Francesco Crispi 1818-1901: From Nation to Nationalism
Christopher Duggan
Abstract
This book is a biography of Francesco Crispi (1818-1901), one of the most important and controversial figures in modern Italian history. Crispi was among the key figures in the Italian Risorgimento, a close friend and supporter of Guiseppe Mazzini and Guiseppe Garibaldi, and one of the architects of Italy's unification in 1860. Yet, he went on to become an authoritarian Prime Minister and ally and admirer of Otto von Bismark, whose ambitions for Italy brought Europe close, on several occasions, to a major conflagration. Crispi was celebrated by the fascist regime as the ‘precursor’ of Benito M ... More
This book is a biography of Francesco Crispi (1818-1901), one of the most important and controversial figures in modern Italian history. Crispi was among the key figures in the Italian Risorgimento, a close friend and supporter of Guiseppe Mazzini and Guiseppe Garibaldi, and one of the architects of Italy's unification in 1860. Yet, he went on to become an authoritarian Prime Minister and ally and admirer of Otto von Bismark, whose ambitions for Italy brought Europe close, on several occasions, to a major conflagration. Crispi was celebrated by the fascist regime as the ‘precursor’ of Benito Mussolini, and in exploring Crispi's evolution from revolutionary democrat to bellicose authoritarian and his attempt to turn Italy from a ‘geographical expression’ into a nation, this book sheds light on the roots of fascism and the problems of Italian liberalism in the 19th century.
Keywords:
Italy,
Risorgimento,
Guiseppe Mazzini,
Guiseppe Garibaldi,
unification,
Otto von Bismark,
fascism,
liberalism,
Francesco Crispi,
Benito Mussolini
Bibliographic Information
Print publication date: 2002 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780198206118 |
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: January 2010 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198206118.001.0001 |