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Using little-known Italian, Austrian, and Dalmatian sources, Monzali explores the political history of Dalmatia between 1848 and 1915, with a focus on the Italian minority.

The Italian unification period of the nineteenth century finally saw the fragmented states of Italy become one nation as it stands today. This article explores how Italian nationalist Giuseppe Mazzini influenced Italy's unification. By using a combination of Mazzini's essays and autobiographical notes along with secondary sources on Mazzini and nineteenth century Italy, this article demonstrates that his writings allowed for the dissemination of nationalist thought throughout Italy and Europe more broadly. Mazzini was often discredited by his contemporaries and early historians as a failure due to his unsuccessful military revolutions, but only looking at his revolutionary actions fails to take into account the fact that Mazzini's life's work was educating the Italian people on the importance of national unity.

"This book narrates the first national celebration of united Italy, the Sixth Centenary of Dante Alighieri in May 1865. Denominated alternatively as a national, European, and secular festa, the affair materialized as an eclectic Italian monument with extraordinary political, social and cultural significance. The Centenary was a platform upon which an alternative definition of Italian identity emerged, one based on a Florentine cultural nationalism that opposed the Savoyard territorial nationalism. An stunningly popular event celebrated throughout Italian civil society, the festa was conceived, organized, and strategically promoted from a municipal center, the city of Florence. Its Florentine organizers successfully wrote the story of the Centenary as a parable of the Florentine son, Dante, who fathered the Italian nation as well as king Victor Emmanuel himself"--

La costruzione dell'Italia unita è strettamente legata alla storia delle ferrovie. A pochi anni dall'invenzione del treno vennero attivate alcune linee, a partire dalla Napoli-Portici (1839). Si trattava, però, di brevi tratti separati tra loro, costruiti per iniziativa dei diversi Stati.I progressi compiuti dalle ferrovie in diversi paesi d'Europa, che segnavano un rapido progresso delle vie di comunicazione terrestri, accentuarono l'arretratezza della situazione italiana. Ma si andava delineando, nelle menti più lungimiranti, l'idea di un'unità almeno territoriale della penisola, da realizzare con una rete ferroviaria: in tal modo la questione ferroviaria, nel periodo del Risorgimento, venne ad inserirsi nella formazione della coscienza nazionale.Dopo la proclamazione del Regno d'Italia, superate le precedenti divisioni in tanti diversi Stati, si diede finalmente avvio a un progetto organico di costruzione della rete ferroviaria nazionale. Dal 1861 al 1865 lo sforzo costruttivo fu notevole. Cruciale fu il ventennio dal 1865 al 1885. Nel 1865 la rete della penisola venne distribuita fra quattro grandi società.Realizzata la spina dorsale del paese, venne costruito il primo grande traforo alpino, mentre si finanziava la costruzione di oltre 6.000 km di ferrovie secondarie.Nel 1885 le linee vennero raccolte in due reti organiche disposte in senso longitudinale lungo la penisola. Nel 1905, la gestione delle ferrovie venne assunta da un'unica azienda di Stato. ; The making of the Italian unification is strictly connected to the history of railways. Some lines were born few years after the invention of the train, starting with the Napoli-Portici line (1839). There were short and separated sections built independently by each State. Milano- Venezia was the first big railway built in the peninsula, within the Lombard-Veneto Reign belonging to the Austrian Empire.The improvements of railways in Europe were an indicator of rapid advance of land ways of communication but, at the same time, they enhanced the backwardness of the Italian situation. However, the idea of unification of the peninsula, at least territorial, to be accomplished by a network of railways, was borning for the most far-seeing minds: the matter of railways during the Risorgimento dealt with the creation of the national conscience.The project for a national network of railways started after the overcoming of the divisions in different states that led to the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy.From 1861 to 1865 the constructive effort was considerable. The important line Bologna-Ancona-Foggia, the Roma-Napoli via Cassino, the Roma-Orte-Ancona and the "Porrettana" from Bologna to Firenze were led to the end. Especially important was the period between 1865 and 1885. In 1865 was promulgated the law for the administrative unification of the Kingdom to give an order to railways and, in the same year, the network was divided between four big societies. After the creation of the spine of the country, was the turn of Alps. The first big tunnel was realized in that period: the Cenisio tunnel (finished in 1871). In 1884 the Gottardo tunnel was created, while the Sempione tunnel would have become effective in 1906. Meanwhile the creation of more than 6000 km of secondary railways was financed. The government reorganized in 1885 the Italian railways: the lines were concentrated in two networks disposed lengthwise in the peninsula.The Conventions had a sixty years long duration divided into three periods of twenty years: the cancellation of contracts was possible at the end of each period. In 1905, the first deadline, the management of railways was adopted by a single State company.Further interesting things as events concerning steam locomotives, carriages and train stations are connected with the development of the infrastructure. Small and medium-sized train stations laid down in an unique model in the whole nation created a common visual language. Big cities stations designed as architectonic projects that started to be part of urban scenography, intensified on the symbolic plane the role of unification and develop accomplished by railways.

La costruzione dell'Italia unita è strettamente legata alla storia delle ferrovie. A pochi anni dall'invenzione del treno vennero attivate alcune linee, a partire dalla Napoli-Portici (1839). Si trattava, però, di brevi tratti separati tra loro, costruiti per iniziativa dei diversi Stati.I progressi compiuti dalle ferrovie in diversi paesi d'Europa, che segnavano un rapido progresso delle vie di comunicazione terrestri, accentuarono l'arretratezza della situazione italiana. Ma si andava delineando, nelle menti più lungimiranti, l'idea di un'unità almeno territoriale della penisola, da realizzare con una rete ferroviaria: in tal modo la questione ferroviaria, nel periodo del Risorgimento, venne ad inserirsi nella formazione della coscienza nazionale.Dopo la proclamazione del Regno d'Italia, superate le precedenti divisioni in tanti diversi Stati, si diede finalmente avvio a un progetto organico di costruzione della rete ferroviaria nazionale. Dal 1861 al 1865 lo sforzo costruttivo fu notevole. Cruciale fu il ventennio dal 1865 al 1885. Nel 1865 la rete della penisola venne distribuita fra quattro grandi società.Realizzata la spina dorsale del paese, venne costruito il primo grande traforo alpino, mentre si finanziava la costruzione di oltre 6.000 km di ferrovie secondarie.Nel 1885 le linee vennero raccolte in due reti organiche disposte in senso longitudinale lungo la penisola. Nel 1905, la gestione delle ferrovie venne assunta da un'unica azienda di Stato. ; The making of the Italian unification is strictly connected to the history of railways. Some lines were born few years after the invention of the train, starting with the Napoli-Portici line (1839). There were short and separated sections built independently by each State. Milano- Venezia was the first big railway built in the peninsula, within the Lombard-Veneto Reign belonging to the Austrian Empire.The improvements of railways in Europe were an indicator of rapid advance of land ways of communication but, at the same time, they enhanced the backwardness of the Italian situation. However, the idea of unification of the peninsula, at least territorial, to be accomplished by a network of railways, was borning for the most far-seeing minds: the matter of railways during the Risorgimento dealt with the creation of the national conscience.The project for a national network of railways started after the overcoming of the divisions in different states that led to the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy.From 1861 to 1865 the constructive effort was considerable. The important line Bologna-Ancona-Foggia, the Roma-Napoli via Cassino, the Roma-Orte-Ancona and the "Porrettana" from Bologna to Firenze were led to the end. Especially important was the period between 1865 and 1885. In 1865 was promulgated the law for the administrative unification of the Kingdom to give an order to railways and, in the same year, the network was divided between four big societies. After the creation of the spine of the country, was the turn of Alps. The first big tunnel was realized in that period: the Cenisio tunnel (finished in 1871). In 1884 the Gottardo tunnel was created, while the Sempione tunnel would have become effective in 1906. Meanwhile the creation of more than 6000 km of secondary railways was financed. The government reorganized in 1885 the Italian railways: the lines were concentrated in two networks disposed lengthwise in the peninsula.The Conventions had a sixty years long duration divided into three periods of twenty years: the cancellation of contracts was possible at the end of each period. In 1905, the first deadline, the management of railways was adopted by a single State company.Further interesting things as events concerning steam locomotives, carriages and train stations are connected with the development of the infrastructure. Small and medium-sized train stations laid down in an unique model in the whole nation created a common visual language. Big cities stations designed as architectonic projects that started to be part of urban scenography, intensified on the symbolic plane the role of unification and develop accomplished by railways.

Thanks to a number of distinguished scholars who have focused on European and American national movements, both individually and within a comparative perspective, the emancipation concept can be analyzed within a broader Atlantic discourse, from freedom from bondage to national independence – this last is linked to issues like the center-periphery conflict and the parallel development of democratic institutions. Based on the analysis and comparison of studies to date, this article discusses the emancipation issue with a particular focus on two case-studies: the movement for the Southern union, which led to the American Civil War and the formation of the Confederate States of America in 1861, and the contemporary building process of Italy as a nation.

Thanks to a number of distinguished scholars who have focused on European and American national movements, both separately and in a comparative perspective, the emancipation concept can be analyzed within a broader Atlantic discourse, from freedom from bondage to national independence – this last is linked to issues like the center-periphery conflict and the parallel development of democratic institutions. Based on the analysis and comparison of the studies to date existing, this article discusses the emancipation issue with a particular focus on two case-studies: the movement for the Southern union, which brought to the American Civil War and the formation of the Confederate States of America in 1861, and the contemporary building process of Italy as a nation.

AbstractThe emergence of Italian nationalism in general, and in Habsburg Dalmatia in particular, has escaped any systematic theorizing in the field of nationalism studies. In the 1860s, changing geopolitical scenarios, resulting from the process of Italian unification, triggered a heated debate among Italian- and Slavic-speaking Dalmatian politicians and intellectuals over the introduction of equal status for the Italian language and Slavic-Dalmatian. Although Italian-speaking Dalmatians constituted a very tiny minority of the population of the Austrian province, the Italian language had a dominant role in public life as a legacy of previous Venetian colonial rule. While the majority of the Slavic-Dalmatian intelligentsia and political elites sought rights for the local Slavic language in public life without undermining the existence of Italian, Italian-speaking elites opposed measures aimed at language equality in their attempt to maintain their privileged position within Dalmatian society. In the same period, Niccolò Tommaseo emerged as the leading figure against any concessions to Slavs, thus distancing himself from his previous "multinational" ideas and igniting anti-Slavic Italian nationalism in the region. And the nationalist tropes used by Italian-speaking Dalmatians, Tommaseo included, mirrored the very same primordialist rhetoric of modern-day nationalist leaders, from Russia to China.

The physical construction of modern Italy began in 1861, with the foundation of the Kingdom of Italy. The historical period coincided with the early industrial development of north-western Italy, and so the new infrastructure system developed in response, on the one hand, to the need to join together all the fragmentary pieces that formed the country and, on the other, to the general tendency to strengthen those areas that were economically and industrially stronger even before unification. The system that was being created in the 1860s by the Italian State before unification suffered continuous interruptions and was substantially without transverse connections, those with more difficult construction caused by the need to cross the Apennines. Within five years, from 1861 to 1866, the size of the railway system doubled, going from little more than 2,000 km to more than 4,000. The management of railway was entrusted to limited companies. The government guaranteed the company a contribution for each kilometer of railway built. In 1863 the tracks extended down the Adriatic coast as far as Brindisi, in order to attract the transit of the India Mail London- Brindisi-Bombay, the most important trade of the world. In 1863 Rome was linked to Naples, in 1864 the line from Bologna to Florence via Pistoia was opened, in 1866 Rome was linked to Florence and Ancona and in 1867 with Pisa. In 1874 the Genoa-Pisa line were completed as far as the frontier with France; later, in 1879 the Naples-Foggia line went into operation. In the same period some of the longer tunnels were opened. Those of Fréjus was realised between 1857 and 1871. The Gottardo tunnel came into being in 1882 and the Sempione tunnel in 1906. The opening of the alpine passes effectively permitted the connection of Italy to central Europe, flinging open the doors to more and more easily reachable markets. In last twenty years of the 19th century, in Italy began the strong development of the secondary railways, with a generalised movement to promote the branching out of the railway, as an instrument of progress. With the completion of the main lines, the outlying centers began to clamor for the trains that, in an agricultural society without for the moment the automobile, seemed the only tie with civilised life capable of bringing economic development and political and social modernisation. Italy was a country with an ancient infrastructure and numerous lively towns. These towns were often, in their municipal activity, the protagonists of the completion and management of a secondary railway system on the peninsula. The development of narrow gauge technology, that allowed narrower curves and steeper slopes thereby reducing the need for great engineering works, and the achievement of particular gripping systems like the rack railway, made it possible to link by rail the many small towns and villages located in the hills and on the slopes of mountains. ; Se si rileggono i testi dei patrioti del Risorgimento, si trovano frequenti accenni alle "strade ferrate", come allora si chiamavano, ritenute indispensabili per collegare gli Italiani, divisi fra i diversi Stati preunitari. Abolizione dei dazi, libertà del commercio, circolazione delle idee furono associati all'idea di nazione italiana, trovando la realizzazione "fisica" nelle ferrovie, che dovevano unire il territorio della penisola dalle Alpi alla Puglia e alla Calabria. Al momento dell'unità d'Italia, non esisteva una rete ferroviaria nazionale, sebbene il Piemonte di Cavour avesse sviluppato un cospicuo reticolo di strade ferrate, che misuravano 850 km. Seguivano, per l'estensione dei binari, il Lombardo-Veneto con 607 km, il Granducato di Toscana con 323 km, lo Stato Pontificio con 132 km, il Regno delle Due Sicilie con 128 km, il Ducato di Parma con 99 km, il Ducato di Modena con 50 km. Molti tratti erano in corso di costruzione, ma non si aveva una rete interstatale, perché gli Stati preunitari avevano operato separatamente l'uno dall'altro. Con l'eccezione della tratta da Torino a Bologna, in corso di completamanto nel 1860, per il resto le reti erano state pensate per servizi interni a ciascuno Stato. Per mettere in comunicazione gli Italiani delle diverse regioni e creare un mercato nazionale, i governi post-unitari dedicarono dunque alle ferrovie i maggiori investimenti per lavori pubblici. Nell'arco di un decennio, si completò l'ossatura fondamentale della rete, con 6.600 km nel 1871, anno in cui fu anche inaugurata la galleria del Fréjus di 13,6 km, la più lunga del mondo, che poneva l'Italia sulla rotta della "Valigia delle Indie", il più intenso traffico mondiale di merci fra l'Inghilterra e la popolosa colonia delle Indie britanniche. Negli anni '70 furono estesi i collegamenti e nel 1879 fu approvata la legge sulle ferrovie complementari - destinate a completare la rete della penisola e delle isole maggiori - che aprì un cinquantennio di costruzione di ferrovie secondarie, con la ramificazione della rete. Allo stesso tempo, fu estesa la rete delle strade ordinarie, che dovevano servire soprattutto a collegare i centri minori con le stazioni ferroviarie, trasformando le mulattiere in carreggiabili.