- History, Anthropology, Art History, Cultural History, European History, Historiography, and 24 moreChurch History, Iconography, Contemporary History, French History, Comparative History, 19th Century (History), Conspiracy Theories, Modern Italian History, 19th century France, History of Religions (History), Political Science, Neuroscience, History of the Book, Reception Studies, History Of Emotions, History of Reading, History of Religion, Political History, Modern History, Risorgimento, Re-imagining Democracy 18th-19th Centuries, Cultural Studies, Sociology, and Historia De América Latina(Church History, Iconography, Contemporary History, French History, Comparative History, 19th Century (History), Conspiracy Theories, Modern Italian History, 19th century France, History of Religions (History), Political Science, Neuroscience, History of the Book, Reception Studies, History Of Emotions, History of Reading, History of Religion, Political History, Modern History, Risorgimento, Re-imagining Democracy 18th-19th Centuries, Cultural Studies, Sociology, and Historia De América Latina)edit
- Ignazio Veca (Palermo, 1983) insegna Storia contemporanea all'Università degli Studi di Pavia. Si è laureato in Stori... moreIgnazio Veca (Palermo, 1983) insegna Storia contemporanea all'Università degli Studi di Pavia. Si è laureato in Storia e Civiltà presso l'Università di Pisa. È stato allievo dei corsi ordinario e di perfezionamento della Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, dove ha conseguito il titolo di dottore di ricerca in Discipline storiche e in Sciences Historiques, in regime di cotutela con l’École Pratiques des Hautes Études di Parigi. È dottore di ricerca in Scienze Storiche presso l’Università degli Studi della Repubblica di San Marino, dove è stato allievo della Scuola Superiore di Studi Storici.
Si occupa di storia culturale e religiosa dell’Europa moderna e contemporanea. In particolare, si è occupato di storia del papato e del cattolicesimo contemporaneo, del Risorgimento italiano e delle moderne teorie del complotto.(Ignazio Veca (Palermo, 1983) insegna Storia contemporanea all'Università degli Studi di Pavia. Si è laureato in Storia e Civiltà presso l'Università di Pisa. È stato allievo dei corsi ordinario e di perfezionamento della Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, dove ha conseguito il titolo di dottore di ricerca in Discipline storiche e in Sciences Historiques, in regime di cotutela con l’École Pratiques des Hautes Études di Parigi. È dottore di ricerca in Scienze Storiche presso l’Università degli Studi della Repubblica di San Marino, dove è stato allievo della Scuola Superiore di Studi Storici.<br />Si occupa di storia culturale e religiosa dell’Europa moderna e contemporanea. In particolare, si è occupato di storia del papato e del cattolicesimo contemporaneo, del Risorgimento italiano e delle moderne teorie del complotto.)edit
Roma, luglio 1847. Sui muri della città compaiono i nomi di alcuni presunti congiurati: la voce pubblica denuncia la tenebrosa trama di una gigantesca cospirazione contro il papa e il popolo romano. L'opinione pubblica italiana ed europea... more
Roma, luglio 1847. Sui muri della città compaiono i nomi di alcuni presunti congiurati: la voce pubblica denuncia la tenebrosa trama di una gigantesca cospirazione contro il papa e il popolo romano. L'opinione pubblica italiana ed europea si interroga a lungo sulla verità o falsità della grande congiura, senza riuscire a risolvere davvero il dilemma. Il ricordo di quell'evento abiterà ancora a lungo le menti degli uomini del Risorgimento. Chi erano gli accusati? Perché complottavano? Ed esisteva davvero un complotto? Un evento finora trascurato dalla storiografia, ma intensamente rielaborato dagli attori del tempo, diventa così l'occasione di ripensare a una pratica sociale largamente diffusa nella cultura occidentale. Attraverso il racconto della grande congiura il libro esplora i meccanismi di funzionamento e gli effetti concreti di un'accusa di complotto nel nuovo contesto della politica moderna. Veri o falsi, i complotti sono prima di tutto immaginati. E l'immaginazione può diventare realtà.
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Il 16 giugno 1846 Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti viene eletto pontefice della Chiesa cattolica. Dalla successiva concessione di una amnistia per i reati politici, il desiderio di cambiamento delle popolazioni italiane ed europee si saldò... more
Il 16 giugno 1846 Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti viene eletto pontefice della Chiesa cattolica. Dalla successiva concessione di una amnistia per i reati politici, il desiderio di cambiamento delle popolazioni italiane ed europee si saldò ad una vaga volontà riformista da parte del sovrano pontefice e della curia romana. Per circa tre anni Pio IX assunse le fattezze di un papa liberale e difensore della nazione italiana, per diventare poi il nemico giurato del mondo moderno.
Questo libro vuole indagare per la prima volta in profondità quella che è stata liquidata dalla storiografia come una breve e anomala parentesi all’interno della storia italiana ed europea, l’esordio equivoco di un pontificato ricordato soprattutto per la reazione che seguì le rivoluzioni del 1848.
Guardare da vicino quel fenomeno, metterlo sotto le lenti dello storico è la sfida di questo volume, che insegue le tracce della figura immaginifica di Pio IX attraverso un ventaglio eterogeneo di fonti, archivistiche e a stampa. Si offre così un allargamento dello sguardo ad ambiti culturali e sociali diversi, restituendo a quella storia il suo respiro autenticamente internazionale e il suo senso più vero.
Questo libro vuole indagare per la prima volta in profondità quella che è stata liquidata dalla storiografia come una breve e anomala parentesi all’interno della storia italiana ed europea, l’esordio equivoco di un pontificato ricordato soprattutto per la reazione che seguì le rivoluzioni del 1848.
Guardare da vicino quel fenomeno, metterlo sotto le lenti dello storico è la sfida di questo volume, che insegue le tracce della figura immaginifica di Pio IX attraverso un ventaglio eterogeneo di fonti, archivistiche e a stampa. Si offre così un allargamento dello sguardo ad ambiti culturali e sociali diversi, restituendo a quella storia il suo respiro autenticamente internazionale e il suo senso più vero.
Research Interests: Religion, Modern History, Cultural History, Cultural Studies, Comparative Politics, and 15 moreHistory of Religion, Comparative History, Liberalism, Politics, Nationalism, History of Roman Catholicism, History of Political Thought, Political Theology, Church History, Risorgimento, Nations and nationalism, Comparative mythology, Comparative Historical Analysis, Catholic Church History, and Italian Risorgimento(History of Religion, Comparative History, Liberalism, Politics, Nationalism, History of Roman Catholicism, History of Political Thought, Political Theology, Church History, Risorgimento, Nations and nationalism, Comparative mythology, Comparative Historical Analysis, Catholic Church History, and Italian Risorgimento)
(History of Religion, Comparative History, Liberalism, Politics, Nationalism, History of Roman Catholicism, History of Political Thought, Political Theology, Church History, Risorgimento, Nations and nationalism, Comparative mythology, Comparative Historical Analysis, Catholic Church History, and Italian Risorgimento)
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The essay aims to investigate the cultural and political context within which Giovanni Battista de Rossi’s scientific work and public commitment appeared. In particular, attention will be paid to the imagery of ruins and to the cultural... more
The essay aims to investigate the cultural and political context within which Giovanni Battista de Rossi’s scientific work and public commitment appeared. In particular, attention will be paid to the imagery of ruins and to the cultural value, both political and religious, that the various declinations of this symbolic complex had in the political culture of the time. In fact, the birth of Christian archaeology and de Rossi’s work took place in a time marked by an intense attraction for the underground Rome and the memory of martyrdom. In Nineteenth-century Rome, on the edge between revolution and counter-revolution, this attraction took the form of a religious re-signification of places of memory to be opposed to those of classical Rome, between ultramontane piety and romantic recovery of the catacombs.
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This article aims to analyse the emergence and development of the idea of a «Catholic nation» in nineteenth-century Europe. In doing so, it places the history of Catholic nationalism within the framework of the new political and cultural... more
This article aims to analyse the emergence and development of the idea of a «Catholic nation» in nineteenth-century Europe. In doing so, it places the history of Catholic nationalism within the framework of the new political and cultural landscape that emerged from the revolutions of the eighteenth century and the creation of a society of masses. In this way, the «Catholic nation» is interpreted as a cultural artefact that incorporates the transition of sovereignty from kings to peoples in a confessional and identitarian manner, adopting morphological characteristics developed over the course of the century. Since the Papacy played a decisive role in guiding the cultural and political activity of Catholic movements during the nineteenth century, special attention will be given to the relationship between this new culture and the Roman pontificate.
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Le péché originel XVIe-XXe siècles. L’impossible dogme au défi de la modernité
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This essay seeks to disclose a new approach to the understanding of conspiracy theories. It suggests that they are narratives rather than “theories”. To the same extent, news and fake news are objects produced by information technology,... more
This essay seeks to disclose a new approach to the understanding of conspiracy theories. It suggests that they are narratives rather than “theories”. To the same extent, news and fake news are objects produced by information technology, often manipulated for a political purpose, but more often just for productivity and profits. Thus, conspiracy plot appears as a mode of intervention on social reality that dovetails with the transformations of media of the late modern and contemporary age.
Notably, this paper aims to shed light on the emergence of conspiracy accusations against the Jews in the context of the 19th century, through a series of examples taken from the periodical press. Particular attention will be given to the media transformations of the first and second half of the 19th century, analysing the new techniques of the mosaic of printing (advertisements, newspaper paragraphs, reports) and their impact on the making of the notorious ‘Rabbi’s speech’, a widespread narrative telling the alleged Jewish plot to conquer the world power. In this perspective, a special focus will be put on their relationship with old fake news or conspiracy speech, such as Jesuit conspiracy and ritual murder libels about the Jews.
Notably, this paper aims to shed light on the emergence of conspiracy accusations against the Jews in the context of the 19th century, through a series of examples taken from the periodical press. Particular attention will be given to the media transformations of the first and second half of the 19th century, analysing the new techniques of the mosaic of printing (advertisements, newspaper paragraphs, reports) and their impact on the making of the notorious ‘Rabbi’s speech’, a widespread narrative telling the alleged Jewish plot to conquer the world power. In this perspective, a special focus will be put on their relationship with old fake news or conspiracy speech, such as Jesuit conspiracy and ritual murder libels about the Jews.
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This essay aims to analyse some leading aspects of the “homiletic moment” of the 1848 revolutions in the Italian peninsula. At that time, sacred speech played an important role in the political training and mass mobilization. This... more
This essay aims to analyse some leading aspects of the “homiletic moment” of the 1848 revolutions in the Italian peninsula. At that time, sacred speech played an important role in the political training and mass mobilization. This notwithstanding, it was also the renewed tool of a religious mission to allow the Catholic church regain social hegemony by means of current political slogans. Attention will be paid to Italian theoretical debates about sacred eloquence in the Romantic Age and on the new context of the public dimension of oratory practices. This analysis will also focus on the genre and topics of sacred eloquence during the Italian Springtime of the Peoples.
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A cultural history of crusade ideology in Nineteenth-Century Italy, and its resurgence in Catholic warfare discourse during Italian unification process.
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Cette contribution enquête sur le discours et la pratique de la prédication en Lombardie à l’heure des révolutions italiennes de 1848. Après avoir célébré les “martyrs” de l’insurrection, les prédicateurs de cet espace apportent... more
Cette contribution enquête sur le discours et la pratique de la prédication en Lombardie à l’heure des révolutions italiennes de 1848. Après avoir célébré les “martyrs” de l’insurrection, les prédicateurs de cet espace apportent leur sanction à l’idée de “guerre sainte” contre l’Autriche, pour la libération de la patrie. La pratique exceptionnelle de la prédication quarante- huitarde met en court-circuit les éloquences religieuse et politique, à une époque de prétendue sécularisation.
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During the 18th century, visitors would come and attend the British Parliament sessions in order to understand how a representative assembly could technically function, because politics is not only about ideas, but also a lot about... more
During the 18th century, visitors would come and attend the British Parliament sessions in order to understand how a representative assembly could technically function, because politics is not only about ideas, but also a lot about practices and techniques. A great deal has been written on the circulation of political ideas during the 19th century, and on the part played by exiles, refugees and military volunteers in this intellectual mobility. However, less is known of what constitutes, in the end, politics: not only ideas, but practices, the material implementation of politics. How does one debate, vote, or demonstrate? What is political representation? How does one “start” a political party, and run it? All the political engineering, of the 19th century, the period of the birth of modern politics, has been the result of an intense circulation of exiles, which, along with bringing in new ideas, borrowed new ways of “making politics”. This is what this book contemplates through a wide range of examples showing how exile turned out to be, during the century of the revolutions, the laboratory of a new political grammar and of political practices resulting in the cross-fertilization between host countries and exiled communities.
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This essay reconstructs the history of the heart of the Irish patriot Daniel O’Connell, who died in Genoa in May 1847 while on a pilgrimage to Rome. It explores the religious and political dimensions of a complex operation of sym- bolic... more
This essay reconstructs the history of the heart of the Irish patriot Daniel O’Connell, who died in Genoa in May 1847 while on a pilgrimage to Rome. It explores the religious and political dimensions of a complex operation of sym- bolic construction: the forging of a lay relic by ecclesiastics. This case illustrates the attempts at devotional use of the public figure of a political leader through the fusion of piety, memory, liturgy and emotion. Additionally, from a symbolic and ritual perspective, it probes the attempts to catholicise the national politi- cal sentiment in the decades following its consolidation at European and global level. In this way the study opens a window on the connections between the romantic practice of Catholic piety and the politicisation of cults in the time of the new secular religions.
Research Interests: Religion, History, Cultural History, Cultural Studies, Irish Studies, and 12 moreHistory of Religion, Material Culture Studies, Politics, Nationalism, National Identity, Irish History, History of Roman Catholicism, Church History, Relics (Religion), Religious Studies, Relics and Relic Veneration, and Irish Nationalism
Masters of the World. On the Origins of Jewish Conspiracy Theories Conspiracy theories about the Jews endlessly flourish around us. Usually, they have been studied in connection with the notorious Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a... more
Masters of the World. On the Origins of Jewish Conspiracy Theories
Conspiracy theories about the Jews endlessly flourish around us. Usually, they have been studied in connection with the notorious Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a forged document of the beginning of 20th century. Interpreted as a myth or a paranoid style of thought, denunciation of world Jews conspiracy has been considered as an inve- terate, quite a-historical inclination to misinterpret reality. As a result, little attention has been paid to the origins of the hoax and to his context of appearance. This essay wants to scrutinise the conditions of emergency of the world Jewish conspiracy as a technique to perturb public opinion. It does so in retracing the context of the invention of world conspiracy theory about the Jews in 19th century from a varied complex of hybridization, both cultural and technical. From myth to denunciation, this paper aims to enlighten the transmedia process that produces conspiracy theory, an un- tangled history of mass journalism, plagiarism from fiction to non-fiction products, transmigration of iconographic items as well as textual evidences. Following this approach, the creators of Jews conspiracy theory as well as their modus operandi are debunked and the identity of the author of the «Rabbi’s Speech» at the cemetery of Prague – a forged document and main source of the Protocols – is detected.
Conspiracy theories about the Jews endlessly flourish around us. Usually, they have been studied in connection with the notorious Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a forged document of the beginning of 20th century. Interpreted as a myth or a paranoid style of thought, denunciation of world Jews conspiracy has been considered as an inve- terate, quite a-historical inclination to misinterpret reality. As a result, little attention has been paid to the origins of the hoax and to his context of appearance. This essay wants to scrutinise the conditions of emergency of the world Jewish conspiracy as a technique to perturb public opinion. It does so in retracing the context of the invention of world conspiracy theory about the Jews in 19th century from a varied complex of hybridization, both cultural and technical. From myth to denunciation, this paper aims to enlighten the transmedia process that produces conspiracy theory, an un- tangled history of mass journalism, plagiarism from fiction to non-fiction products, transmigration of iconographic items as well as textual evidences. Following this approach, the creators of Jews conspiracy theory as well as their modus operandi are debunked and the identity of the author of the «Rabbi’s Speech» at the cemetery of Prague – a forged document and main source of the Protocols – is detected.
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Starting from the end of the temporal power, Peter’s pence has been the main source of financial support of Catholic Church. Historiography has investigated the phenomenon from multiple perspectives: economic features have been... more
Starting from the end of the temporal power, Peter’s pence has been the main source of financial support of Catholic Church. Historiography has investigated the phenomenon from multiple perspectives: economic features have been highlighted in connection with papal finances, as well as religious aspects as spreader of devotion for the roman pontiff and political instrument for the papacy in the age of secular national states. Nevertheless, all these analysis are based on a chronology focusing on the final sunset of Pontifical States up from the conjuncture of 1859-60. This paper aims to reinterpret the origins of the phenomenon in light of new evidences. It does so in backdating decisively the modern rebirth of Peter’s pence to the period 1847-49; therefore it demonstrates that the renaissance of a medieval form of economic support to the sovereign pontiff has to be placed in the middle of European mobilization in favour of pope Pius IX’s “liberal” reforms in 1847. The essay proceeds in reconstructing the metamorphosis of the original transversal catholic participation until the intransigent welding of 1849, in the mood of counter-revolutionary restoration. Thus, the analysis highlights the main political nature of first subscriptions for the pope, emerging from the forms of politicization in Romantic age. It finally lights up the moral economy that oversaw the logic of the exchange between the sovereign pontiff and catholic mass movement.
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This paper proposes a novel interpretation of a key document in the contemporary history of the Church, the «Syllabus complectens praecipuos nostrae aetatis errores» by Pius IX. Historians usually place the genesis of the Syllabus,... more
This paper proposes a novel interpretation of a key document in the contemporary history of the Church, the «Syllabus complectens praecipuos nostrae aetatis errores» by Pius IX. Historians usually place the genesis of the Syllabus, condemning the errors of modern society, into the post-revolutionary context of the 1850s and 1860s, or link it with the struggle for Italian unification. Nobody, however, has investigated the ambiguous and very strange form of this text. In fact, the list of modern errors was a rather haphazard collection of propositions compiled by the Barnabite Luigi Bilio; these propositions were extrapolated from official texts authored by the pope himself, while at the same time being manipulated by Bilio. Thus, in condemning the errors of modern society, Pope Pius IX chose to define those errors by using his own words, not those of his enemies. How can this decision be explained?
The answer can be found in two main causes: first, the last controversial composition in 1864 under the eyes of Holy Office; furthermore, the reappraisal of Mastai Ferretti’s first years of pontificate, when he was first considered by public opinion as a ‘reformer’ and a ‘liberal’ sovereign, and than condemned as a betrayer. By adopting this double perspective, then, it becomes possible to find the deeper sources of the Syllabus in Church’s reaction to the struggles of Pius’ pontificate, and in his ambiguous relationship with modern society.
The answer can be found in two main causes: first, the last controversial composition in 1864 under the eyes of Holy Office; furthermore, the reappraisal of Mastai Ferretti’s first years of pontificate, when he was first considered by public opinion as a ‘reformer’ and a ‘liberal’ sovereign, and than condemned as a betrayer. By adopting this double perspective, then, it becomes possible to find the deeper sources of the Syllabus in Church’s reaction to the struggles of Pius’ pontificate, and in his ambiguous relationship with modern society.
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This paper aims to approach the connection between text and image reproduction and time perception. It does so by two case studies of yearbooks published throughout the Nineteenth Century. The article offers a compared analysis of... more
This paper aims to approach the connection between text and image reproduction and time perception. It does so by two case studies of yearbooks published throughout the Nineteenth Century. The article offers a compared analysis of l’Almanach prophétique, pittoresque et utile, published in Paris from 1841 to the beginning of Twentieth Century, and of the Palmaverde, an Italian almanac published in Turin from 1722 to 1888 with no suspension. By some sounding in this long sequence, it aims to show the function of stereotypes and forecasts in the reproduction of a mixed order of time. It suggests that correlation of texts and images derives from public demands and circumstances of historical events.
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This essay analyses the political and religious twist that permeates the manufacturing and circulation of things of everyday usage linked to the image of pope Pius IX on his first three years of pontificate. Since the large amnesty he... more
This essay analyses the political and religious twist that permeates the manufacturing and circulation of things of everyday usage linked to the image of pope Pius IX on his first three years of pontificate. Since the large amnesty he gave on July 16, 1846, Pius was the centre of an extended and across-the-board mobilisation. Consequently, his image was reproduced and politically exploited. The facet of the pope was immediately linked to the act of mercy of amnesty; as time goes by, different subjects exploited the manufacturing and diffusion of objects that incorporated the portrait of the pope as propaganda weapons. After the failure of 1848 revolutions, these objects apparently disappeared; truthfully they stayed but changed their meaning. The essay provides a reconstruction of this parabola and suggests a new ‘political ethnology’ for the study of these objects.
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La Révolution de février 1848 est celle de tous les espoirs. Et devient une inspiration pour les peuples européens. C’est le Printemps des peuples. Mais dès le mois de juin, la IIe République prend un visage répressif. La «République... more
La Révolution de février 1848 est celle de tous les espoirs. Et devient une inspiration pour les peuples européens. C’est le Printemps des peuples. Mais dès le mois de juin, la IIe République prend un visage répressif. La «République universelle» dont on chantait l’inéluctable progrès n’était que le fruit de la hantise du conflit. C’est tout le paradoxe d’une révolution nourrie d’éloquence et sans véritable programme. Et faite par ceux qui ne voulaient pas une révolution.
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Con l'avvento al pontificato di Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti, papa Pio IX, si innescò un processo di affabulazione collettiva che successivamente verrà indicato come il “mito” di un papa liberale e nazionale. Le riforme concesse dal... more
Con l'avvento al pontificato di Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti, papa Pio IX, si innescò un processo di affabulazione collettiva che successivamente verrà indicato come il “mito” di un papa liberale e nazionale. Le riforme concesse dal sovrano pontefice nei suoi stati, a cominciare dall'amnistia per i condannati politici promulgata nel luglio del 1846, produrranno un entusiasmo collettivo che investirà l'intera penisola italiana e il resto d'Europa, prolungandosi fino alla fuga del papa da Roma e alla riconquista degli Stati pontifici da parte dell'Austria e della Francia nel corso del 1849. A questo processo non furono estranei i titolari degli episcopati pontifici. Il presente contributo vuole indagare la reazione del cardinal Carlo Oppizzoni a questo generale moto che attraverserà come un filo rosso gli anni a cavallo del 1848. Seguendo le prese di posizione pubbliche dell'arcivescovo di Bologna, e dove possibile confrontandole con quelle private o riservate, si vuole fornire un quadro il più possibile completo per spiegare l'atteggiamento sostanzialmente passivo del capo dell'episcopato felsineo nel momento più critico della storia ottocentesca bolognese.
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This paper proposes a novel interpretation of the situation of the Jewish community in Papal States during the first two years of the papacy of Pius IX. Much has been written about the initial popular enthusiasm about the "liberal" new... more
This paper proposes a novel interpretation of the situation of the Jewish community in Papal States during the first two years of the papacy of Pius IX. Much has been written about the initial popular enthusiasm about the "liberal" new pope and his gestures toward reform. In this, measures dire cted toward the Jews of Rome are often cited. It is also well known the considerable excitement among the Jews themselves about the new pope. However, a deeper examination of the subject shows many nuances and complexity. Not the least of these is providing a clear chronology of the reforms that did take place in these unstable months. This essay wants to clarify the limits both of the emancipation that the pope was willing to undertake and of public opinion's reactions to it, limits that are not widely appreciated. Among the other contributions of this piece is a bringing together of various pieces of evidence about the impact of popular anti-Jewish sentiment in Rome and how the measures opening up the ghetto provoked anti-Jewish violence. Previous literature has illustrated this, but here various strands of literature are brought together in a clear and compelling way, togheter with a large selection of printed sources (poems, pamplets, newspaper's articles) and the archival materials utilized from the Archivio di stato of Rome and the Vatican Archives.
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The paper investigates the reading of two Aristotelian texts (Ethics, V and Politics, I) made by the original and heterodox Hungarian scholar Karl Polanyi, as well as by an important interlocutor of his, Moses I. Finley. Central point of... more
The paper investigates the reading of two Aristotelian texts (Ethics, V and Politics, I) made by the original and heterodox Hungarian scholar Karl Polanyi, as well as by an important interlocutor of his, Moses I. Finley. Central point of the discussion is the notion of reciprocity, as the real condition of existence of human societies, both past and present. Purpose of this contribution is to show the importance of Polanyi's reading of Aristotle for the development of his work, and to give an account of how his interpretation changes throughout the years.
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LungOttocento – I seminari di Storia politica dell'età contemporanea.
Intervento organizzato dall'Università di Pisa e dalla Domus Mazziniana su “Il momento 1848)
Intervento organizzato dall'Università di Pisa e dalla Domus Mazziniana su “Il momento 1848)
Research Interests: Religion, History, Cultural History, Cultural Studies, Visual Studies, and 15 moreIconography, Religion and Politics, Politics, History of Roman Catholicism, Church History, Social movements and revolution, Messianism, Risorgimento, Religious History, Roman Catholicism, Religious Studies, Iconography and Iconology, Papacy (Early Modern and Modern Church History), Italian Risorgimento, and The European Revolutions of 1848(Iconography, Religion and Politics, Politics, History of Roman Catholicism, Church History, Social movements and revolution, Messianism, Risorgimento, Religious History, Roman Catholicism, Religious Studies, Iconography and Iconology, Papacy (Early Modern and Modern Church History), Italian Risorgimento, and The European Revolutions of 1848)
(Iconography, Religion and Politics, Politics, History of Roman Catholicism, Church History, Social movements and revolution, Messianism, Risorgimento, Religious History, Roman Catholicism, Religious Studies, Iconography and Iconology, Papacy (Early Modern and Modern Church History), Italian Risorgimento, and The European Revolutions of 1848)
This paper seeks to disclose a new approach to the understanding of conspiracy theories, suggesting that they are narratives rather than “theories”. To the same extent, news and fake news are objects produced by information technology,... more
This paper seeks to disclose a new approach to the understanding of conspiracy theories, suggesting that they are narratives rather than “theories”. To the same extent, news and fake news are objects produced by information technology, often manipulated for a political purpose, but more often just for productivity and profits. Thus, conspiracy plot appears as a mode of intervention on social reality that dovetails with the transformations of media of the late modern and contemporary age.
In doing so, this paper aims to shed light on the emergence of conspiracy accusations against the Jews in the context of the 19th century, through a series of examples taken from the media landscape of that time. In particular, attention will be given to the prototype of the Protocols of the Elder of Zion, that is the notorious ‘Rabbi’s Speech’. This story appeared for the first time in Poland in 1876 and then it started to wander between East and West Europe until the end of the 19th-Century. Analysing the new techniques of the mosaic of printing (advertisements, newspaper paragraphs, reports) and their impact on the making of this text, the paper aims to highlights the widespread narrative telling the alleged Jewish plot to conquer the world power. In this perspective, a special focus will be put on their relationship with old fake news or conspiracy speech, such as Jesuit conspiracy and ritual murder libels about the Jews.
In doing so, this paper aims to shed light on the emergence of conspiracy accusations against the Jews in the context of the 19th century, through a series of examples taken from the media landscape of that time. In particular, attention will be given to the prototype of the Protocols of the Elder of Zion, that is the notorious ‘Rabbi’s Speech’. This story appeared for the first time in Poland in 1876 and then it started to wander between East and West Europe until the end of the 19th-Century. Analysing the new techniques of the mosaic of printing (advertisements, newspaper paragraphs, reports) and their impact on the making of this text, the paper aims to highlights the widespread narrative telling the alleged Jewish plot to conquer the world power. In this perspective, a special focus will be put on their relationship with old fake news or conspiracy speech, such as Jesuit conspiracy and ritual murder libels about the Jews.
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This paper analyses the political and religious twist that permeates the manufacturing and circulation of things of everyday usage linked to the image of pope Pius IX during his pontificate. Since the large amnesty he gave on July 16,... more
This paper analyses the political and religious twist that permeates the manufacturing and circulation of things of everyday usage linked to the image of pope Pius IX during his pontificate. Since the large amnesty he gave on July 16, 1846, Pius was the centre of an extended and across- the-board mobilisation. Consequently, his image was reproduced and politically exploited making hi the first media pope of contemporary age. The facet of the pope was immediately linked to the act of mercy of amnesty; as time goes by, different subjects exploited the manufacturing and diffusion of objects that incorporated the portrait of the pope as propaganda weapons.
After the failure of 1848 revolutions, these objects apparently disappeared; truthfully they stayed but changed their meaning. From revolutionary tools to devotional and counter-revolutionary gadgets, the objects linked to Pius IX enlighten political stake at work in the new communication era, hence they inform Nineteenth-century political landscape. Compared to the general phenomenon of objects exchange and political mobilization, this case elucidates the intertwining of religious issues and political propaganda at the dawn of mass society. The essay provides a reconstruction of this parabola and suggests a new ‘political ethnology’ for the study of these objects.
After the failure of 1848 revolutions, these objects apparently disappeared; truthfully they stayed but changed their meaning. From revolutionary tools to devotional and counter-revolutionary gadgets, the objects linked to Pius IX enlighten political stake at work in the new communication era, hence they inform Nineteenth-century political landscape. Compared to the general phenomenon of objects exchange and political mobilization, this case elucidates the intertwining of religious issues and political propaganda at the dawn of mass society. The essay provides a reconstruction of this parabola and suggests a new ‘political ethnology’ for the study of these objects.
Research Interests: History, Cultural History, Cultural Studies, Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology, and 10 morePolitical Science, Politics, History of Roman Catholicism, Church History, Cultural Anthropology, Risorgimento, Material Culture, Italian Risorgimento, Modern and Contemporary History, and History of Oil Politics
ÉCOLE D' ÉTÉ IMAGINER LA RÉPUBLIQUE CULTURE POLITIQUE, ÉMOTIONS ET RÉSEAUX DE COMMUNICATION (XVII E -XIX E SIÈCLES)
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Ciclo di seminari online organizzato dal Centro Interuniversitario di Storia Culturale in collaborazione con il Dipartimento di Civiltà e Forme del Sapere dell’Università di Pisa e il Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici dell’Università Ca'... more
Ciclo di seminari online organizzato dal Centro Interuniversitario di Storia Culturale in collaborazione con il Dipartimento di Civiltà e Forme del Sapere dell’Università di Pisa e il Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici dell’Università Ca' Foscari Venezia.
Coordinato e moderato da Elena Bacchin (Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia) e Ignazio Veca (Università di Pisa)
Coordinato e moderato da Elena Bacchin (Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia) e Ignazio Veca (Università di Pisa)
Research Interests: Management, Cultural History, Cultural Studies, Political Economy, Visual Studies, and 14 moreMedia and Cultural Studies, History of Economic Thought, Cultural Heritage, Performance Studies, Contemporary Art, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Cultural Theory, Performance Art, Human Resource Management, Modernity, History of Art, Cultural Exchange, Jewish Cultural Studies, and Nazism
Antisemitism and Conspiracy Theories. Historical Approaches to Modern and Contemporary Experiences
H2020 FET European Research Project ODYCCEUS. Concluding Historical Symposium Morning session
H2020 FET European Research Project ODYCCEUS. Concluding Historical Symposium Morning session
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NACIONES CELESTIALES RELIGIONES TERRENALES COMUNIDAD, IDENTIDAD Y PASADO NACIONAL EN EL SIGLO XIX
CONGRESO INTERNACIONAL Zaragoza, 17-18 de octubre de 2019
CONGRESO INTERNACIONAL Zaragoza, 17-18 de octubre de 2019
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Les révolutions de 1848 affectèrent toute l’Europe. Le clergé – régulier et séculier – a largement épousé la cause révolutionnaire. Néanmoins, la configuration religieuse du moment révolutionnaire qui entoure 1848 reste encore... more
Les révolutions de 1848 affectèrent toute l’Europe. Le clergé – régulier et séculier – a largement épousé la cause révolutionnaire. Néanmoins, la configuration religieuse du moment révolutionnaire qui entoure 1848 reste encore relativement méconnue. En Italie, cette participation du clergé a été d’autant plus importante en conséquence de la mobilisation nationaliste et réformiste autour du pape Pie IX (1846-1878) pendant les premières années de son pontificat. Quelques travaux récents ont souligné le rôle de la prédication patriotique en tant que médiateur entre politique et religion autour des révolutions de 1848. Et pourtant, la prédication en tant que telle n’a pas été l’objet d’une étude attentive.
Cette intervention souhaite proposer une analyse de quelques aspects majeurs du “moment homilétique” des révolutions quarante-huitardes dans la péninsule italienne. Instrument de communication entre clercs et laïcs dans la longue durée des sociétés européennes, la prédication a vécu un moment de renaissance importante en 1848 et elle a été aussi l’expression d’un discours qui avait ses spécificités. La parole sacrée joua un rôle majeur en tant que forme d’apprentissage politique et mobilisation des masses. Porteuse d’une puissance critique à l’égard des régimes politiques de la Restauration, la parole religieuse se fit le mobile d’une mission divine renouvelée à la aune des mots d’ordre du jour : la liberté, la démocratie, la nation. En effet, tous ces thèmes ont été mobilisés dans une perspective de reconquête sociale, l’usage de la parole visant à l’avènement d’une ère nouvelle où la religion aurait la place qu’elle méritait dans la société révolutionnaire et postrévolutionnaire. Ce but affecta les modalités de mobilisation d’une pratique oratoire qui venait d’être repensée au moment où elle était en train de se dérouler. Ce n’est pas un hasard si aux performances homilétiques des prédicateurs correspondirent des nombreuses interventions théoriques sur la pratique et la fonction de l’éloquence sacrée. D’un côté, la parole sacrée était mobilisée sur la place publique par des orateurs fougueux (barnabites, capucins, dominicains, théatins) qui jouaient sur la théâtralisation de leurs performances spectaculaires, mélangeant prêche et mélodrame ; de l’autre côté, la prédication ordinaire et la fonction pédagogique du discours de la chaire étaient proposés en tant que solution au temps de crise et sortie de l’anarchie. Cela était possible car la prise de parole généralisée du printemps des peuples permettait au discours religieux de s’affirmer dans des nouveaux médias. La simultanéité de la communication et de la réception du message, qui étaient propres à la culture orale, se reformula dans un nouveau contexte de médiatisation : la parole sacrée était souvent publiée, en forme de brochure ou tract, et diffusée dans l’espace public ; dans le même palimpseste – le journal – trouvaient place les transcriptions des discours prononcés et d’articles sur le rôle de prêtres et de la prédication.
Tout en repérant les modèles de prédication diffusés à l’époque, nous nous proposons de les mettre en résonance avec la pratique oratoire du clergé, avec la mobilisation des gestes et les recours à des objets ayant une valeur symbolique spécifique dans la culture de l’époque, en particulier la croix et son usage pour l’appel à la croisade contre l’Autriche. Des formes ordinaires de prise de la parole religieuse, telles la prédication de Carême où l’éloge funèbre en suffrage des morts sur les barricades, ont été marquées à la fois par une critique politique aigüe des pouvoirs et par une fonction disciplinaire et réparatrice du drame social ouvert par les émeutes. Appelés par les nouveaux régimes, les ecclésiastiques ont assuré la légitimité des pouvoirs révolutionnaires mais aussi des révoltes qui les ont établi. L’hybridation entre thématiques habituelles et nouveaux mots d’ordre donna lieu à des formes de connivence avec l’éloquence profane, qui était en train de se sacraliser ; mais elle suscita aussi les réactions des autorités politiques et religieuses.
Cette intervention souhaite proposer une analyse de quelques aspects majeurs du “moment homilétique” des révolutions quarante-huitardes dans la péninsule italienne. Instrument de communication entre clercs et laïcs dans la longue durée des sociétés européennes, la prédication a vécu un moment de renaissance importante en 1848 et elle a été aussi l’expression d’un discours qui avait ses spécificités. La parole sacrée joua un rôle majeur en tant que forme d’apprentissage politique et mobilisation des masses. Porteuse d’une puissance critique à l’égard des régimes politiques de la Restauration, la parole religieuse se fit le mobile d’une mission divine renouvelée à la aune des mots d’ordre du jour : la liberté, la démocratie, la nation. En effet, tous ces thèmes ont été mobilisés dans une perspective de reconquête sociale, l’usage de la parole visant à l’avènement d’une ère nouvelle où la religion aurait la place qu’elle méritait dans la société révolutionnaire et postrévolutionnaire. Ce but affecta les modalités de mobilisation d’une pratique oratoire qui venait d’être repensée au moment où elle était en train de se dérouler. Ce n’est pas un hasard si aux performances homilétiques des prédicateurs correspondirent des nombreuses interventions théoriques sur la pratique et la fonction de l’éloquence sacrée. D’un côté, la parole sacrée était mobilisée sur la place publique par des orateurs fougueux (barnabites, capucins, dominicains, théatins) qui jouaient sur la théâtralisation de leurs performances spectaculaires, mélangeant prêche et mélodrame ; de l’autre côté, la prédication ordinaire et la fonction pédagogique du discours de la chaire étaient proposés en tant que solution au temps de crise et sortie de l’anarchie. Cela était possible car la prise de parole généralisée du printemps des peuples permettait au discours religieux de s’affirmer dans des nouveaux médias. La simultanéité de la communication et de la réception du message, qui étaient propres à la culture orale, se reformula dans un nouveau contexte de médiatisation : la parole sacrée était souvent publiée, en forme de brochure ou tract, et diffusée dans l’espace public ; dans le même palimpseste – le journal – trouvaient place les transcriptions des discours prononcés et d’articles sur le rôle de prêtres et de la prédication.
Tout en repérant les modèles de prédication diffusés à l’époque, nous nous proposons de les mettre en résonance avec la pratique oratoire du clergé, avec la mobilisation des gestes et les recours à des objets ayant une valeur symbolique spécifique dans la culture de l’époque, en particulier la croix et son usage pour l’appel à la croisade contre l’Autriche. Des formes ordinaires de prise de la parole religieuse, telles la prédication de Carême où l’éloge funèbre en suffrage des morts sur les barricades, ont été marquées à la fois par une critique politique aigüe des pouvoirs et par une fonction disciplinaire et réparatrice du drame social ouvert par les émeutes. Appelés par les nouveaux régimes, les ecclésiastiques ont assuré la légitimité des pouvoirs révolutionnaires mais aussi des révoltes qui les ont établi. L’hybridation entre thématiques habituelles et nouveaux mots d’ordre donna lieu à des formes de connivence avec l’éloquence profane, qui était en train de se sacraliser ; mais elle suscita aussi les réactions des autorités politiques et religieuses.
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Longtemps considéré en tant que précurseur des utopies romantiques et du «temps des prophètes» (P. Bénichou), Pierre-Simon Ballanche (1776-1847) a été à la fois poète, historien, philosophe et théosophe, auteur d’ouvrages qui ont fasciné... more
Longtemps considéré en tant que précurseur des utopies romantiques et du «temps des prophètes» (P. Bénichou), Pierre-Simon Ballanche (1776-1847) a été à la fois poète, historien, philosophe et théosophe, auteur d’ouvrages qui ont fasciné ses contemporains et nourris la réflexion d’une génération sur la marche de l’humanité entre les états de déchéance, expiation et réhabilitation. Cette intervention souhaite enquêter la valeur et la fonction du dogme du péché original dans le système philosophique de Ballanche, par les biais de sa production littéraire multiforme et fragmentée. Nous nous proposons ainsi de retracer une forme particulière de sécularisation de la notion de chute au temps des hétérodoxies romantiques.
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Research Interests:
Dans toute l’Europe de 1848, le clergé – régulier et séculier – a largement épousé la cause révolutionnaire. Mais les raisons de cet engagement demeurent encore opaques, ou bien contradictoires. Cette intervention souhaite proposer une... more
Dans toute l’Europe de 1848, le clergé – régulier et séculier – a largement épousé la cause révolutionnaire. Mais les raisons de cet engagement demeurent encore opaques, ou bien contradictoires. Cette intervention souhaite proposer une relecture de l’engagement ecclésiastique à l’heure des révolutions de 1848 dans une perspective transnationale et comparatiste.
Nous nous proposons d’observer les acteurs révolutionnaires ecclésiastiques en action des deux côtés des Alpes. Cet engagement prenait en fait la forme de gestes aussi stéréotypés que performatifs (la bénédiction des arbres de la liberté ou de la garde nationale), mais aussi des discours et en général des prises de parole dans la place publique (souvent répétées par la presse). La prédication a été l’instrument de communication entre clercs et laïcs, aussi que l’expression d’un discours qui avait ses spécificités. En Italie, la parole sacrée prit surtout la forme de l’appel à la croisade contre les autrichiens, mais elle insistait aussi sur d’autres thèmes : la liberté dans l’ordre, la démocratie bénie par l’église catholique, la sacralisation de l’amour de la patrie, l’avènement d’une ère nouvelle où la religion aurait la place qu’elle mérite dans la société. Ces thèmes résonnèrent en France aussi, accoutumés au langage et à la tradition politique de ce pays. Mobilisés dans la place publique, les symboles politiques et religieux (arbres, drapeaux, croix) devinrent aussi les divises de groupes organisés : partis, comités, journaux.
Si les révolutions de 1848 ont été, selon Lewis Namier, des «révolutions des clercs», l’engagement des “clercs” au sens propre en constitue un trait marquant. Ils ont essayé de sceller la révolution aux valeurs religieuses dont ils étaient les porte-paroles. Au-delà des spécificités nationales, le discours des clercs dessine un engagement soutenu par une logique de reconquête sociale. Ce n’est pas un hasard si le pontife romain prit partie dans les bouleversements du printemps des peuples, en image figée et idéalisée de “pape libérateur” mais aussi en tant qu’acteur entre autres.
Nous nous proposons d’observer les acteurs révolutionnaires ecclésiastiques en action des deux côtés des Alpes. Cet engagement prenait en fait la forme de gestes aussi stéréotypés que performatifs (la bénédiction des arbres de la liberté ou de la garde nationale), mais aussi des discours et en général des prises de parole dans la place publique (souvent répétées par la presse). La prédication a été l’instrument de communication entre clercs et laïcs, aussi que l’expression d’un discours qui avait ses spécificités. En Italie, la parole sacrée prit surtout la forme de l’appel à la croisade contre les autrichiens, mais elle insistait aussi sur d’autres thèmes : la liberté dans l’ordre, la démocratie bénie par l’église catholique, la sacralisation de l’amour de la patrie, l’avènement d’une ère nouvelle où la religion aurait la place qu’elle mérite dans la société. Ces thèmes résonnèrent en France aussi, accoutumés au langage et à la tradition politique de ce pays. Mobilisés dans la place publique, les symboles politiques et religieux (arbres, drapeaux, croix) devinrent aussi les divises de groupes organisés : partis, comités, journaux.
Si les révolutions de 1848 ont été, selon Lewis Namier, des «révolutions des clercs», l’engagement des “clercs” au sens propre en constitue un trait marquant. Ils ont essayé de sceller la révolution aux valeurs religieuses dont ils étaient les porte-paroles. Au-delà des spécificités nationales, le discours des clercs dessine un engagement soutenu par une logique de reconquête sociale. Ce n’est pas un hasard si le pontife romain prit partie dans les bouleversements du printemps des peuples, en image figée et idéalisée de “pape libérateur” mais aussi en tant qu’acteur entre autres.
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Research Interests:
Cette contribution souhaite aborder le rapport entre la reproduction des textes et des images et l'apprivoisement du temps à travers deux exemples d’almanachs publiés tout au long du XIXe siècle. L’intervention propose une analyse... more
Cette contribution souhaite aborder le rapport entre la reproduction des textes et des images et l'apprivoisement du temps à travers deux exemples d’almanachs publiés tout au long du XIXe siècle. L’intervention propose une analyse comparée de l’Almanach prophétique, pittoresque et utile, publié à partir de 1841 jusqu’au début du XXe siècle, et du Palmaverde, paru à Turin de 1722 à 1888 sans interruptions. Grâce à des sondages dans cette longue série, nous nous proposons de montrer la fonction du stéréotype et du pronostic dans la reproduction d’un ordre du temps mélangé ; de ce fait, nous essayerons d'éclairer le rapport entre textes et images par rapport aux demandes du public et à la contrainte des événements.
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Cette intervention enquête les discours et la pratique de la prédication à l’heure des révolutions italiennes de 1848 dans un cas d’étude bien localisé. Le 22 mars 1848, à l’issue de cinq jours de combats, la population de la ville de... more
Cette intervention enquête les discours et la pratique de la prédication à l’heure des révolutions italiennes de 1848 dans un cas d’étude bien localisé. Le 22 mars 1848, à l’issue de cinq jours de combats, la population de la ville de Milan chasse les autorités et les troupes autrichiennes, tout en instaurant un gouvernement provisoire. Le clergé lombard prend part activement aux journées révolutionnaires par son activité de propagande et consécration du combat des patriotes. Nous nous proposons de fournir une analyse des discours qui ont été prononcé par les orateurs sacrés dans les quelques semaines qui entraînent des Cinq journées de Milan à la défaite de la Première guerre d’Indépendance, aussi bien que de leur diffusion par la presse.
Après avoir célébré les «martyres» de l’insurrection, bientôt les prédicateurs de l’espace lombard fourniront leur sanction à la guerre contre l’Autriche, le combat étant de plus en plus envisagé en tant que “guerre sainte” pour la libération de la patrie. L’approbation religieuse était considéré comme allant de soi, d’autant plus que le pape Pie IX lui-même avait béni l’Italie dans une célèbre déclaration du 10 février 1848. Quelles sont les origines culturelles de cette configuration qui se dessine par les textes? Quelles sont les raisons qui poussent des religieux à réactiver une rhétorique de la mobilisation contre les infidèles, en pêchant dans l’imaginaire du Moyen Âge européen? À la différence des prédicateurs barnabites qui sévissent les champs de la vallée du Pô, les orateurs lombards s’avèrent bien plus enraciné dans la culture historique de leur région. La croisade qu’ils prêchent contre les autrichiens se traduirait-elle par une solution transactionnelle relevant de deux traditions différentes: la Ligue lombarde contre l’empereur Frédéric Barberousse et la véritable Première croisade qui avait été prêché à Clermont par le pape Urbain II.
Pour terminer, l’intervention vise à démonter une pratique exceptionnelle de la prédication, toute en la concevant comme «marqueur culturel» que met en court-circuit l’oratoire religieuse et l’oratoire politique dans une époque de prétendue sécularisation: en tant que portes-paroles de la cause patriotique, des orateurs laïques se joindront aux orateurs sacrés, dans un contexte de circularité entre religion catholique et identité politique.
Après avoir célébré les «martyres» de l’insurrection, bientôt les prédicateurs de l’espace lombard fourniront leur sanction à la guerre contre l’Autriche, le combat étant de plus en plus envisagé en tant que “guerre sainte” pour la libération de la patrie. L’approbation religieuse était considéré comme allant de soi, d’autant plus que le pape Pie IX lui-même avait béni l’Italie dans une célèbre déclaration du 10 février 1848. Quelles sont les origines culturelles de cette configuration qui se dessine par les textes? Quelles sont les raisons qui poussent des religieux à réactiver une rhétorique de la mobilisation contre les infidèles, en pêchant dans l’imaginaire du Moyen Âge européen? À la différence des prédicateurs barnabites qui sévissent les champs de la vallée du Pô, les orateurs lombards s’avèrent bien plus enraciné dans la culture historique de leur région. La croisade qu’ils prêchent contre les autrichiens se traduirait-elle par une solution transactionnelle relevant de deux traditions différentes: la Ligue lombarde contre l’empereur Frédéric Barberousse et la véritable Première croisade qui avait été prêché à Clermont par le pape Urbain II.
Pour terminer, l’intervention vise à démonter une pratique exceptionnelle de la prédication, toute en la concevant comme «marqueur culturel» que met en court-circuit l’oratoire religieuse et l’oratoire politique dans une époque de prétendue sécularisation: en tant que portes-paroles de la cause patriotique, des orateurs laïques se joindront aux orateurs sacrés, dans un contexte de circularité entre religion catholique et identité politique.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The beginning of Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti's pontificate marks an extraordinary puzzling point in contemporary Church history. Just one month after his election Pius IX gave to his subject a famous amnesty (16th July 1846) and... more
The beginning of Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti's pontificate marks an extraordinary puzzling point in contemporary Church history. Just one month after his election Pius IX gave to his subject a famous amnesty (16th July 1846) and allowed convicted patriots of Papal States to come back home. From this moment and for about three years, Pius IX was acclaimed as a ‘liberal’ pope, the enlightened king who wanted to reform his state and the religious leader that would fulfil the Catholic religion's triumph.
This general phenomenon, known by scholars as the «myth» of Pius IX, has been explained in several manners, none of which are thourough. This paper will focus on a particular feature of the myth of Pius IX: his relation with mass media. The social construction of a ‘liberal’ pope was an eminently media phenomenon which was made possible by the tools available at the middle of XIX Century. Not only newspapers are concerned. At the beginning of the «Graphic revolution» (J. Boorstin), news circulated on a flurry of medium: letters, placards, leaflets and the older medium in the world, rumors. The image of Pius IX as a reformer and a “good pope” grew thanks to this mass media context. Nevertheless, it was not only a matter of words.
His contemporaries were impressed by the pope's portraits. His physionomic, smiling face was copied countlessly by painters and engravers, for instance on the first illustrate reviews of the 40s, such as L'illustration of Paris and Il Mondo illustrato of Turin; the pope himself posed for various artists who wanted to make a bust of him. The iconology of popes had a very long history, often linked with St. Peter's and Christ's image. This tradition ran into the modern celebrity system at its beginning with Pius IX. However, the reproducibility of the “aura” of the pope's effigy didn't go to waste, according to Walter Benjamin; on the contrary, this syncretic system of visibility – both modern in his tools and ancient in his referent – made the power of the pope's image strong and ambiguous. Contemporary practices of the pope's cult – above all the uses of his icon – may have their contemporary origins in the enthusiasm for the ‘liberal’ Pius IX. The ambiguity of the phenomenon reflected also a political one by papal government and Pius IX himself, who accepted a restrained freedom of the press in the Church State, in order to raise general approval on papal politics.
This general phenomenon, known by scholars as the «myth» of Pius IX, has been explained in several manners, none of which are thourough. This paper will focus on a particular feature of the myth of Pius IX: his relation with mass media. The social construction of a ‘liberal’ pope was an eminently media phenomenon which was made possible by the tools available at the middle of XIX Century. Not only newspapers are concerned. At the beginning of the «Graphic revolution» (J. Boorstin), news circulated on a flurry of medium: letters, placards, leaflets and the older medium in the world, rumors. The image of Pius IX as a reformer and a “good pope” grew thanks to this mass media context. Nevertheless, it was not only a matter of words.
His contemporaries were impressed by the pope's portraits. His physionomic, smiling face was copied countlessly by painters and engravers, for instance on the first illustrate reviews of the 40s, such as L'illustration of Paris and Il Mondo illustrato of Turin; the pope himself posed for various artists who wanted to make a bust of him. The iconology of popes had a very long history, often linked with St. Peter's and Christ's image. This tradition ran into the modern celebrity system at its beginning with Pius IX. However, the reproducibility of the “aura” of the pope's effigy didn't go to waste, according to Walter Benjamin; on the contrary, this syncretic system of visibility – both modern in his tools and ancient in his referent – made the power of the pope's image strong and ambiguous. Contemporary practices of the pope's cult – above all the uses of his icon – may have their contemporary origins in the enthusiasm for the ‘liberal’ Pius IX. The ambiguity of the phenomenon reflected also a political one by papal government and Pius IX himself, who accepted a restrained freedom of the press in the Church State, in order to raise general approval on papal politics.
Con l'avvento al pontificato di Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti, papa Pio IX, si innescò un processo di affabulazione collettiva che successivamente verrà indicato come il «mito» di un papa liberale e nazionale. Le riforme concesse dal... more
Con l'avvento al pontificato di Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti, papa Pio IX, si innescò un processo di affabulazione collettiva che successivamente verrà indicato come il «mito» di un papa liberale e nazionale. Le riforme concesse dal sovrano pontefice nei suoi stati, a cominciare dall'amnistia per i condannati politici promulgata nel luglio del 1846, produrranno un entusiasmo collettivo che investirà l'intera penisola italiana e il resto d'Europa, prolungandosi fino alla fuga del papa da Roma e alla riconquista degli Stati pontifici da parte dell'Austria e della Francia nel corso del 1849. A questo processo non furono estranei i titolari degli episcopati pontifici. Il presente contributo vuole indagare la reazione del cardinal Carlo Oppizzoni a questo generale moto che attraverserà come un filo rosso gli anni a cavallo del 1848. Seguendo le prese di posizione pubbliche dell'arcivescovo di Bologna, e dove possibile confrontandole con quelle private o riservate, si vuole fornire un quadro il più possibile completo per spiegare l'atteggiamento sostanzialmente passivo del capo dell'episcopato felsineo nel momento più critico della storia ottocentesca bolognese.
This paper proposes a novel interpretation of a key document in the contemporary history of the Church, the Syllabus of Errors issued by Pius IX. Historians usually place the genesis of the Syllabus, condemning the errors of modern... more
This paper proposes a novel interpretation of a key document in the contemporary history of the Church, the Syllabus of Errors issued by Pius IX.
Historians usually place the genesis of the Syllabus, condemning the errors of modern society, into the post-revolutionary context of the 1850s, or link it with the struggle for Italian unification. Nobody, however, has investigated the ambiguous and very strange form of this text. In fact, the list of modern errors was a rather haphazard collection of propositions compiled by the Barnabite Luigi Bilio; these propositions were extrapolated from official texts authored by the pope himself, while at the same time being manipulated by Bilio. Thus, in condemning the errors of modern society, Pope Pius IX chose to define those errors by using his own words, not those of his enemies. How can this strange decision be explained?
The answer can be found in the reappraisal of Mastai Ferretti's first years of pontificate. Over the course of three years (1846-1849), Pius IX was first considered by public opinion as a "reformer" and a "liberal" sovereign, and than condemned as a betrayer. By adopting this perspective, then, it becomes possible to find the deeper sources of the Syllabus in the Pope’s reaction to the decline of his liberal myth.
Historians usually place the genesis of the Syllabus, condemning the errors of modern society, into the post-revolutionary context of the 1850s, or link it with the struggle for Italian unification. Nobody, however, has investigated the ambiguous and very strange form of this text. In fact, the list of modern errors was a rather haphazard collection of propositions compiled by the Barnabite Luigi Bilio; these propositions were extrapolated from official texts authored by the pope himself, while at the same time being manipulated by Bilio. Thus, in condemning the errors of modern society, Pope Pius IX chose to define those errors by using his own words, not those of his enemies. How can this strange decision be explained?
The answer can be found in the reappraisal of Mastai Ferretti's first years of pontificate. Over the course of three years (1846-1849), Pius IX was first considered by public opinion as a "reformer" and a "liberal" sovereign, and than condemned as a betrayer. By adopting this perspective, then, it becomes possible to find the deeper sources of the Syllabus in the Pope’s reaction to the decline of his liberal myth.
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Recensione di G. Tatasciore, Briganti d'Italia. Storia di un immaginario romantico, Roma, Viella, 2022
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Research Interests: Modern History, Theology, History of Religion, Nineteenth Century Studies, Contemporary History, and 8 moreCatholic Theology, History of Roman Catholicism, Church History, Religious History, Roman Catholicism, Religious Studies, Catholic Church History, and Papacy (Early Modern and Modern Church History)
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Since 1975, the journal “Annali dell’Istituto storico italo germanico in Trento / Jahrbuch des italienisch-deutschen historischen Instituts in Trient” has been promoting contacts among scholars and students of different generations and... more
Since 1975, the journal “Annali dell’Istituto storico italo germanico in Trento / Jahrbuch des italienisch-deutschen historischen Instituts in Trient” has been promoting contacts among scholars and students of different generations and nationalities working on historical issues from the late Middle Ages to contemporary history in a European and extra-European context. Particular attention is placed on the relationships between the Italian and German-speaking areas. Since 2018, the "Annali / Jahrbuch" are a monographic journal, edited by one or more historians, each issue offering five to seven articles.
The "Annali" were awarded “Class A” by ANVUR, the Italian National Agency for the Evaluation of the University and Research System.
Currently, the "Reviews / Besprechungen" section constitutes an autonomous online open-access periodical "Annali.Recensioni.Online". ARO provides a forum for discussion among historians and all those interested in history.
Each number contains about 20 reviews and appears every four months. The editorial staff can count on the collaboration of a large group of respected reviewers. The journal’s current issue is available at https://aro-isig.fbk.eu/issues/latest/
The "Annali" were awarded “Class A” by ANVUR, the Italian National Agency for the Evaluation of the University and Research System.
Currently, the "Reviews / Besprechungen" section constitutes an autonomous online open-access periodical "Annali.Recensioni.Online". ARO provides a forum for discussion among historians and all those interested in history.
Each number contains about 20 reviews and appears every four months. The editorial staff can count on the collaboration of a large group of respected reviewers. The journal’s current issue is available at https://aro-isig.fbk.eu/issues/latest/
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Review of S. MILBACH, Les Chaires ennemies. L'Église, l'État et la liberté d'enseignement secondaire dans la France des notables (1830-1850), Honoré Champion, Paris 2015, 664 p., ISBN 9782745327857
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Discussione dei volumi: Emanuele D'Antonio, Antisemitismo e voci ebraiche nell'Italia di metà Ottocento (Carocci 2020) e Ignazio Veca, La congiura immaginata Opinione pubblica e accuse di complotto nella Roma dell'Ottocento (Carocci 2019).
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Ciclo di incontri “Libri di Storia” del Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici – Sezione di Scienze Storiche dell'Università di Napoli Federico II. Seminario di studi a partire dal volume di Ignazio Veca (Università di Pisa), La congiura... more
Ciclo di incontri “Libri di Storia” del Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici – Sezione di Scienze Storiche dell'Università di Napoli Federico II.
Seminario di studi a partire dal volume di Ignazio Veca (Università di Pisa), La congiura immaginata. Opinione pubblica e accuse di complotto nella Roma dell'Ottocento (Carocci, 2019)
Ne discutono: Laura Di Fiore (Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II), Pasquale Palmieri (Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II)
Coordina: Diego Carnevale (Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II)
Intervengono: Annunziata Berrino, Daniela Luigia Caglioti, Massimo Cattaneo, Domenico Cecere, Marco Meriggi, Alessandro Tuccillo.
L'incontro è stato organizzato nell'ambito delle attività del progetto di ricerca dipartimentale 70% del Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici dell'Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II “Notizie e false notizie nella lunga età moderna (secc. XVI-XIX)”.
L'incontro si terrà in remoto mediante la piattaforma Zoom:
https://zoom.us/j/99970540993?pwd=WWlWRlRXTW9kZFArbG9zYlBDaTBxZz09
ID riunione: 999 7054 0993
Passcode: 9PbB0h
Seminario di studi a partire dal volume di Ignazio Veca (Università di Pisa), La congiura immaginata. Opinione pubblica e accuse di complotto nella Roma dell'Ottocento (Carocci, 2019)
Ne discutono: Laura Di Fiore (Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II), Pasquale Palmieri (Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II)
Coordina: Diego Carnevale (Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II)
Intervengono: Annunziata Berrino, Daniela Luigia Caglioti, Massimo Cattaneo, Domenico Cecere, Marco Meriggi, Alessandro Tuccillo.
L'incontro è stato organizzato nell'ambito delle attività del progetto di ricerca dipartimentale 70% del Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici dell'Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II “Notizie e false notizie nella lunga età moderna (secc. XVI-XIX)”.
L'incontro si terrà in remoto mediante la piattaforma Zoom:
https://zoom.us/j/99970540993?pwd=WWlWRlRXTW9kZFArbG9zYlBDaTBxZz09
ID riunione: 999 7054 0993
Passcode: 9PbB0h
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28 ottobre 2019, ore 16h00
Ignazio Veca, Il mito di Pio IX. Storia di un papa liberale e nazionale Roma (Viella, 2018).
Ne discute con l'autore Mauro Forno (Università di Torino)
Ignazio Veca, Il mito di Pio IX. Storia di un papa liberale e nazionale Roma (Viella, 2018).
Ne discute con l'autore Mauro Forno (Università di Torino)
Research Interests: European History, Modern History, European Studies, History of Religion, Contemporary History, and 10 moreInternational History, Popular Culture and Religious Studies, History of Roman Catholicism, Church History, Risorgimento, Religious History, Religious Studies, Comparative studies, Catholic Church History, and Italian Risorgimento
Il Comitato di Milano dell'Istituto per la storia del Risorgimento italiano è lieto di invitare tutti gli interessati al primo appuntamento del ciclo “Dialoghi con l'autore” che si terrà il giorno 7 maggio 2019 alle ore 17.30 presso il... more
Il Comitato di Milano dell'Istituto per la storia del Risorgimento italiano è lieto di invitare tutti gli interessati al primo appuntamento del ciclo “Dialoghi con l'autore” che si terrà il giorno 7 maggio 2019 alle ore 17.30 presso il museo del Risorgimento di Milano. In occasione dell'uscita del volume Il mito di Pio IX. Storia di un papa liberale e nazionale, Maria Luisa Betri, Francesco Traniello e Ignazio Veca indagheranno la figura del “pontefice del Risorgimento”.
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Martedì 21 maggio 2019, alle ore 17.00, presso la Biblioteca di storia moderna e contemporanea (Palazzo Mattei di Giove - Via Michelangelo Caetani 32, Roma), nell’ambito del Maggio dei libri 2019, sarà presentato il volume di Ignazio... more
Martedì 21 maggio 2019, alle ore 17.00, presso la Biblioteca di storia moderna e contemporanea (Palazzo Mattei di Giove - Via Michelangelo Caetani 32, Roma), nell’ambito del Maggio dei libri 2019, sarà presentato il volume di Ignazio Veca, Il mito di Pio IX. Storia di un papa liberale e nazionale (Viella, 2018). Intervengono: Marina Formica, don Roberto Regoli e Roberto Rusconi. Sarà presente l’autore.
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Ignazio Veca (Scuola Normale Superiore) presenta il percorso di ricerca alla base del suo libro Il mito di Pio IX. Storia di un papa liberale e nazionale, Roma, Viella, 2018.
21 maggio 2019 Tor Vergata-Edificio A, aula T 31 ore 11-13:00
21 maggio 2019 Tor Vergata-Edificio A, aula T 31 ore 11-13:00
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Martedì 21 maggio 2019, alle ore 17.00, presso la Biblioteca di storia moderna e contemporanea (Palazzo Mattei di Giove-Via Michelangelo Caetani 32, Roma), nell'ambito del Maggio dei libri 2019, sarà presentato il volume di Ignazio Veca,... more
Martedì 21 maggio 2019, alle ore 17.00, presso la Biblioteca di storia moderna e contemporanea (Palazzo Mattei di Giove-Via Michelangelo Caetani 32, Roma), nell'ambito del Maggio dei libri 2019, sarà presentato il volume di Ignazio Veca, Il mito di Pio IX. Storia di un papa liberale e nazionale (Viella, 2018). Intervengono: Marina Formica, don Roberto Regoli e Roberto Rusconi. Sarà presente l'autore.
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Scientific organization: Francesco Cassata, Guri Schwartz Discussione del libro: Ignazio Veca, Il mito di Pio IX. Storia di un papa liberale e nazionale, Viella, Roma 2018 Cristiana Facchini e Guri Schwartz dialogheranno con l'autore,... more
Scientific organization: Francesco Cassata, Guri Schwartz
Discussione del libro:
Ignazio Veca, Il mito di Pio IX. Storia di un papa liberale e nazionale, Viella, Roma 2018
Cristiana Facchini e Guri Schwartz dialogheranno con l'autore, coordina Francesco Cassata
Discussione del libro:
Ignazio Veca, Il mito di Pio IX. Storia di un papa liberale e nazionale, Viella, Roma 2018
Cristiana Facchini e Guri Schwartz dialogheranno con l'autore, coordina Francesco Cassata