Sensibilities of the Risorgimento : : reason and passions in political thought / / by Roberto Romani.

• Superior document: Studies in the History of Political Thought, Volume 12
• VerfasserIn: Romani, Roberto,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden, Netherlands ;, Boston, Massachusetts : : Brill,, 2018.; ©2018
• Year of Publication: 2018
• Language: English
• Series: Studies in the history of political thought ; Volume 12.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (316 pages) :; illustrations (some color), maps.

A purely political framework does not capture the complexity of the culture behind Italians’ struggle for liberty and independence during the Risorgimento (1815-1861). Roberto Romani identifies the sensibilities associated with each of the two main political programmes, Mazzini’s republicanism and moderatism, which in fact were comprehensive projects for a political, moral, and religious resurgence. The moderates’ espousal of reason entailed an ideal personality expressed by private virtue, self-possession, and a public morality informed by Catholicism, while Mazzini’s advocacy of passions led to ‘enthusiasm’ and a total commitment to the cause. Romani demonstrates that the patriots’ moral quest rested on a thick cultural bedrock, dating back to Stoicism and the Catholic Aufklärung , and passing through Rousseau and the Revolution.

Table of Contents

Front Matter -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- Against the Passions of Revolution: Making the Moderate Sensibility, 1815–1848 -- Grand Vision, Minor Demands: The Themes and Sources of 1840s Moderatism -- The Truths of the Heart: Passions, Sentiments, and Faith from Mazzini to Nievo -- The Reason of the Elites: Constitutional Moderatism in the Kingdom of Sardinia, 1849–1861 -- Conclusion.