Friday, March 11, 2011, at 3 PM at the Espace Associations Nice Garibaldi – Place Garibaldi
Giuseppe MAZZINI and Italian Unity by Salvatore D’AMICO
Giuseppe Mazzini, born on June 22, 1805, in Genoa and died on March 10, 1872, in Pisa, was an Italian revolutionary and patriot, a fervent republican, and a fighter for the realization of Italian unity.
After studying law and earning a degree in philosophy in 1827, Mazzini began to assert, against the ruling power, that “the homeland of an Italian is neither Rome, nor Florence, nor Milan, but Italy as a whole.”
In 1831, while in exile in Marseille, he founded the movement “Young Italy” (Giovine Italia), derived from the Carbonari and inspired by socialism. The motto of this movement was “God and the People,” and its political basis was the will to unite the different kingdoms of Italy into a democratic Republic. Piedmont sentenced him to perpetual banishment; in 1837, he settled in London from where he asked Pope Pius IX to lead a movement for the unity of Italy. But the revolutions of 1848 would bring him back to Italy…
History of the Dante Alighieri
Founded in Rome in 1889 by a group of Italian intellectuals and parliamentarians driven by the common will to spread Italian culture and language worldwide, the “Società Dante Alighieri” today comprises more than 500 committees in nearly 80 countries across 5 continents.
The initiator of modern Italian, the language to which he gave its literary dignity, the famous author of the Divine Comedy stands as the emblematic figure of the spread of Italian culture.
In 2005, the prestigious Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities was awarded to “the Dante,” jointly with the Alliance Française, the Instituto Cervantes, the British Council, the Goethe Institute, and the Instituto Camões, to honor their “common mission of preserving and disseminating European cultural heritage.”
The Nice committee, founded in 1948, was located until 1996 within the Italian consulate and counted up to 600 members. Having had to leave the consulate, the association took some time to find suitable premises in the center of Nice. In May 2008, the board was entirely reorganized following the departure of the former president, Mrs. Ameglio. Under the energetic leadership of the new president, Catherine Coletti, and her team, Nice’s Dante Alighieri continues with renewed enthusiasm its primary mission. The summer of 2009 was an occasion for a complete renovation of the premises at the Palais Bréa.
The “Dante” holds particular importance in our region, not only because of its geographical proximity to Italy but also because of their shared history. Isn’t the population of Nice largely made up of descendants of the approximately 30,000 Italian families who settled in Nice over a century and a half ago? The work of an association like this is all the more essential today as economic, political, and cultural exchanges intensify.
