
the end of the fourteenth century, a still fragmented Italy boasted five major states—the
Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Venice, the Republic of Florence, the Papal States, and the
Kingdom of Naples—with large stretches of land
falling outside their domain. It was in one of
these outside areas that literature in an Italian
vernacular was born.
Sicily had by this time passed from Arab rule
to Norman (French) domination, then to
Aragonese (Spanish) rule. The Normans had isolated the Italian South from foreign contact,
stymieing trade while the North engaged in it,
turning into the more prosperous region. The
two regions developed along separate, interdependent paths, with the agrarian South furnishing raw materials (wool, grain, etc.) to an
increasingly urban and commercial North. When
the Normans had the South re-instate the feudal
system, which had been dying out in the North,
they only widened the regional gap, which still
plagues Italy today. On the other hand, for a glorious half century, a Norman descendant, Frederick II (1194-1250), ruled Sicily in intellectual
style, his court at Palermo drawing an energetic
circle of writers and thinkers from the immediate vicinity, from the North, and from other European lands, giving rise to the first poets to write
in an Italian vernacular. Called the Sicilian
School, their verse centered on refined love. It is
these early-thirteenth-century Sicilian poets
whom scholars credit with the start of the Italian literary tradition. Some 20-odd court poets
established a common literary language based on
the Sicilian dialect with a few Tuscan and French
influences. Their activities greatly affected the
next step forward in the emergence of a distinctly
Italian literature, the poets of the dolce stil novo
(sweet new style), represented in this volume by
Guido Guinizzelli and Guido Cavalcanti.
Guinizzelli and Cavalcanti brought fresh direction to love poetry, writing in their own vernaculars (the dialects of Bologna and Florence,
respectively). Soon after, in the early fourteenth
century, Dante Alighieri codified a literary language based on the Italian vernaculars, blending
together elements from various dialects (mainly
Tuscan and Sicilian) in his Divine Comedy, a multifaceted poem on earthly and spiritual matters
that far exceeded its predecessors in style and
content. Dante is credited not only with establishing a standardized literary language but also
with setting a new standard for a literature preoccupied at once with the local and universal,
with fleeting Italian events and perennial religious/philosophical concerns. From then on,
Italy developed a cultural preoccupation with recalling and sorting out its historical experiences
through literature. Writers produced works
about timely experiences, from the first crusade
(Jerusalem Delivered), to the bubonic plague (The
Betrothed), domination by Napoleon Bonaparte
(The Last Letters ofjacopo Ortis), Unification (The
Leopard), Fascism (The Conformist), and latetwentieth-century immigration (Moor Harlequin's
22 Misfortunes). Also they generated poems, novels, plays, epistles, and essays that treated intimate, timeless human questions and emotions.
The two preoccupations resulted in a mix of the
universal and the particular worthy of Dante, as
shown by a listing of some of the issues that
resurface across the seven centuries of Italian literature and suggest other elements (beyond language) of a national identity:
The power of love (sacred and profane)
Guinizzelli's and Cavalcanti's Stil Novo Poetry (late 1200s); Stampa's Rime (1554);
D'Annunzio's Child of Pleasure (1889); De
Cespedes's The Secret (1952)
Gender relations, feminism and sexuality
Franco's Poems in Terze Rime (1575);
Goldoni's Mirandolina, or The Mistress of the
Inn (1753); Aleramo's A Woman (1906)
Political and social behavior Castiglione's
The Book of the Courtier (1528); Machiavelli's The Prince (1532); Moravia's The
Conformist (1957); Martinelli's Moor Harlequin's 22 Misfortunes (1993)
Resistance and protest (priests, foreigners,
Fascists) Manzonfs The Betrothed (1840),
Gramsci's Letters from Prison (1947); Fo's
We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay! (1974);
Calvino's The Path to the Spider's Nest (1947)
The relationship between art and life
Cellini's My Life (1728); Boccaccio's The
Decameron (1349-51); Pirandello's 5bc
Characters in Search of an Author (1921);
Band's Artemisia (1947)
The Church, the Inquisition, and religion
Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered (1560-81);
Levi's Survival in Auschwitz (1947); Eco's
The Name of the Rose (1980); Maraini's The
Silent Duchess (1990)
Self-scrutiny and the search for meaning
Svevo's Zeno's Conscience (1923); Croce's
History as the Story of Liberty (1938); Leopardi's Canti (1845); Ungaretti's Life of a Man
(1916-1970)
South versus North/Southern life Verga's
House by the Medlar Tree (1881); Deledda's
Ashes (1904); Camillieri's Excursion to Tindari (2000)
Patriotism and heroism/Unification Ariosto's Orlando Furioso (1516); Foscolo's
The Last Letters ofjacopo Ortis (1802); Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio (188283); Tomasi di Lampedusa's The Leopard
(1958)
Literature as documentation Polo's The
Travels of Marco Polo (1299); Vico's New
Science (1744); Casanova's The Duel
(1780); Morante's History: A Novel (1974)
Innovations in language and form Dante's
The Divine Comedy (1315); Marinetti's The
Futurist Manifesto (1909); Ungaretti's Life of
a Man (1916-1970); The Poetry of Eugenio
Montale (1925, 1939, 1956); Gadda's Acquainted with Grief (1963)
The age-old issue of Italian political life comes
to the fore in Machiavelli's The Prince, written
during the Renaissance. Italia, this country that
was not yet a country, led the European way in
the rebirth of classical thought during the late
fourteenth century, "rediscovering" artistic and
philosophic treasures of antiquity, which the
Byzantines had been preserving in the East. The
efforts of Petrarch and a few other Italians touched
off the humanist movement, which reoriented the
worldview in the West. Though deeply Christian,
the early humanists shifted intellectual enquiry
away from theology, which had dominated medieval thinking, to the works of ancient Greece
and Rome. The quest was for guidance from the
ancient works on how to live an active, fully engaged life rather than one steeped in contemplation, as had been espoused in the Middle Ages.
Also the humanists sought to recover a linguistic
elegance in Latin expression, which the medieval
writers appeared to have lost. Humanism stressed
grammar, rhetoric, moral philosophy, history,
and poetry, as well as faith in human potential
and will. The focus gave rise to innovative artistic and scientific works in the fifteenth, sixteenth,
and seventeenth centuries, commissioned to enhance the status of a family or city and appreciated as wondrous human creations in themselves.
Individual Italians reached new artistic heights,
designing the world's largest dome (Brunelleschi,
1434), sculpting a David (Michelangelo, 15011504) in marble and a Persus (Cellini, 1545-54)
in bronze, painting the Mona Lisa (Da Vinci, 150306), and writing epic poetry such as Ariosto's Or-
lando Furioso (1516) or a revolutionary essay like
Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World
Systems (1632), which, to the horror of Church
censors, argued that the solar system was sun- and
not earth-centered. Galileo was forced to recant.
From the early 1500s to the mid-1800s,
Spain, Austria, France and then again Austria
dominated various parts of the peninsula. Italians were at first heartened by the French Revolution and Napoleon's subsequent 1796 invasion
of their territory, then crushed by the disappointments of his rule, his fall in 1814, and the
Restoration of Austrian control over key parts of
the North (Lombardy and Venetia). All the turmoil nurtured an intense patriotism, aided and
abetted by literary works that prompted interest
in a unified Italy and that addressed the unhappy
developments. Italian literature entered its Romantic age, which featured poetry and fiction
that took a self-critical look at events of the present and past (Foscolo's The Last Letters ofjacopo
Ortis, Leopardi's Canti, Manzonfs Betrothed).
After the fall of Napoleon, Italy entered into the
long process of unification known as the Risorgimento. Progressing in fits and starts, it lasted for
more than half a century, from 1815 to 1871. But
only in the final decade did Italy actually become
a unified kingdom, when a major northern state,
the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, annexed six
other states—Lombardy-Venetia, the Duchy of
Parma, the Duchy of Modena, the Grand Duchy
of Tuscany, the Papal States, and the Kingdom
of the Two Sicilies (Sicily and the southern
mainland)—to form the Kingdom of Italy. The
infant nation became a constitutional monarchy
under Piedmont-Sardinia's King Victor Emmanuel II, and there began a difficult synthesis
of political, social, and cultural life in the longdisunited regions. Key was the reconstruction of
a common past that all of the newly incorporated
Italians could point to with pride, a task for the
infant nation's intellectuals. Rising to the occasion, Francesco De Sanctis published a History of
Italian Literature (1870), which presented Unification as an event long foreshadowed in the
works of such cultural heroes as Dante, Petrarch,
Machiavelli, Leopardi, and Manzoni.
The language question resurfaced. While literary Italian, based on the Florentine dialect used
by Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio, had been formally established in the sixteenth century, there
was no common spoken language. Dialects were
still the primary mode of communication. Manzoni, author of The Betrothed, lobbied for the Florentine dialect of his day to serve as the basis of
Introduction
xv
Introduction
xvi
the national language, and indeed it became the
official spoken language, but dialects persisted,
entering print and visual media (as Sicilian dialect does in Excursion to Tindari).
Besides constructing a common language and
cultural history, the nation's founders set out to
instill general values into the citizenry, especially
the youth, a primary goal of Carlo Collodfs
Pinocchio (1881). Others despaired over the
failed promise of female liberation from the domestic sphere (Teresa [1886]), over the stubbornly persistent divide between life in the North
and South (The Leopard [1958]), and over political corruption and organized crime in Italian life
(Excursion to Tindari [2000]). Still others struggled to free the land from its ancient Roman
legacy and past glories enough to establish a
modern presence. In The Founding and Manifesto
of Futurism (1909), F. T. Marinetti rejects tradition and introduces a new genre—the manifesto—touching off a movement that spread
beyond Italy's borders, exhibiting the same penchant for innovation that his literary forbears
demonstrated. Taken far more seriously, Italy's
leading thinker of the day, Benedetto Croce,
wrote essays that were likewise heeded beyond
Italian borders. Italy meanwhile participated in
global developments: the labor movement, feminism, socialism, nationalism, empire building,
and a world war.
In the post-World War I era, Italy became a
polarized society. Conflict erupted between
Bolshevik-style revolutionaries and Fascists led
by Benito Mussolini, with the conflict being
resolved in his favor. From 1922 to 1943, Mus-
solini ruled Italy, his Fascist government developing into a dictatorial regime that kept a tighthold on power through censorship, violence, and
propaganda. Writers with anti-Fascist sympathies were imprisoned (Antonio Gramsci, Cesare
Pavese) or forced into hiding (Alberto Moravia
and Elsa Morante). After the ventennio new—
"black twenty years" under Mussolini-the nation
strove to overcome its humiliation by hailing the
anti-Fascist Resistance movement as quintessentially Italian in its defiance of tyranny. Modern
writers stepped in to furnish a corrective, with
novels like The Path to the Spiders' Nests by Italo
Calvino, whose stylistic innovations and exposure of the less praiseworthy aspects of the Resistance upheld the tradition of honest scrutiny
found in Dante's poetry and in Manzoni's fiction.
Soon female writers stepped in to furnish a different corrective (Maraini's The Silent Duchess,
Deledda's Ashes, and Morante's History: A Novel),
setting out to balance his-story (the story of the
dominant male writer) with tales of their own. The
Italian literary continuum became more representative of the medley of voices in real life, expanding even further to encompass some of the land's
most recent immigrants, as in Moor Harlequins 22
Misfortunes (1993). A testimony to the existence
and dynamism of an Italian literary continuum,
this Marco Martinelli play is an update of a comic
scenario by Carlo Goldoni (c. 1738). While the
later play is adjusted to accommodate end-of-thetwentieth-century realities, both works center on
an unwelcome stranger in a culture in flux, an
Italia undergoing transformation—with the help
of its literature.
Chronology of
Relevant Events
Italian Literature
and Its Times
MEDIEVAL ITALY AND THE DAWN OF HUMANISM
From the eleventh century onward, Italian cities in the northern and central parts of
the pefchsula acquired increased independence. They developed their own artistic
and political spheres, forming communes—communities with republican governments controlled by influential families. Several of these communes evolved into
powerful centers of banking and foreign trade, but not without conflict. All the urban growth gave rise to political feuds—most notably, a rift between the Guelphs
(party of the pope) and the Ghibellines (party of the emperor)—which led to wars
between cities and invasions by foreign powers. Religious controversies flared too,
leading to a major schism when the pope moved from Rome to Avignon (in what
is now France), where the papacy remained for most of the fourteenth century (13051376). Meanwhile, southern Italy and Sicily suffered repeated invasion and conquest
by foreign powers, among them, the Normans from France and the Aragonese from
Spain. The political strife was compounded by natural disasters, most devastatingly
the mid-fourteenth century bubonic plague, which was followed by economic depression and peasant rebellions. Yet the period also gave rise to unifying factors: a
common literary language (derived from the Tuscan dialect of Italian), a revival of
classical literature and art, and the dawn of the intellectual movement called humanism, all of which presaged the magnificent cultural flowering to come.
Historical Events
1000-1100
Church reforms establish papal supremacy; conflicts arise
between Pope Gregory VII and Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV,
laying groundwork for later claims to papal temporal power
l$8Q$~1300
Rise of independent communes—notably the maritime
republics of Amalfi, Pisa, Genoa, and Venice, and the cities of
Florence, Milan, Ferrara, and Siena
1025-10#1
Normans conquer Sicily and southern Italy, ousting Saracens
(Arabs), who had invaded during the ninth century
Related literary Works m WLA1T 7
xvii
Historical Events
1076
1095-108$
First crusade to retake the Holy Land from the Saracens results
in the Christian conquest of Jerusalem
Roger II crowned King of Sicily, Calabria, and Apulia
1176
Battle of Legnano: having formed the Lombard League, joint
forces of the northern communes fend off German Emperor
Frederick I of Hohenstaufen, maintain their independence
1183
Peace of Constance confirms the autonomy of Italian cities
1194
German emperor Henry VI conquers southern Italy and Sicily
c. 1200s~
1300s
Flowering of Florence and northern and central communes;
struggles between Guelphs (pope's supporters) and
Ghibellines (emperor's supporters) results in many Florentines
being expelled
1220-1250
XVIII
Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Holy Roman Emperor
Henry IV for insisting on lay investiture, or assignment of
Church position by a lay person
1130.
1204
Related Literary Works in WlAIT J
Jerusalem Delivered by Torquato Tasso
Venetians sack Constantinople, ultimately gaining
three-eighths of the Eastern city
Frederick II Hohenstaufen, half Norman but born and bred in
southern Italy, rules the South, presiding over a brilliant court;
court life gives rise to Sicilian school of poetry, originators of
Italian lyric poetry
122$
Pope Gregory IX founds the Inquisition, the tribunal to
suppress deviation from the teachings of the Roman Catholic
Church
1256-11§fy
King Manfred, son of Frederick II, rules Sicily and the South
1265-1166
Charles of Anjou becomes king of Naples and Sicily after his
forces defeat Manfred at Battle of Benevento; his dynasty
consolidates influence of French aristocratic culture in
southern Italy
1271-1295
Marco Polo, his father, and his uncle set off for the court of
Kublai Khan in China, where they remain for more than
20 years
The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo
1230-1300$
Development of the dolce stil novo (sweet new style) of Italian
lyric poetry; Tuscan vernacular begins to gain currency as a
literary language
Stil Novo Poetry by Guido Guinizzelli and Guido Cavalcanti
1282
Charles of Anjou loses Sicily to Aragonese invasion; Angevins
retain control of southern Italian mainland
12§Cte
Conflicts between Black and White Guelph factions in
Florence
1295
Visconti family assumes power in Milan
1301
White Guelphs exiled from Florence, including Dante Alighieri
130$
Papacy moves from Rome to Avignon
1306
Giotto di Bondone paints frescoes in Arena Chapel in Padua
1309-1343
Robert of Anjou rules as King of Naples
1310-1313
Dante shows allegiance to new Holy Roman Emperor,
Henry VII of Luxembourg; Henry dies suddenly; Dante
abandons hopes of returning to Florence
1333
Petrarch rediscovers text by ancient Latin writer Cicero, Pro
Archia, which refers to poetry and related subjects (e.g.,
history) as studia humanitatis, preferring them to physics or
logic and giving rise to new intellectual movement known as
humanism
1348=
The Black Death ravages Europe, claiming about a third of
the population
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio; The Canzoniere by
Francesco Petrarch
Related literary Works in WAIT 7
Historical Events
1350s1400s1376-138$
137$
Spread of humanist movement bolsters interest among Italians
in classical ideas and creative works; cities of Florence,
Venice, and Milan grow into states
St. Catherine of Siena works for peace between Italian cities
and the papacy, tries to restore unity of the Church, dictates
letters that help make her "first Italian women writer"
Ciompi revolt in Florence; the beginning of the Great Schism,
in which two popes are elected, one at Rome, the other at
Avignon
RENAISSANCE ITALY
Many fifteenth-century Italian writers used the term Renaissance, meaning "rebirth/'
to distinguish their age from the preceding, medieval era. But the Renaissance actually spans more than one century, though scholars disagree over even its approximate boundaries. While many date the Renaissance from the 1380s to the 1520s,
a number argue that culturally it reaches to the end of the sixteenth century. Either
way, the age was one in which literature, history, philosophy, and science flourished and individuals produced stunning works of art. While intellectuals focused
on rediscovering and the art and literature of classical Greece and Rome, the Italian communities suffered economic recession. A number of families and cities prospered nonetheless, and some of the cities grew into states: Florence, Milan, Venice,
Genoa, the Kingdom of Naples, and the Papal States (territories surrounding Rome).
At first, Florence, under the Medici family, emerged as the center of the Renaissance,
but by the early sixteenth century, the nexus had shifted to Rome. This urban competition characterizes an era that, while blessed with extraordinary cultural achievements, was also fraught with political rivalry, corruption, and violence. The late
fifteenth century saw the onset of invasions by foreign powers—most notably, France
and Spain. From 1494 to 1559 these invasions cost all the above-named states except for Venice their political independence, and they lost much cultural freedom
too. The Roman Catholic Church expanded its authority by way of the Inquisition
and the Counter-Reformation movements. Yet despite these forces, Italians produced
some daringly bold artistic and literary works throughout the Renaissance era.
1397
Founding of Medici banking network in Florence
1400s
Italian states continue to enjoy close business, diplomatic, and
cultural ties with Byzantine or Eastern Greek society, whose
scholars teach Greek to Italians and introduce them to Greek
works unknown to the West
1405
Venetian conquest of Padua and Verona
14Q$
Florence acquires Pisa
140$
Attempt to solve problem of two popes (at Rome and Avignon)
leads to election of third pope; Great Schism continues, with
three popes ruling simulatneously
1417
Great Schism resolved at the Council of Constance
c, 1430
Donatello sculpts his bronze David, the first large scale
free-standing nude statue of the Renaissance
1442
Alfonso V recognized as king of Naples
1453
Constantinople falls to Ottoman Turks
1454
Peace of Lodi: formation of the Italian League, stabilizing
relations between the warring Italian states
xix
Historical Events
1462-14$2
Appearance of first books printed in Italy
14?&
The Pazzi Conspiracy against the Medici of Florence claims
life of Giuliano de' Medici and results in rioting, bloodshed,
and punishment of culprits
Botticelli paints Primavera and Birth of Venus, works often
regarded as related to the poetry of Poliziano
14&4
Marsilio Facino publishes Plato's dialogues in Latin, including
De amore, which becomes central to Renaissance discussions
on love
I486
Pico della Mirandola writes An Oration on the Diginity of
Man, famous for picturing Adam/mortal man as a being who is
free to move up or down the ladder of creation
1494
Charles VIII of France invades Italian peninsula; Medici are
expelled from Florence
Stanzas on the Tournament by Angelo Poliziano
1494-1512
Republican rule in Florence; Dominican monk Savanarola
leads moral crusade there, denounces Rome's temporal power,
dying at hands of angry Florentines (1498)
The Prince by Niccol6 Machiavelli
1494-1559
Age of Invasions: foreign forces enter Italy to lead factions,
seize power and territories; France and Spain vie for
dominance in Italy
Orlando Furioso by Lodovico Ariosto
1495-1506
Leonardo da Vinci paints The Last Supper and Mona Lisa
1496-1501
Reign of King Frederick of Naples, who is forced into exile
after French forces invade Naples
Arcadia by Jacopo Sannazaro
early to
rokMSODs
Salon society (homes serving as artistic and musical centers)
flourishes in Venice.
Rime by Gaspara Stampa; Poems in Terze Rima by
Veronica Franco
1503-1513
Julius II is pope; Rome becomes center of Renaissance
1504
1505-1509
Michelangelo completes his sculpture of David
Michelangelo paints Sistine Chapel ceiling
1507
Baldesar Castiglione assigned to the court of Urbino
1$2<0
Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther
c. 15201600
1520s1700s
1527
The Book of the Courtier by Baldesar Castiglione
Mannerist period: new generation of artists rebel against
Renaissance classical restrictions, favor, for example,
elongated, unnatural, and elegant forms
Counter-Reformation restores greater power and authority to
the Catholic Church
Army of Charles V of Spain sacks Rome; the Church and
Inquisition develop a stronger foothold in Italian states
1535-1706
Spanish govern duchy of Milan
c 1S38
Titian paints Venus of Urbino
1542
XX
Lorenzo de' Medici is the effective ruler of Florence
1460s
€* 14781432
(tefeted literary Wort® In WIAIT ?
Pope Paul III establishes the Roman Inquisition
1$4$~1547
The Council of Trent convenes for the first of three sessions to
define Catholic doctrine; second (1551-1552) and third
(1562-1563) sessions held over the next 20 years
1556
Philip II becomes ruler of Spanish empire, which includes
kingdoms in Italy, Spain, the Low Countries, and the New World
155$
Treaty of Cateau-Cambr6sis affirms Spanish control over Italy;
Emanuel Philibert of Savoy restored to throne
1565
Tintoretto paints Crucifixion
1571
Battle of Lepanto: Holy League of Western Powers defeats
Turkish fleet
My Life by Benvenuto Cellini
Historical Events
1573
Turks capture Cyprus from Venice
1575
Venice suffers severe outbreak of bubonic plague that claims a
third of the city's population
1582
Pope Gregory XIII introduces the Gregorian calendar
159B
Jacopo Peri composes Dafne, the first opera
C 1600
Caravaggio produces his masterful cycle of paintings on Saint
Matthew's life
1600
The philosopher Giordano Bruno is executed by the Inquisition
fettled literary Warte m WIAIT7
FROM THE BAROQUE PERIOD
TO THE NAPOLEONIC INVASION
Several Italian states experienced a decline in the seventeenth century, the first half
of which was one of the most troubled periods in Italian history. The region suffered the plague, economic recession, and military conflict. European invaders continued to vie for Italian territory, which became a bone of contention in several
continental wars. The Spanish dominated the peninsula, ruling Milan, Sardinia,
Naples, Sicily, and part of Tuscany, and exerting indirect control elsewhere. Local
government was in the hands of the nobility (just 1 percent of the population). Later
in the eighteenth century Austria held sway in northern Italy while the Spanish Bourbons ruled the South. There were attempts at reform, but they met with only limited success. The French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte's subsequent invasion
of the Italian peninsula at the end of the eighteenth century inspired hopes of independence from outside powers, which were soon dashed. Meanwhile, scientific
discoveries like those by Italy's Galileo Galilei and the European philosophical
movement known as the Enlightenment began to change how Italians saw themselves and the world. Artists and intellectuals of the Baroque period questioned authority, rejecting old ways, favoring experiment and personal experience, which led
to a renewed interest in European travel and the creation of some innovative artistic works.
15$0s^4610
Caravaggio invokes new realistic style of painting, using
dramatic contrast of light and shadow; style gains followers
Artemisia by Anna Banti
1&0C&1790$
Venice enters lengthy period of political and economic
decline; the city becomes notorious for decadence,
pleasure-seeking, and immorality but remains culturally vital,
contributing greatly to Italian theater, painting, and music
The Duel by Giacomo Casanova; Mirandolina, or The Mistress
of the Inn by Carlo Goldoni
1&05--1606
Judicial dispute between papacy and Venice results in papal
interdict against the latter
161$
Galileo Galilei publishes Sidereal Messenger, announcing
discovery of first four moons of Jupiter with his telescope
1&1S-1&48
Northern Italy becomes directly involved in Thirty Years' War
between France and Spain
1622-1&25
Gian Lorenzo Bernini sculpts Apollo and Daphne
1623
Giambattista Marino publishes Adonis, the chief Italian
baroque literary work
Adonis by Giambattista Marino
163®
Severe outbreak of plague in Lombardy and Milan
The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni
l€32~1633
Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems
introduces revolutionary ideas on science and cosmology;
placed under house arrest by the Inquisition, Galileo is forced
to recant
xxi
Historical Events
164?
Revolt of Masaniello (Naples)
1655
Massacre of religious disciples known as Waldenesians in
Piedmont
1708s1790s
Enlightenment, a philosophical movement emphasizing
people's ability to govern themselves and reason
independently of divine revelation, takes hold in Europe;
historians Voltaire, Edward Gibbon, and Giambattista Vico
refine their discipline, weigh sources in pursuit of objectivity
1701-1714
War of the Spanish Succession: Italian possessions of Spanish
Habsburg ultimately pass to Austrian Habsburgs
1725
Italian musician Antonio Lucio Vivaldi composes The Four
Seasons
1729
Corsica revolts against Genoa
1733*173$
War of the Polish Succession: Charles of Bourbon conquers
Naples and Sicily
1740-1748
War of the Austrian Succession: French invade Piedmont but
are ultimately defeated by Austrian-Piedmontese forces
1748-17%
Period of relative peace and acceptance of Austrian rule,
which includes progressive legislation
t75$~1/7£
Jesuits begin to be expelled throughout Europe
1763
Severe famine, especially in Naples, Rome, and Florence
176$
Genoa cedes Corsica to France
1773
Pope Clement XIV suppresses the Jesuit order
178€te~
1820s
Neoclassical movement in Italian literature gradually yields
to Romanticism
1789
French Revolution spreads republican sympathies across Europe
1792
Pro-Revolution Jacobin movement spreads to the Italian states
1794^1795
Repression and dispersal of Jacobins in the Italian states
1796-1815
Napoleon invades northern Italy, defeats Austrians, establishes
Cisalpine Republic in Milan
1797
Napoleon signs Treaty of Campoformio, ceding Venice to
Austria and ending Venetian hopes of independence
1799-1600
French armies defeated in Italy by Austro-Russian invasion
1800
Napoleon returns to Italy, defeats Austrian army at Marengo
1802
Napoleon establishes Italian Republic, which becomes
Kingdom of Italy under his rule in 1805
1806
French armies conquer Naples; French domination extends to
most of northern and central Italy
1814
Napoleonic regime falls; old rulers return
Related Literary Works in WLAIT ?
The Silent Duchess by Dacia Maraini; The New Science of
Giambattista Vico by Giambattista Vico
Myrrha by Vittorio Alfieri; The Canti (Songs) by Giacomo
Leopardi
The Last Letters of Jacopo Ortis by Ugo Foscolo
RESTORATION AND RISORGIMENTO
xxii
After Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo, the victor nations attempted to restore the
pre-war political situation in Europe. Italy was once again divided into territories
governed by Austria and Spain. Nationalist sentiment was growing, however. In the
early nineteenth century, secret societies formed, intending first to rid their country
of its foreign rulers and then to achieve unity and independence as a nation. The
process of unification, known as Risorgimento, gained momentum first under
Giuseppe Mazzini and then under Victor Emmanuel II; Camille Benso, Count of
Cavour; and Giuseppe Garibaldi. At last in 1861, after two wars of independence,
Historical Events
Related literary Worb i» WIAIT 7
unification was achieved, and the Kingdom of Italy proclaimed with Victor Emmanuel
as monarch. Meanwhile, the new nation faced the daunting task of unifying a populace tied to separate regions with disparate dialects and historical experiences. In
subsequent decades, Italy strove to forge a common language, educational system,
and more. The North outpaced the South in industrial development, which only aggravated perceptions of the South as backwards. Meanwhile, with an eye on the rest
of Europe, Italy began to implement social reforms and boost economic productivity in order to take a respectable place among the modern nations of the West.
1&06~18$8
New laws (e.g., division of the common lands) dismantle
feudal practices in the South
$$14-1815
Napoleon is overthrown; Congress of Vienna grants LombardyVenetia to Austria; Bourbons regain control of Naples, form
alliance with Austria, the power that dominates peninsula;
only state to retain large measure of independence is
Piedmont, under Victor Emmanuel I
1815
Final defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo; Holy Alliance formed
by Emperor Francis I of Austria, Frederick William of Prussia,
and Tsar Alexander I of Russia, beginning the Restoration, a
reactionary era in Europe
1816
Reorganization of Italian states; Naples and Sicily are reunited
into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies under Ferdinand I
1820-1821
182$s~
1830s
Revolution in Naples; Palermo, Sicily, declares its
independence from Naples; Holy Alliance sanctions
suppression of revolution; Austria intervenes against
revolutionary government in Naples
Italian nationalist sentiment grows, secret societies dedicated
to ousting foreign rulers develop throughout Italian peninsula
1821
Spanish constitution proclaimed in Piedmont; King Victor
Emmanuel I abdicates; Charles Albert becomes regent
1831
Founded abroad by Giuseppe Mazzini, Young Italy movement
strives to turn Italy into a unified republic established by the
people; insurrections in Italy
1B3M861
The Risorgimento, a unification and independence movement,
gathers momentum under Victor Emmanuel II (king of
Piedmont), Count Cavour (prime minister), and Giuseppe
Garibaldi (revolutionary republican general)
IB32-1833
Failed insurrection by Young Italy movement; Mazzini flees to
Switzerland
1842
Giuseppe Verdi composes opera Nabucco, centered partly on
theme of nationhood
1843
Vincenzo Gioberti publishes Del primato morale e civile delgi
Italiani (Of the Moral and Civil Primacy of the Italians), calling
on Pope Pius IX to lead the risorgimento (means "resurgence")
of the Italian nation
1847-1840
Liberal wind sweeps peninsula: King Ferdinand grants a
constitution in Kingdom of Two Sicilies; Charles Albert
concedes to a constitution in Piedmont; Pope Pius IX reforms
censorship in the Papal States
1#4$~184#
Uprisings in Palermo, Lombardy, Venice, Naples, and Rome;
Piedmont fights Austria in first War of Independence but loses;
Mazzini and Garibaldi lead insurrection in Rome, drive out
pope and organize Roman Republic but are later defeated by
French forces; Bourbon kings retake Naples and Sicily; only
Piedmont retains a constitution
XXI
Historical Events
1853
Related Uterary Works in WA/r 7
Uprising in Milan
1855
' Piedmont joins Anglo-French alliance against Russia in
Crimea—at peace talks, possible independence and unification
of Italy is discussed by Piedmont, England, and France
1856
• Austrian forces withdraw from the Italian region of Romagna
but retain garrisons in Bologna and Ancona
1859
1KMM061
Second War of Independence results in northern Italian states
being incorporated into the Kingdom of Sardinia
The Casati law requires local authorities to provide elementary
schools and teachers
1860
Garibaldi marches on Sicily, crosses to mainland and
advances as far as Naples; Kingdom of Sardinia annexes
central Italian states
The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
1864
Anna Maria Mozzoni publishes Women and Her Social
Relationships, helps initiate women's movement in Italy
A Woman by Sibilla Aleramo
1861
First Italian parliament meets in Turin and establishes the
Kingdom of Italy with Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont as king
1861-187$
The conservative right dominates the political scene
1864-1070
Florence serves as the national capital
1865
New Civil Code of 1865 makes husband head of the
household in newborn Italy, obligates wife to recognize his
authority
1866
Secret alliance made between Italy and Prussia against Austria
in Austro-Prussian War; Austria cedes Venice to Napoleon III
of France, who cedes it to Italy
t§?0
Italian troops occupy Rome, achieve further unification; Pius
IX denounces occupation, excommunicates Victor Emmanuel;
parliament transfers capital to Rome; end of papacy's temporal
power
1871
Francesco De Sanctis writes first history of Italian literature—
Storia delta ietteratura italiana
WM880J Rome, new Italian capital, gains 80,000 people, undergoes
vigorous development
1S?6"t88?
J878
1$70$188<k
Child of Pleasure by Gabriele D'Annunzio
Left-wing government comes to power with Prime Minister
Agostino Depretis, who implements limited social reforms,
including compulsory education and extension of the voting
franchise
Death of King Victor Emmanuel II, succession of Umberto I to
Italian throne
Intellectuals conduct studies on life in southern italy,
highlighting differences between the North and South;
primary education becomes compulsory (1888), but law is
Ashes by Grazia Deledda; The House by the Medlar Tree by
Giovanni Verga
often ignored; South perceived as backward, North as
obligated to civilize it
xxiv
1880S-*
1W0&
Italian political leaders show increasing concern for educating
the lower class and creating model citizens; middle-class
women begin entering the workforce
1885-1890
Italian troops land in Eritrea in East Africa; Italy creates a
protectorate in Somalia, makes Eritrea an official Italian colony
1887-18W
Francesco Crispi becomes prime minister, initiates some
domestic reforms and adopts ruinous foreign policies
189!
Pope Leo Xlll's encyclical Rerum novarum affirms the belief
that women are made for domestic duties
1892
Socialist party is founded
The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi; Teresa by
Neera
Historical Events
1593-10%
Second Crispi government; unrest in Sicily; Crispi government
dissolves workers' associations in Sicily
1S9&
Italian army suffers defeat by Abyssinians (Ethiopians) at Adua;
5,000 Italian soldiers killed; Ethiopia declares independence
I&96~19d0
Giacomo Puccini composes his major operas, La Boheme and
Tosca
1898
Rioting in Milan and elsewhere to protest cost of food; 80
killed and 450 wounded in official count of casualties in Milan
1&9$
Founding of Fiat automobiles in Turin; government under Luigi
Pelloux limits freedom of press and rights of people to
assemble and go on strike
Related Iiterary Works In WLAIT 7
FROM GIOLITTI TO THE FIRST WORLD WAR
After the unpopular King Umberto I was assassinated by anarchists, his son took
the throne as Victor Emmanuel III. The new king's liberal prime minister, Giovanni
Giolitti, became the dominant figure in Italian politics, implementing moderate social reforms, encouraging labor unions, and extending the voting franchise. Under
Giolitti, foreign trade doubled, wages increased, and the standard of living improved. But this general condition is somewhat deceptive. While Italy underwent
remarkable industrial growth from 1901-1914, most of the people still labored in
agriculture and failed to benefit from the economic boom. The age brought with it
an emphasis on materialism, and intellectuals objected, turning to new philosophical and psychological ideas. Meanwhile, Italian workers were organized into labor unions and conducted strikes, clashing with the police; between 1900 and 1904,
violent strikes killed or wounded more than 200, and additional casualties followed
A view circulated that violence was necessary to achieve change, a notion embraced by the Futurist movement. Rejecting the past, its followers championed
progress, technology, and conflict with a vehemence that helped propel Italy into
the First World War. In the end, this war proved disastrous for the country. A vic
tor, Italy scored some territorial gains but less than the country hoped for, and its
military defeats were staggering. An estimated 680,000 Italians perished in the First
World War.
1908
King Umberto I of Savoy is assassinated by anarchists; Victor
Emmanuel ill accedes to the throne
1900-1901
In German, Sigmund Freud publishes The Interpretation of
Dreams and the abridged On Dreams, inaugurating
psychoanalysis
19QM914
Giovanni Giolitti dominates Italian politics
1904
Zeno's Conscience by Italo Svevo
General strike
Founding of La Voce, an influential Florentine journal that
discusses new European philosophies
Ghisola by Federigo Tozzi
1909
From Paris, Italians launch Futurism movement, which
celebrates experimentation, technology, and aggressive action;
Guglielmo Marconi develops wireless telegraph, becomes one
of two winners of Nobel Prize in Physics
The Founding and Manifesto of Futurism by Filippo Tommaso
Marinetti
1911
Giolitti expands voting franchise to include all men; Italy
declares war on Ottoman Empire and annexes Libya
1912
Benito Mussolini becomes editor of Socialist Party newspaper
Avanti!; Italy renews Triple Alliance with Austria and
. Germany; peace with Turkey ends Libyan War
1$NQ8~191&
XXV
Historical Events
1913
Giolitti makes Gentiloni Pact—provides Catholic support in
elections to candidates who oppose divorce and socialism but
favor the priesthood and private education; pact alienates
Giolitti from leftists
1914
Giolitti resigns, is replaced by Antonio Salandra; First World
War breaks out; Mussolini is expelled from Socialist Party for
advocating intervention in World War I; he launches // Popolo
d'ltalia, a newspaper dedicated to war and revolution
1915
Italy signs Pact of London and enters World War I on the side
of Britain and France against Austria and Germany
1917
Italians suffer crushing defeat at Caporetto; 300,000 Italian
soldiers are taken prisoner
1916
Italian army forces Austrians to retreat at Vittorio Veneto; First
World War ends
1919
Italy gains less than it hopes for at World War I peace
conference—wins Trent, South Tyrol, and Istria, not Dalmatia
or Italian part of Fiume; Trieste becomes part of Italy
Related Literary Works in WLA1T 7
Life of a Man by Giuseppe Ungaretti
FASCIST ITALY AND THE SECOND WORLD WAR
In the years after World War I, Italy faced severe economic depression. Heavy
wartime casualties, ineffective government, socialist insurrection, and widespread
dissatisfaction with the terms of the peace treaty only exacerbated the country's problems. Out of this environment arose the Fascist movement, led by Benito Mussolini.
In its initial phase, Fascism attracted former soldiers, disgruntled intellectuals, small
landowners, workers, and peasants. The movement changed over time, growing
openly violent and repressive, stifling strikes and labor unions. Gathering momentum, the Fascists marched on Rome in 1922, a bold move that propelled Mussolini
into the position of prime minister and then dictator. Mussolini formed an alliance
with the Nazi Germany's Adolf Hitler, and when civil war broke out in Spain in the
mid-1930s, both Germany and Italy sent troops to support the future Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. World War II followed, with Italy entering into the global conflict as an Axis power on the side of Germany. The invasion by enemy Allied troops
of Sicily in 1943 spelled the end of Mussolini's regime. Supported by Hitler's troops,
he formed a breakaway republic in northern Italy, which led to an Italian civil war
during the last two years of the global war. In 1945 Mussolini and his mistress,
Claretta Petacci, were captured and executed by Italian partisans. The joint efforts
of Allied and partisan forces won back territory he had seized, and the war ended,
leaving a maimed population to recover from years of crippling destruction and loss.
YYVI
1918-1922
Italy struggles with crippling economic depression; Socialists
dominate parts of central Italy
1919
Gabriele D'Annunzio seizes Fiume, an act disavowed by the
Italian government; formation of first Fasci di Combattimento
(fascist paramilitary groups) by Benito Mussolini; formation of
Italian Popular Party, first Catholic political party
1919-1922
Fascist squads employ violence, beat up Socialist union
members in Central Italy, after which laborers go back to
work; Fascists seen as restoring law and order
1920-1922
Railway and postal workers go on strike; Fascists break strikes,
continue to use strong-arm tactics—commit murders, seize
towns and occupy official offices
1921
Fascist Party is officially founded; Communist Party is founded;
mass rally of 40,000 Fascists in Naples, October 24