Kingdom Of Sardinia Research Articles

La legge organica per le Università israelitiche piemontesi del 1857. Il dibattito e le scelte del Parlamento subalpino

SOMMARIO - 1. L’emancipazione dei culti tollerati e la condizione giuridica degli ebrei piemontesi al momento dello Statuto Albertino - 2. Primi tentativi di riordino delle Università israelitiche (1849-1856) - 3. Il progetto di Riforma degli ordinamenti amministrativi ed economici del culto israelitico (1857) - 4. La Sinistra radicale in dissenso. Riccardo Sineo e i ‘diritti di libertà’ degli israeliti - 5. Alla ricerca di un juste milieu.
 The Organic Law for the Piedmontese Israelite Communities of 1857. The debate and the choices of the Subalpine Parliament
 ABSTRACT: This essay aims to reconstruct the story of the enactment of the organic law for Piedmont's Israelite Communities (n. 2325), which in 1857 the Subalpine Parliament approved at the end of a close political debate. In the aftermath of the emancipation - granted in 1848 by Charles Albert to the religious minorities, Waldensian and Israelite, present in the Kingdom of Sardinia - the leaders of the Israelite Communities asked the Savoy government to regulate by law the legal-administrative structure of the community institutions. It was only through a legislative measure, in fact, that the Israelite Communities would be able to retain the privilegia fisci, such as the right to levy taxes on their members and to collect communal taxes through tax-collecting rolls, which until then they had exercised under special pre-statutory provisions. The organic law passed by Parliament recognized the Israelite Communities as necessary corporations, each of which included all Jews residing in the municipality of erection, thus incardinating them into the order of the State, which exercised control and protection over them.

«Надо сказать правду»: Ф.М. Достоевский и его современники в споре об итогах Крымской кампании

The paper discusses F.M. Dostoevsky’s attitude towards the Crimean military campaign (1853–1856) and his understanding of the deep meaning of the armed conflict between Russia and the alliance which included the British, French, and Ottoman Empires, as well as the Kingdom of Sardinia. It is argued that F.M. Dostoevsky may be called a “child of the Crimean campaign,” even though he did not participate in it personally, as he remained, all through those months, first a convict and then an exile. However, it was the Crimean campaign that stimulated him to ponder about Russia’s position in the world and about Russia’s geopolitical interests. The Crimean campaign was also well “remembered” by many characters in F.M. Dostoevsky’s novels. The central theme of the paper is the destiny of the three poems that Dostoevsky wrote during his exile in the town of Semipalatinsk. In those poems, the author pointedly presented his evaluation of the events which formed and defined the basis of his worldview. It is sometimes claimed that the main purpose of writing those poems was just pragmatic, allegedly caused by the plight of the author and his desperate desire to come back to literature at any cost. In this paper, this claim is refuted. Especially emphasized is F.M. Dostoevsky’s later avowal that at the very time of the military confrontation he, even though a convict, wished Russia’s victory and not Russia’s defeat. Next, the paper analyses the utterances about the Crimean war by some like-minded contemporaries of F.M. Dostoevsky (the poets F.M. Tyutchev and A.N. Maykov, the historian N.Ya. Danilevsky) as compared with positions of intellectuals and politicians in Europe. F.M. Dostoevsky rejects the assertion that Russia suffered a humiliating defeat in the Crimean war, an assertion that was firmly rooted in the public consciousness and, for many years, taken almost as a universally recognized truth.

Henri Grégoire in Nice: The Communication Strategy of a National Convention Member in the Alpes-Maritimes Department, 1793

Drawing on the writings of Henri Grégoire, abbot and constitutional bishop, member of the French National Convention, and other sources, the authors of the article analyse various aspects of the religious policy of the French revolutionary authorities in the new French department of Alpes-Maritimes (until 1792 — the county of Nice within the Kingdom of Sardinia). In March — April 1793, members of the Convention, in their capacity as commissioners of Paris, were on a mission to Nice, where they were engaged in organising new institutions of power and dealing with other issues of social and religious life. In historiography there is a good tradition of research on the activities of Grégoire and Jagot in the Alpes-Maritimes Department (Henri Moris, Joseph Combet, Françoise Hildesheimer, Michèle-Helyett Siffre, Georges Doublet, Alyssa Goldstein Sepinwall, Marc Ortolani). However, a number of important pieces of evidence have remained out of the historians’ view. As the authors demonstrate, in many respects the members of the Convention were successful. They reorganised all the municipalities, formed three new districts, organised the election of administrators, magistrates, judges and members of the Convention, settled relations with people’s societies which, during the breakdown of power, had tried to take over some of the administrative powers, and forced the enrolment of “new citizens” in the National Guard and as volunteers. Only the “question of religion” remained unresolved. Grégoire and Jagot avoided radical steps: the time for the total “de-Christianisation” that swept across France in waves in 1793—1794 was not yet ripe. Examples of a cautious “preaching” strategy in this matter are the numerous letters and instructions of the Convention commissioners, as well as Grégoire’s “Address” to the citizens of Nice, published in Italian, apparently at the end of April 1793, which, so far, has not been studied by historians. The Appendix to this article contains the first Russian translation with commentary of “An Address to the Citizens of the Department of Alpes-Maritimes by Citizen Grégoire, Member the National Convention and Commissioner of the Same in This Department. Nice, 1793” (“Indirizzo a’ cittadini del dipartimento dell’ Alpi Marittime del cittadino Gregoire deputato, e commissario della Convenzione Nazionale in questo dipartimento. Nizza, 1793”).

Mahmud II e l’uso propagandistico della propria immagine. Il caso della Miniatura di Torino

"Mahmud II and the Propagandistic Use of His Own Image. The Case of the Torrino Miniature. The article, through the analysis of miniature depict Mahmud II by Luigi Gobbi, wants to demonstrate the political use by the Ottoman Sultan of his image in the form of a portrait. Assuming that the reforms promoted by Mahmud II marked a turning point in Ottoman society and that the consensus of the elites was essential for their implementation, this contribution aimed to shed light on how Mahmud II used his image to convey his reform program and achieve international consensus. Careful use of portrait combined with the formation of a modern diplomatic corps is the two points from which starts this reflection for an interpretative analysis of the Sultan’s miniature not only from a historical-artistic point of view but also of its diplomatic value. The miniature portrait thus becomes a historic testimony of the diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Ottoman Empire during Tanzimat. Keywords: Mahmud II, Luigi Gobbi, ritratto miniato, Ottoman Empire, Sardinia Kingdom "

Elections, governments, heads, and legislatures in Italy 1730-2021

Scholars frequently give attention to the case of Italy for the purposes of comparative research. Whether they are concerned with assemblies, cabinets, leaders, or most aspects of governance, Italy often features in studies involving parliamentary systems. To aid students interested in examining the Italian case, I introduce a comprehensive dataset that tracks elections, governments, heads, and legislatures in Italy from 1720 to 2021. The dataset covers the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720-1861), the Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946), and the Italian Republic (1946-2021). Primarily, the dataset fills the lacuna vis-à-vis the availability of pre-WWII data. In this research note, I display the features of the dataset as well as presenting one example related to premature dissolutions of the Italian Parliament.

The Augustinian Way: Religious Otherness through the Images of Augustinian Devotion in 16th- and 17th-Century Sardinia

Several studies have highlighted the role assigned to images by religious congregations, particularly since the Counter-Reformation. Among the less studied religious orders is also that of the Augustinians, who, from the very beginning of the 16th century initiated within their Order a profound criticism of the evils of the Church. The most famous outcome of this criticism, with epochal repercussions for Christianity, was Martin Luther’s “protest” in Germany. In other Western European territories, struck by similar social problems but with a different cultural substrate and political context, the Augustinians faced the problems of their time, starting with a careful reform of their organization with the aim of being able to operate at their best in each territorial context according to the peculiar social, political and cultural contingencies. This reform in 1512 also included the establishment of the Augustinian Province of Sardinia, including Valencia, the Balearic Islands and the island of Sardinia. The extension of the religious institution coincided with the political one as the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Kingdom of Mallorca and the Kingdom of Valencia were part of the Crown of Aragon and, given their geographical location in the Mediterranean Sea, they were the Crown’s last line of defense against the Turkish offensive. These territories were in fact under constant attack by Ottomans and many inhabitants were captured and enslaved. Furthermore, in these territories the number of Moriscos (the descendants of the forcibly baptized Iberian Muslims) was high, which is why the issue of the conflict between religions was strongly felt. This conflict between the two religions can also be found in the images of Augustinian devotion. This paper explains how and why a change occurred in the representation of religious Otherness in Augustinian iconography in Sardinia between the 16th and 17th century.

Restoration of 1799 in the Kingdom of Sardinia in the Assessments of Russian Diplomacy

The author of the article analyzes the reports of Russian diplomats and synchronous documents from the French archives about the socio-political and military situation in Piedmont in the period from May 1799 to June 1800. During these months, under the patronage of the Austro-Russian troops in Turin, the provisional royal government was recreated under. The council or “giunta” was led by marquis C. F. Thaon de Revel de Saint-Andrea. This government was forced to search for a way out of the total crisis in the most difficult conditions, but instead only worsened the social and economic situation. This was facilitated by disagreements with the Austrian military administration and personally by general M. Melas. As can be seen from the reports to St. Petersburg by D. Mozenigo and A. Czartoryski, the real state of affairs was even worse than it was reported in the press and official Austrian and Italian proclamations. During this period the Russian court, however, was in no hurry to listen to the requests of the Sardinian court and its temporary cabinet. The last months of the existence of the Ancien Régime in Piedmont were marked by an acute financial crisis, which was caused by the March reform of count Prospero Balbo. Anti-French sentiments among the population were replaced by anti-Austrian ones, and in an atmosphere of general chaos in May 1800, the government ceased to control the situation. Peasant uprising again spread across several provinces. Analysis of the situation and Czartoryski’s predictions about the imminent return of the French and the republican regime were fully justified after the Battle of Marengo. The Restoration regime in Piedmont could have lasted longer if it had pursued a more balanced policy, initially abandoning the independent political role that ministers and advisers of the king Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia tried to play throughout the year. But the severity of the Austrian occupation and unsuccessful financial experiments of this cabinet undermined the confidence of the subjects and eventually contributed to the annexation of Piedmont by Napoleonic France in 1802.

The Society of Physicians and Naturalists of Iași and the Union of the Romanian Principalities

The Union of the Romanian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia has been an ideal of the nation for centuries, expressed by its intellectuals and policy makers. Its fulfillment was rendered possible in the enlightened era of the nineteenth century, following the Crimean War (1853-1856) and the Peace of Paris. The Peace Treaty of 1856, involving Russia, the Ottoman Empire, France, Great Britain and the Kingdom of Sardinia, and then the Paris convention of 1858, enabled the Union of the Principalities in 1859. In this context, the progressive Romanian intellectuals played an essential role in awakening the national consciousness of the masses called upon to vote, as well as in the elaboration of the strategy to be implemented, both internally and internationally. The Society of Physicians and Naturalists of the Principality of Moldavia (SPN), the first scientific society not only in the Romanian Principalities but also in Southeast Europe (1830), got involved in this national unification process, seen as a condition of emancipation, stability and European integration of their country. SPN was therefore not only the seat where Colonel Alexandru Ioan Cuza was appointed as the sole candidate for the Reign of Moldavia on January 3rd , 1859, but also a nucleus of struggle for the Union. It is plausible that, due to the participation of some of the leading SPN members, ideological confrontations took place within this scientific forum and tactics were envisaged meant to achieve the Union of the Principalities through the victory of the Unionist Party. Ever since SPN remained linked to the memory of Cuza's election in Moldavia, and this constituted another fundamental contribution of this academic institution to the overall establishment of modern Romania. Immediately after the Union, in 1860 the Society of Physicians and Naturalists of the Principality of Moldavia became the Society of Physicians and Naturalists of Iași and kept on integrating both national and international personalities from the entire world.

Historical stages of the transformation of the judicial system and legal procedures in the Russian Empire: case of judicial reform of 1864

The relevance of the study consists in the fact that the changes in the 1860-70s in the Empire determine the beginning of positive developments within the judicial system. Consequently, the objective of the article was to study the historical stages of the transformations in the judicial system and procedure in the Russian Empire in 1864. The main research method was deductive that allowed to study the nature and the key historical stages of the transformations in the judicial system and legal procedure in the Russian Empire in 1864. The solution to the problem posed was based on studying the legal foundations of the significance (place and function) of the judicial reform of 1864 within the general historical development of Russia. It is concluded that the key judicial principles include democratic foundations such as publicity in the oral process, frankness, and the right to a lawyer. Furthermore, it highlights that the authors of the Judicial Regulations of 1864 studied not only English and French law, but also examined the codes of procedure of Geneva and the Kingdom of Sardinia. Thus, the Russian jury trial became a new step in the development of European legal culture.

Anthropology and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies: A 2018 Interdisciplinary Observance in Solferino, Italy

When I attended the annual memorial in 2018, 159 years had passed since the 1859 Battle of Solferino in a small town (“paese”) of the province Mantua in the northern region of Lombardy. Solferino is so small that Italians from elsewhere in the country will not recognize the name unless you mention the Battaglia (di Solferino), the last engagement of the Second Italian War of Independence. 300,000 soldiers—deployed from the Austrian Empire, the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Kingdom of Hungary, and the Second French Empire—clashed on June 24th, leaving many nations' blood on the Italian hills. With 6,000 soldiers dead and another 40,000 wounded, little did the rulers of that time know the devastating bloodshed at Solferino would inspire one of the largest humanitarian aid programs in the world and bring the once‐battling nations harmoniously together (ICRC, 1998). Henry Dunant was struck by the plight of Solferino veterans and in 1859 founded the Red Cross to provide for victims' families and bring nations together in both war and peace. A century and a half later, over 10,000 volunteers from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), representing seventy‐six nations, gathered in Solferino to memorialize the battle and celebrate Dunant's recognitions. The importance of anthropology represented here is commemorated by the annual unification of nations from all over the world in a common purpose deeply supported by the history of Solferino. Dunant's impact on Solferino has not only brought cultural awareness to the town but has also brought many nations together in universal humanitarianism through his memoir A Memory of Solferino.

“The Theory of Practice”

Abstract During the first half of the nineteenth century many protagonists of Italian science took part in the renewal of techno-scientific studies with their use of mundane, everyday objects and a model-based didactic methodology. The Kingdom of Sardinia was relatively advanced in this regard, mostly thanks to the work of renowned mathematics professors at the University of Turin such as Carlo Ignazio Giulio and his pupil Quintino Sella. In 1852 they founded the Regio Istituto Tecnico, which in 1861 would become the Reale Scuola di Applicazione per gli Ingegneri and later, in 1906, the Polytechnic. With a review of unpublished material held in the Turin and Biella archives, this work will show how a willingness to merge theoretical knowledge and practical know-how was the mainstay of education in these three schools, and how their students were able to work in cabinets and laboratories, enjoying access to high-quality scientific collections.

Promozione della hispanidad nella Sardegna del Settecento attraverso le immagini devozionali. Culto e iconografia di Sant'Isidoro Agricola tra modelli aulici e produzione popolare.

The cult of Saint Isidore the Labourer, Spanish national saint canonized in 1622, was introduced in the second half of the seventeenth century in the Kingdom of Sardinia and used by the Spanish monarchy to root the feeling of hispanidad in Sardinian society. This contribution illustrates the diffusion of this cult in the island through the production of wooden sculptors, who reinterpret the cultivated models of the motherland in a folksy way.

Separating Church and State in Italy

In 1852 King Victor Emmanuel’s ministers proposed legislation to recognize civil marriages in the Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont). This proposal was opposed by Pope Pius IX and other Catholic apologists who argued that it would result in undermining the official status of the Catholic Church and one of the church’s sacraments. Even worse it would mean that Jewish and Protestant marriages would be recognized. This legislation coincided with Mormon missionaries proselytizing in Torino and the public announcement that the church practiced polygamy. Catholic opponents of this legislation argued that even Mormon polygamous marriages would be recognized if the legislation passed. During fierce debates that took place Catholic apologists also claimed that Mormons formed alliances with other Protestant “sects” to push through the civil marriage litigation. The specter of Mormon plural marriages in a civil marriage system continued to be mentioned until civil marriages were finally recognized in 1865.

Typification of plant names published by Giovanni Casaretto based on specimens collected in Brazil and Uruguay

AbstractGiovanni Casaretto (1810–1879) was appointed by King Charles Albert of Savoy‐Carignano, Kingdom of Sardinia, as the botanist and mineralogist of a planned circumnavigation of the globe. After collecting in a few localities in southern Brazil and Uruguay, Casaretto collected for almost nine months, from April to December 1839, in Rio de Janeiro and its vicinity. While in Rio, he also bought about 100 collections from Riedel and about 500 collections from Clausen, which were made in the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Minas Gerais, which he re‐numbered and integrated into his collections. He also made significant collections in the state of Bahia, and a few collections in and around Recife (Pernambuco). Based on the preceding collections, Casaretto published a total of 101 names (in 36 plant families, delimited according to APG III), of which, according to the present study, 27 names are currently accepted, 12 serve as basionyms for currently accepted names, 7 are illegitimate due to superfluity, and 55 are heterotypic synonyms of previously published names. All the 101 names of Casaretto are hereby typified, and Eugenia casarettoana Delprete is here proposed as a substitute name for an illegitimate later homonym. In addition, a lectotype and an epitype for Couratari estrellensis Raddi are here designated.

The role played by towns in parliamentary commissions in the kingdom of Sardinia in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries

ABSTRACT The role played by towns in the political and institutional life of the kingdom of Sardinia during the 1400s is a subject that has been long neglected by historiography. The growing and privileged status of the feudal class has tended to monopolize the attention of existing studies and research, thereby practically ignoring the reality of urban life. First published in the collection Acta Curiarum Regni Sardinie, (the Acts of Parliaments in the Kingdom of Sardinia) in particular, proved to be of fundamental importance in providing knowledge of the institutions that governed the administrative, political, economic and social life of towns, communities and ville under the direct control of the crown. Among others, the towns in question included the capital city of Cagliari and the fortified villa of Alghero. The introduction of parliaments as an institution in the kingdom of Sardinia provided a new occasion for dialogue between urban communities and royal authority. With the establishment of the first assembly, summoned by Pietro IV in 1355 in the Castello quarter of Cagliari, the state-controlled towns and the ville not living under feudal regimes were called upon to participate in the proceedings of a parliament forming their own so called braccio (arm).

"Un pont sur l'Atlantique". Transatlantic steamers and nation building in the Kingdom of Sardinia, 1830-1859

As the mid-nineteenth century transportation revolution reshaped the Atlantic word, its impact reached Italian shores. Transatlantic steamship projects in the Kingdom of Sardinia were part of that transformation; they also reflected and reinforced a new, positive attitude toward the Americas and, specifically, the United States. Especially after 1848, this Atlantic reorientation of mental maps inside and outside political and economic circles in Turin and Genoa illustrated how the integration in the Atlantic space came to be seen as an opportunity in the pursuit of economic modernization and national unification. Finally, the tangle of interests and values surrounding transatlantic steamship navigation ultimately intersected with the Risorgimento in two major ways. First, thinking of America as an opportunity helped shape an idea of national identity based on exchange, more than antagonism, with the other. Second, transatlantic steamship, which was often see as an extension of the railway network, became part of the material process of nation building. The fiasco of the Compagnia Transatlantica (1852) exemplifies some of the discursive elements and structural limitations of Italian modernization.

РЕФОРМА СИСТЕМИ ОСВІТИ В КОРОЛІВСТВІ ІТАЛІЯ У ПЕРШІ ДЕСЯТИРІЧЧЯ ПІСЛЯ ОБ’ЄДНАННЯ

The research analyses the reform of the education system of the Kingdom of Italy during the first decades after the unification of the country into a single nation state. The paper describes main provisions of the education legislation in force at the time and their influence on consolidating the nation and overcoming the problem of mass illiteracy of the Kingdom’s population. It also specifies the main trends of the education reform during the above-mentioned period. The research suggests that the extension of the education legislation of the Kingdom of Sardinia throughout the territory of the Kingdom of Italy, as well as other steps made by the first governments to reform this sphere, in particular the adoption of a new education law in 1877 and the improvement of education programs, has contributed to a slow decline in the illiteracy rate from 78% in 1861 to 56% in 1901. At the same time, the leading elite of the country did not take into account wide differences in the economic, social and cultural structure of different parts of the Kingdom. This fact had inevitably led to a significant imbalance in children’s access to education in certain regions in comparison with others, which significantly retarded the process of overcoming the lack of knowledge of the population.

The Religious ‘Persecutions’ in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and British Sympathy for Italian Nationalism, 1851–1853

AbstractThe history of British relations with the states of pre‐unification Italy is a neglected field of enquiry. The research that has been undertaken has tended to focus on the generally good relationship Britain shared with the Kingdom of Sardinia, the state which presided over Italy's national unification between 1859 and 1861. By contrast, the extent to which Britain's poor relations with the Papal States, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, and the impact that negative perceptions of those countries had upon the development of British sympathy for Italian nationalism, are little understood. This article on British reactions to what the Victorians perceived as religious ‘persecutions’ in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany begins to redress this imbalance. Tuscany was in many respects one of the more progressive states in the Italian peninsula. Its government was moderate compared with those at Naples and Rome, it was affluent and it invested in a modern communications infrastructure. However, during the years following the revolutionary upheaval of 1848–9, the Tuscan state's policy of religious retrenchment led to a sequence of events – some of which involved British subjects – which were perceived as examples of religious ‘persecution’ in Victorian Britain. British reactions to these events illustrate the extent to which religion could affect British foreign policy during the mid‐nineteenth century, and they help to explain the emergence of British sympathy for the Italian nationalist cause during the 1850s.

Służba wojskowa księcia Witolda Czartoryskiego w Królestwie Sardynii i Piemontu (1847-1850)

The subject of this article is a continuation of the earlier paper that appeared in the “Annals of Arts” and presents Witold Adam Czartoryski (1822-1865) as a soldier in the Spanish army. The aim of this article is to familiarise readers with the genesis and course of prince’s another military service, this time in the Kingdom of Sardinia and Piedmont, the details of which are unknown to historiography. Why did Witold decide to join the ranks of the Piedmont army? Did he believe in the success of the actions and the strategy adopted by Hotel Lambert? What factors facilitated and which hindered the implementation of his mission? This paper tries to answer these and other questions. It also includes descriptions of interesting situations and adventures that happened to the prince. The paper also attempts at presenting the prince’s personality, his longing for home, obedience to parents and patriotism. The basic source information was obtained from archives of the Princes Czartoryski Library in Krakow, mainly based on Witold’s letters to the members of his immediate family and collaborators.

From Galleys to Square Riggers: The modernization of the navy of the Kingdom of Sardinia

By the middle of the eighteenth century most navies operating in the Mediterranean had replaced their galley fleets with sailing navies. The Kingdom of Sardinia was one of the last to make the transition, acquiring its first square rigged ships in 1763. The galleys were decommissioned and a completely new naval administration was created. The existing officers and crew of the galley fleet were not qualified to command the new sailing ships and instead British naval officers were recruited to command the ships and train the Sardinian officers. Christopher Atkins was appointed to the largest ship, San Vittorio, and assumed overall command of the Sardinian navy. The first two ships were Spanish prizes purchased from the British Admiralty, but they proved to be of poor quality and were soon condemned. A new frigate was ordered from a Dutch yard in 1770 and another was built at the naval base of Villafranca in 1780. With a lack of skilled men or facilities to maintain them, these vessels also deteriorated quickly. It was only when Genoa was incorporated into the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1815 that it became possible to sustain a sailing navy. The role of the Sardinian navy in the eighteenth century was primarily to protect against Barbary privateers, which it managed up to a point. Despite its many difficulties the sailing navy was still able to achieve its rather limited goals.