Anniversaries and the Public Uses of the Risorgimento in Twentieth-Century Italy

Abstract

Anniversaries and the Public Uses of the Risorgimento in Twentieth-Century Italy

This article analyses three great anniversaries in twentieth-century Italian history: 1911 and 1961, the fiftieth anniversary and the centenary of unification, and 1932, the fiftieth anniversary of Garibaldi's death. During this half century, Italy experienced major changes, moving from a liberal monarchy to Fascist dictatorship and finally to a democratic republic. In each one of these moments, the relationship with the Risorgimento was an integral part of historical debate, political struggle and public memory. This relationship means that the anniversaries offer us a privileged perspective from which we can explore national myth, the process by which the public use of history can legitimate the present, the conflict over memories and national symbols, and the strategies and languages of patriotic pedagogy.