Italy is therefore 150 years old as a Nation-State, according to the modern political construction of peoples who come together in a sovereign entity. It was on March 17, 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II, then King of Piedmont-Sardinia, after the parliamentary vote on March 14, assumed for “himself and his heirs the title of King of Italy” (Law No. 1 of the Kingdom of Italy).
But Italy, even if it was not yet a State, had already existed for centuries. From an etymological point of view, the word “Italy” finds its roots in the 5th century BC and was attributed to a people who inhabited Calabria, the Italoรฏ.
This word is found designating the territory of the Peninsula or the populations who lived there in the writings of Virgil and Pliny.
And, a few centuries later, after the Republican and Imperial Rome and the Middle Ages, Dante and Petrarch mentioned it in their literary works.
And the Holy Roman Church, never lacking in historical vision, recognized ‘Italia Nova’ as can still be admired today by visiting the Vatican Gallery where the “geographic maps” are displayed.
Even Pope Gregory XIII (Cardinal Ugo Boncompagni), although a pure conservative of the Counter-Reformation, accepted to be depicted sitting on his throne in front of a map bearing the inscription “ITALIA artium studiorumque plena semper est habita”.
To this day, Italians number 60 million, including 3.5 million residing abroad. Between 1860 and 1970 (end of migratory flows), 30 million Italians emigrated to the four corners of the world, with a net loss of 11 million. Approximately 70 million people (referred to as “Italici”) can claim to have Italian ancestry, however distant it may be.
In the consular district of Nice (which includes departments 04-05-06), officially 28,000 Italians reside, of which 9,000 are from Nice. More precisely, one can speak of 70,000 Italians on the Riviera and in the hinterland of the Cรดte d’Azur. It is estimated that 30% of the population of Nice is of Italian origin.
Official program of the Consulate General of Italy:
9 a.m.: Flag Raising, Consulate Garden
6:30 p.m.: Lyrical Concert, Michelangelo Salon
