Tom Padula – April 2011
The Unification of Italy 150 Year Celebrations
and
the English Language Media in Australia
On the occasion of the beginning of the 150th year Celebration of the Unification of Italy on the 17th March 2011, some Italian language observers here in Australia have lamented the fact that the Australian Media hardly covered this Event in our Australian English language Newspapers and Television. Yet who better equipped to rectify such an anomaly than the people who write for our Australian Newspapers in other languages? In this case our own journalists who write in Italian?
In the case of the Unification of Italy 150th Year Birthday Celebrations, beginning on the 17 March 2011, there were numerous groups of people of Italian background and sympathisers who gathered in various restaurants, social club premises, reception centres, church halls and at home to remember how Italy was unified politically for the first time since the fall of the Roman Empire in 413 AD, when the Roman Empire split in two parts. These celebrations occurred in every State of Australia. In the ACT the Italian Ambassador organized a special Unification of Italy Celebration programme. You would think that such celebrations would be widely covered by the Australian English Language Media. This was not the case, nor it would seem that much fuss will be made about this very important date and year of celebration in the Italian-Australian calendar. Why not?
The projection of Italy’s image abroad is of paramount interest to those Global Italians who hold a dual citizenship and those others who are of Italian background but only have Australian citizenship. It’s a question of identity. Every person who comes into a nation built from immigration needs to pay particular attention to uphold and respect, and indeed celebrate, the country of origin of its residents. By doing this, respect is gained for Australia.
When people of second, third, fourth and more generations remember the historical ties of their family, they are individually empowered to hold the balance of peace and harmony of their new country with their country of origin. The individuals who recognize the many and varied parental backgrounds should be more careful in their assessment of others in terms of who they are. Race, colour, religion, cultural leanings and indeed any other type of difference become the basis for an appreciation of diversity. Recognition of such diversity leads to a more humane approach in our dealings with others.
Can the English Language Media be held responsible for the lack of interest to report celebrations about individual nations of the world? I would venture to say… no! But it’s up to the individual nation participants to invite as many people or friends to their Birthday or Commemorative event. This was done by many groups in the case of Italy’s 150 year celebration. The unification of Italy that began on the 17 March 1861, but which was fully achieved only after World War One. A Unity that was then impoverished by the Victors territorial re-arrangements after the end of World War II, when Istria was removed from Italy’s political boundaries.
Strange as it may seem, the European Union has achieved what a lot of wars was never able to do. That is, it has removed boundaries and made each nation relate with its neighbours by opening up to people’s movement within the radius of its territorial recognition. It’s just as easy today for a French, German, Austrian, Croatian resident to travel freely to and within Italy as it is for people who hold Italian residency status. This advantage has been extended to all European member countries… So why celebrate the Unity of Italy? And what does this Italian Unification Celebration mean to the Italians themselves?
It’s true that not everyone in Italy is excited about these celebration events when some of the people, especially from the North of Italy, but not exclusively, want the arrangements of a federation of the regions. They say that local is better… look after the immediate territory, ensure that the tax dollar is spent where it is earned… then the nation will look after itself, without having to worry about the balances of necessity which the great economic divide of each region has to confront. Unification is viewed by some people as a patriotic slogan and not much more! Unification allowed the creation of a bureaucracy which made Italy more divided than it would have been if human and material resources were allowed to develop within the regions, according to their own strengths of production, manufacturing and trade. However Unification Celebration is a lot more than mere living!
The Italians wherever they reside identify themselves with the geographical boot, which Prince Von Metternich described in 1819 as ‘a mere geographic expression’ at the Congress of Vienna, after the fall of Napoleon. Italy had been divided since the fall of the Roman Empire. Therefore the Unification in 1861 gave Italy a national identity that remains a hard won possession: for those who were born there and for Italians in the world whose parental connections remains an important part of their identity. After all, Italy is renowned for its beauty, prestige, colourfulness, a place where every piazza is a museum, where the classical appreciation of food, art and music attracts still today a very sizeable tourist population.
Italy remains a land of diversity in spite of Mr Giorgio Napolitano, the current Italian President, who keeps reminding his people that Italy is a highly unified country. Italians are extremely parochial and identify strongly with the village or town or city in which they were born. The President is however correct to call to celebrate the Unification of Italy as a national goal to recognize the importance of identity, heritage and history. The twenty regions of Italy are diverse and they want to propel Italy into the Global arena in order to gain for themselves trading and commercial benefits. Some regions are trying to recapture their sons and daughters who exited Italy many decades ago because of economic, political or other motivations. Other regions want a more autonomous government. Unity is thus a slippery call. I believe the President is right to appeal to national interest and commitment. These celebrations are a good opportunity to appeal to all Italians to be proud of their heritage and to extend their efforts to include all Italians in the world.
For this reason, Italians worldwide have been called to honour the members of their historical family, including the ones who showed such great heroism during the period of the Risorgimento, the movement which led to Italy’s Unification. The great patriotic figures of this RISORGIMENTO were a diverse lot as well… Giuseppe Mazzini, a republican expatriate, Giuseppe Garibaldi, a general, Conte Camillo Benson di Cavour, a statist, King Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont, his father Carlo Alberto, Composer Giuseppe Verdi, Poet Giacomo Leopardi, members of unification movements I Carbonari and La Giovine Italia, the many other minor but important regional and local patriots… like Giacinto Albini from the town of Montemurro in Basilicata region where I was born and so many others from all parts of Italy. The Risorgimento literally means Re-Awakening, revival, resurrect from the dead!
Unity and diversity are twins in today’s political landscape worldwide. A recognition and appreciation of one’s own identity, family history and cultural make up are worth celebrating. Let’s celebrate our Italian Heritage in our Australian context and by doing so we shall develop and strengthen the bridges that have been built over many decades of bilateral relations between our two countries. May feelings of peace and harmony be developed during the course of this year’s celebrations… let’s invite to our ‘festa nazionale’ friends around us who enrich our lives on a daily basis. May this be so with our Australian English Language Media and Television Networks, whose cooperation we seek to run feel good stories about Italy and the contribution of Italians in Australia. I invite Silvio Berlusconi to come to celebrate the Italians in Australia… every leader needs to meet the Italians in the world… here in Australia I am sure he’ll be able to charm our own woman Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. Evviva L’Italia. Evviva l’Australia.
Tom Padula – April 2011
