Transcript the first Independence war

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL
CARDS OF ITALIAN
HISTORY
Renaissance
Italy was the birthplace of Renaissance, a movement of cultural and
artistic revival which developed between the end of the Middle Ages
and the beginning of the Modern Age.
Historical background Way of thinking Man’s position
Values and ideals
Way of learning
Arts,artist and invetions
The historical background
After the recession which had struck Europe in 1300, the situation improved slowly.
The cities were again the merchants’ and travellers’ meeting place. Men exchanged
their opinions and debated in the squares; craftsmen, merchants, lawyers, through
their work and talent, became the protagonists of the city life.
A new way of thinking was born.
A new way of thinking
Renaissance led to a new way
of thinking. Men were no
longer at the mercy of
mysterious and supernatural
phrases ( as well as in the
Middle Ages), but they were
the only subjects in the
Universe; provided with
intelligence and creative
abilities, they were
the protagonists of
their existance.
“Man in the center of the Universe”
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, a period philosopher, declared: <<God placed man in
the centre of the Universe and gave him the reason so that he could choose his
own destiny freely>>.
So, man is responsible for his fate; he is
able to dominate nature and modify
it.
• Free from the Middle
Ages fear and pessimism,
men learnt to appreciate
life trials: terror, honour,
glory, work, active life.
A new way of learning, based upon a
careful observation of reality.
Scholars were no longer satisfied with
prepacked answers and they began to
examine and study the laws of nature.
The works of art represented
scenes of real life.
Powerful gentlemen
commissioned works of art
and architectural projects
to the artists (writers,
painters, architects,
sculptors).
Some powerful and rich
families, such as the “Medici”
in Florence, the “Estensi” in
Ferrara, the “Sforza” in Milan,
the “Gonzaga” in Mantova
and even the Pope in Rome
contribuited to
renew culture
greatly.
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (Vinci, 15 th April 1452. Amboise, 2 nd May 1519)
was an Italian artist, scientist, painter, sculptor, engineer, architect, musician,
inventor, anatomist; man of great intelligence and universal talent of Italian
Renaissance, he embodied the spirit of his age and expressed it in the various fields
of art and knowledge.
Michelangelo Buonarroti (Caprese Michelangelo, 6 th March 1475-Rome, 18 th
February 1564) was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet. He was a
protagonist of Italian Renaissance and he was considered one of the greatest
artists ever since his epoch.
His activity was an incessant pursuit of the beauty ideals. He was a brilliant but
uneasy artist. His name is associated to works which are considered some of
the most important western works of art, known all over the world: the
“ David “, the “ Pietà”, the frescos in the “ Cappella Sistina” are regarded as
incomparable finishing-lines of creative talent.
Filippo Brunelleschi ( Florence 1377-15 th April
1446) was an Italian Renaissance architect,
engineer, sculptor, goldsmith and stage designer.
He was one of the first initiators of Renaissance in Florence,
together with Donatello and Masaccio.
Brunelleschi, the older, was a point of reference for the other to
artists. After his apprenticeship as a goldsmith and his career as a
sculptor, he devoted himself to architecture putting up, almost
exclusively in Florence, both secular and ecclesiastic buildings,
among which the dome of “ Santa Maria del Fiore”, that is an
engineering masterpiece, built without the help of traditional
technology. Brunelleschi embodied the figure of the modern architect
since he was involved in the technical-operative process, like medieval
master buildars did, but he had a substancial and aware role in the
planning stage too.
Unification of Italy
The Italian unification gives
unitary form of State and
Nation to a country named
Italy two millennia before
Italy before Unit
In the mid-nineteenth century it was divided
into seven states:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont, Liguria and Sardinia)
The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Papal State (Lazio, Umbria, Marche and
Emilia Romagna)
The United Lombardo Veneto (Controlled
by Austria)
The Grand Duchy of Tuscany
Duchies of Parma and Piacenza
Duchies of Modena and Reggio
Factors and actors in the process of
unification
Factors
• The new international
situation
• The crisis of the old
members
• The policy of the Kingdom
of Sardinia
• The wars of independence
Protagonists
• Cavour
• Garibaldi
• Mazzini
Politicians
Thinker and
theoretician
The new international situation
• Napoleon III wanted to reestablish
French hegemony over Europe. When
Tsar Nicholas I attacked the turkish
empire to expand into the Balkans,
France and Britain reacted with the
Crimean War. Austria remained isolated,
France and Russia allied themselves with
Piedmont that let Europe know the
Italian situation.
The crisis of the old members
The Italian states were politically and socially
immobilized. The choices of various repressive states,
with the exception of Piedmont, against the
revolution of 48-49, deepened the rift between the
rulers and the social and political forces.
Civil society was backward and illiterate, especially in
the Kingdom of Two Sicilies.
The very poor consistency of a communication system
between the southern towns and cities did not give
the possibility of a trade and economic rebirth.
The policy of the Kingdom of Sardinia
After the failure of the first
Independence war, The
Kingdom of Sardinia
maintained his leading
role. In 1952 Cavour was
appointed Prime Minister.
He gave impetus to the
economy of Piedmont and
defended the principles of
political and economic
freedom. The statesman
was intended to push the
boundaries of the Kingdom
of Savoy, in the sense cha
Cavour did not think a
national unity but a
broadening of its state.
Wars of Independence
• First Independence war
• Second Independence war
• Third Independence war
The First Independence war
In 1848, Charles Albert, King of
Sardinia declares war on Austria.
The Piedmontese army was
defeated by the Austrians at
Novara and Custoza.
The Second Independence war
In 1859, the Vienna Government sent an ultimatum
to Piedmont, with the support of France,
answered back attacking. But the war did not
bring the planned enlargement because France
withdrew from the conflict. Meanwhile there was
the Expedition of the Thousand for the liberation
of South and plebiscites for the annexation to
the Kingdom of Sardinia, Marche and Umbria.
The Third Independence war
• In 1866 Italy allied with Prussia led a
war against Austria. Our country
suffered heavy defeats by the
Austrians, but it also succeeded in
obtaining the disputed territories
thanks to the victories of Prussia.
Count Camillo Benso di Cavour
He was Minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia
from 1850 to 1852, head of government
from 1852 to 1859 and from 1860 to 1861.
The same year, with the proclamation of
the Kingdom of Italy, he became the first
Prime Minister of the new state and died
in that office.
He was a protagonist of the Risorgimento as
a supporter of liberal ideas of civil and
economic progress of national movements
and the expansion of the Kingdom of
Sardinia against Austria and the Papal
State. Though he didn’t have a
prearranged plan of national unity, he was
able to handle successfully the events
that led to the formation of the Kingdom
of Italy.
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi was born in Nice,
July 4th , 1807. Restless and eager
for adventure, when he was very
young he embarks as a sailor to
pursue life at sea.
He participates actively in three wars
of Independence and in May 1860
he led the expedition to Sicily with
a thousand men about to free the
South from Bourbon rule. His was a
necessary contribution to the
formation of our country.
Giuseppe Mazzini
In 1831 he founded a secret
society called Young Italy,
which had as its goal the
unity of the country, the
Republic and Democracy.
The spread of revolutionary
ideas were a guide for the
formation of conscience of
the Italian people.
The Italian
“economic miracle”
Between the fifties and the sixties there
was an exceptional industrial boom in
Italy which was called “economic
miracle”.
The industrial production doubled and
the exports had a 13% step up a year.
This extraordinary development was caused by 3
different factors:
• The agreement of Italy to the European Common
Market (ECM) in 1957 : the competition between the
European firms urged the Italian industry to get upto-date;
• The big labour supply allowed wage control and, as a
consequence, the production of cheaper goods.
• Energy supply (natural gas) and cheap steel.
The Italian industry diversified and developed:
IGNIS-ZOPPAS-REX
= electrical household appliances;
ALFA ROMEO-FIAT
= cars;
PIAGGIO-INNOCENTI = Vespa motorscooter;
OLIVETTI = typewriters
CHEMICAL INDUSTRY = fertilizers,
pesticides, man-made fibres
PETROCHEMICAL
INDUSTRY = plastics
FIAT, with its economy cars 500 and 600,
took the lion’s share
The Italians’ way of life and habits deeply changed
thanks to secure wage.
The race for consumption got under way: new houses,
new furniture, fridges and TV sets on the instalment
plan, cars for Sunday outings.
The Italians’ standard of living improved, but the
miracle had a human cost :
From the South and from the
poorer rural areas towards
Northern Europe Countries and
northern Italy cities
Emigration
Hard factory work
Prejudices against
southern immigrants
Chaotic development of towns
Positive consequences of the
economic boom
For the first time the young
worker women realize to be
independent people, no more
forced to submit to the man in the
house.
Peasant Italy, where everything
was unmoving and unchangeable,
updates and modernizes itself.
More and more people
join the affluent society.
The role of TV
TV turned out to be an effective media.
Through images and sounds it was able to communicate easily with
everybody, even with the several illiterates (almost 13% of the Italians).
• With its shows and quiz shows such as “Double or Quit”, it became an
instrument of collective entertainment.
• “Carosello”, a series of advertisements accompanied by amusing sketches
and cartoons, was an evening appointment able to enjoy children as well
as adults.
• It fostered a better knowledge and diffusion of the Italian language,
reducing the usage of dialects.
• It influenced individual life as well as family life by conditioning their
times, habits and conversation topics.