Unmaking the nation? Uses and abuses of Garibaldi in contemporary Italy

Abstract

This essay examines the presence of Garibaldi in the politics of contemporary Italy by focusing in particular on the publications released on or around the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the birth of the hero in the milieux that oppose the Italian state and contest the idea of an Italian nation. After a brief review of previous political appropriations (and rejections) of Garibaldi in the course of modern Italian history, the essay examines the ideological ingredients and rhetorical strategies of the representations of Garibaldi produced by Northern League and neo-Bourbon ideologues, which also surface in extreme neo-fascist and ultra-Catholic groups. It shows that while some ‘anti-myth’ ingredients are shared across this politically diverse constellation, others are more specific to their individual components. In particular Northern League ideologues use some of the clichés of the discourse of Italian character (in the negative) to claim their own difference (in the positive). The essay also points out that the visibility enjoyed by these versions of Italian history is greatly enhanced by the availability of new media technologies such as the internet (with the related effect of ‘group polarisation’), as well as by the presence of the Northern League in the ruling right-wing coalition led by media mogul Berlusconi, who has an inordinate degree of control over the national media.