Was the Risorgimento legitimate?: on Metternich as historiographic crossroads and interpreter of Italian nationalism

• Romani, Roberto ^[1]
  1. [1] Università di Teramo
• Localización: Memoria e ricerca, ISSN 1127-0195, ISSN-e 1972-523X, Nº 62 (settembre-dicembre), 2019 (Ejemplar dedicado a: La monarchia dopo la rivoluzione: Europa e America Latina tra restaurazione borbonica e guerre civili (1814-1867)), págs. 491-511
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • The first part of the essay examines two recent books on Metternich – by Alan Sked and Wolfram Siemann – which question the legitimacy of the Risorgimento out of a partiality to the Austrian Chancellor. Then Metternich’s view of the patriotic struggle in Italy is analysed, with reference, first, to his espousal of the reason/passions dichotomy characterising anti-revolutionary thought, and, second, to his disparaging assessment of the Italian character. It is argued that, contrary to the image of Metternich as a man of the Enlightenment, both threads place him firmly in the nineteenth century. His obsession with revolution is especially insisted on.