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Cattaneo and the Politics of Italian Unification, 1859–1860

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Carlo Cattaneo and the Politics of the Risorgimento, 1820–1860

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Abstract

In 1858, on the eve of those dramatic political and diplomatic developments which led to the creation of the Kingdom of Italy, Carlo Cattaneo was perhaps even more aloof from political involvement than he had been prior to the revolution of 1848. He was certainly not free of worries, resulting from personal difficulties and from the frustrating political events of the decade, but, on the whole, he was grateful for his small Swiss “paradise” as he called Castagnola. And he could be proud of his contribution to Canton Ticino, a contribution which the local authorities recognized and for which they rewarded him with an honorary citizenship.1 As in 1847–48, however, he found it difficult to avoid debate with his politically committed friends, who expected him to play a role in Italy’s future or, at least, to express his opinion on the important issues of the day.

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References

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  2. F. Della Peruta, I democratici e la rivoluzione italiana is useful on this question, but see also Alfonso Scirocco, I democratici italiani da Sapri a Porta Pia (Naples: ESI, 1969).

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  3. Cattaneo to Macchi, Lugano, Christmas 1858, Epistolario C.C., III, 89–90. “And Meneghino (the Milanese common man) believes everything, as usual,” he wrote, “… may God help him.”

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  6. See, for instance, Tito Omboni to Cattaneo, Turin (?), January 24, 1859, Carte Cattaneo, VII/25/6; and Cattaneo to Bertani, Lugano, January 11, 1859, Epistolario C.C., III, 93–94.

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  41. Ibid.

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  82. The reasons behind Garibaldi’s decision are summarized in S. B. Clough and Salvatore Saladino, A History of Modem Italy (Columbia University Press, 1968), 122.

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  84. Milan, November 4, 1860, Carte Cattaneo, VII/27/221.

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  86. For Cattaneo’s most important political and economic essays after 1860, see Scritti politici, IV, 107–460 and Scritti economici, III, 337–459.

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  87. See, for instance, “Nazione armata” (June 1861), originally written for Il Politecnico, Scritti politici, IV, 131–47.

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  1. Clara Maria Lovett
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© 1972 Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, Netherlands

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Lovett, C.M. (1972). Cattaneo and the Politics of Italian Unification, 1859–1860. In: Carlo Cattaneo and the Politics of the Risorgimento, 1820–1860. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-2373-3_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-2373-3_5

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