"Finchè Venezia salva non sia": garibaldini e garibaldinismo in Veneto (1848-1866)

My research aims at to analyse the phenomenon of Garibaldinism set in a regional contest, the Venetian one, that is traditionally considered moderate and conservative, but where the growing desire to get rid of the Austrian rule, particularly in the years 1859-1866, brought about a good deal of activities. The survey focuses on a proper number of venetian garibaldinians, especially (but not only) belonging to the formation of the "Mille". I utilized not only ordinary civil and military documents, but mainly memories, diaries and letters, to reconstruct significant facts in their lives and to tackle various topics: the basic motivations of "becoming garibaldinians" (ideal, economic and psychological-existential level); the Venetian emigration first to Piedmont and then to the Kingdom of Italy on the years 1859-1866 (Austrian measures preventing escapes abroad, political-diplomatic use of Venetian emigrants in the couple of years 1859-1860, important role of a legal aid, but also of preventive control, played by the Central political venetian committee led by Alberto Cavalletto and its subsidiary committees, difficult management of emigrants by the Italian government, problems deriving from being exiles, the presence of a false political emigration etc.); the action moved by followers of Mazzini and Garibaldi (mazzinians and garibaldinians including a few moderate pro-garibaldian militants), inside and outside Veneto, to speed up its liberation, up to 1866 regular war versus Austria. On the bases of the data collected in the course of my project, I tried to explain how is possible to talk about garibaldinism in Veneto, aware that the answer can vary, depending on the emotional, military or political accepted meaning of this term, so opening different and not obvious scenarios.