Cari Amici, Dear Friends,
It is with great pleasure that we bring to you this presentation about Italy’s Risorgimento.
Fred Sidon, a good friend to many of us and a passionate Italophile and Historian, will be our speaker. He has given us this written introduction to his presentation as a background to his talk:
“The dissolution of the Roman Empire left the Italian peninsula nothing but a name. As Austrian Diplomat Prince von Metternich said “Italy is but a geographic expression” and he was right. However, the underlying spirit of “Italianism”, or the desire for a unified nation, independent from foreign influence, had been kept alive throughout the centuries.
This talk attempts to synthesize the many years of effort by many, throughout the peninsula, to liberate their land from Spanish, French and Austrian domination and form what we now know as La Repubblica Italiana.
It was a difficult, circuitous trip full of fights and sacrifice that brought together the nation that now spreads from Sicily, Sardinia to the Alps. The “Risorgimento”, or resurgence, brought about the first bout but there were others to follow prior to Italy becoming what we know today.
It took centuries and three wars for it to happen but in the end Italy gained its independence from foreign domination.
This talk, including some visuals, will briefly cover the salient points and give the audience a sense of when, what and how things transpired and of the people who made it all happen.
I hope to see many of you there.
Fred Sidon
And now the details:
March 1st, 2020 (Sunday)
Karpeles Manuscript Library, Lecture Hall
21 West Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara
1:00-3:00 pm
FREE EVENT
There will be a small reception after the lecture.
Please let us know if you plan to attend by calling 1-805-969-1018 OR by emailing me at wvollero@gmail.com. Kindly include the number of people in your party.
I hope to see many of you there.
Cordially, Bill
Bill Vollero, President
Italian Cultural Heritage Foundation of S.B.
Fred Sidon’s short bio, in his own words:
Having studied and spent a lot of my professional time in Italy, I am extremely fond and interested in all things Italian. Its history is a long and an interesting one. When in Rome, above all, but also elsewhere, all the way to Libya, the remains of the Roman Empire were everywhere reflecting on the grandeur that once was. My curiosity and interest in events that followed was aroused and so its resurgence from a mighty empire to its present came to the fore.
I am not Italian. I studied there and speak the language. Professionally I helped formulate corporate strategy and many Italian firms were my clients. My wife of 60 years is now an Italian citizen as are my 3 sons, but not me. I’m here today to share what little I learned about the formation of that wonderful place, Italy.