Medievalismi italiani: una questione nazionale

Abstract

Medievalism is a complex phenomenon of taste that has its roots in Romanticism and is characterized by the invention, reworking and exaltation of the Middle Ages or some of its particular aspects. During the nineteenth century the Medievalism of romantic writers, poets and artists was a strong engine of irredentism, nationalism and independence in many parts of Europe. It has found expression in many fields such as the Gothic Revival in architecture, the historical novel, the translation and publication of epic poems of Northern Europe, the arts and painting. During the Italian Risorgimento the popular myth of the medieval municipalities and the Lombard League animated the historiographic debate and influenced historical painting, the Neoromanesque style, opera and melodrama. In particular, intellectuals such as Sismondi and Balbo elevated the municipality of the Twelfth and Thirteenth centuries to the political model of a united Italy under the leadership of the Pope or the secular government. In their works, the communal age became a symbol of patriotism and national identity. A model that will be replicated by Fascism during the twentieth century, which today relives in folk festivals and historical re-enactments.