Blurred Nationalities across the North Atlantic: Traders, Priests, and Their Kin Travelling between North America and the Italian Peninsula, 1763–1846: ... (Emilio Goggio Publications Series)

Long before the mid-nineteenth century, thousands of people were frequently moving between North America – specifically, the United States and British North America – and Leghorn, Genoa, Naples, Rome, Sicily, Piedmont, Lombardy, Venice, and Trieste. Predominantly traders, sailors, transient workers, Catholic priests, and seminarians, this group relied on the exchange of goods across the Atlantic to solidify transatlantic relations; during this period, stories about the New World passed between travellers through word of mouth and letter writing. Blurred Nationalities across the North Atlantic challenges the idea that national origin – for instance, Italianness – constitutes the only significant feature of a group’s identity, revealing instead the multifaceted personalities of the people involved in these exchanges. Review "Blurred Nationalities across the North Atlantic represents a historical ‘cross-over,’ where the history of Italy, Italian migration, Catholicism, and colonial North America are questioned simultaneously. In this way, Luca Codignola answers many questions, including why Italians migrated to North America, how they were accepted, and what kind of relationship was linking Italy to North America. Codignola has written a very important contribution to the study of transatlantic history between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries." (Matteo Sanfilippo, Dipartimento di Scienze Umane e della Comunicazione, Università degli Studi della Tuscia) "In examining the mobility of ideas, trade, and Catholic networks, Blurred Nationalities across the North Atlantic convincingly reveals the significant impact of merchants, missionaries, priests, and lay travellers from both North America and Italy, while connecting them to enlightenment ideals. It is a model of the kind of research any historian might wish to teach advanced students." (Donna Gabaccia, Department of Historical and Cultural Studies, University of Toronto, Scarborough) About the Author Luca Codignola is a Senior Fellow at the University of Notre Dame, Adjunct Professor at Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, and Professeur Associé at Université de Montréal. Cover Contents Foreword Preface Abbreviations Introduction: “Contributors” and the “Enlightened,” or the Invention of Italianness Colombo, Caboto, Verrazzano: Allegiance to What? From Bressani the Jesuit to Castiglioni the Traveller Were Travel Reports Trustworthy and Influential? The “Contribution School”: The Illusory Search for Completeness The “Enlightenment School”: Were They All Real Italians? 1 Early Relations between the Italian Peninsula and North America: Codfish, Leghorn, and Genoa, 1744–1839 The Codfish Networks, 1766–85 Leghorn, 1744–88 Genoa, 1759–1839 2 Early Relations between the Italian Peninsula and North America: Naples, Turin, Venice, Trieste, and Milan, 1761–1825 Naples and Sicily, 1778–1809 Turin and Piedmont, 1777–1825 Venice and Trieste, 1761–96 Milan and Lombardy, 1784–1824 3 Rome, the Italian Peninsula’s Most International Capital: Students, Consuls, and Distinguished Visitors, 1788–1848 Two American Young Men in the Eternal City, 1788–97 Sartori’s Double Allegiance: Roman and American Consul, 1793–1841 Cicognani: Rome’s Trusted American Consul, 1810–48 Literary Legacy: Thayer, Plessis, and Grassi, 1783–1820 4 Rome: Priests across the Ocean and the Extent of Romanization, 1801–1836 Rome’s Catholic Priests Go to North America: Their Background and Heritage, 1801–30 North American Priests in Rome: Competing Networks, 1815–30 The Moulding of a North American Catholic Elite: The Urban College, 1815–36 The Moulding of a North American Catholic Elite: The Roman College, 1818–29 5 North Atlantic Networks of Trade and Religion: Leghorn and Filippo Filicchi, 1788–1816 Filippo Filicchi’s and Antonio Filicchi’s Role in Leghorn’s Political and Economic Life, 1788–1840 Filippo Filicchi’s Early Life and Career, 1763–85 Filippo Filicchi’s Two Visits to the United States, 1785–8 and 1789–90 Filippo Filicchi: Leghorn’s Trusted American Consul, 1794–8 Networks of People and Interests: The Seton-Bayley-Curson Extended Family, 1784–1857 Networks of People and Interests: Filippo Filicchi, Antonio Filicchi, and the American Catholics, 1785–1842 6 Antonio Filicchi’s Business and Personal Networks across the North Atlantic, 1816–1847 People, Goods, and Ideas in Antonio Filicchi’s Activities, 1816–47 The Entrepreneur: Vito Viti, 1828–41 The Scientist: Carlo L. Bonaparte, Prince of Musignano, 1828–39 Merchants and Traders, 1828–41 Artists and Kin, 1828–41 7 Angelo Inglesi, from Rome with Love: The Ultimate Scoundrel Priest in North America, c. 1795–1825 Inglesi’s European Background and Arrival in Quebec City, 1795–1819 Louisiana: Inglesi Enthrals Bishop Dubourg, 1819–20 Louisiana: Early Doubts Creep In, 1822–3 Europe: Inglesi’s Fundraising Tour, 1820–1 Rome: Inglesi, a Man Sent by Providence, 1821 Rome and Umbria: Suspicions and Reality, 1821 From Tuscany to France: Inglesi Retraces His Steps, 1822–3 Philadelphia: Joining the Hogan Schism, 1823 Philadelphia to Haiti: Inglesi’s Ignominious End, 1824–5 Inglesi’s Last Supporters: Father Rese and Consul General Deabbate in Defence of a “Son of Italy,” 1823–4 Conclusion: Lives of Non-illustrious Men List of Tables Notes Bibliography Archival Sources Printed Sources Index "Long before the mid-nineteenth century, hundreds, if not thousands of people were constantly moving between the United States and British North America and Leghorn, Genoa, Naples, Rome, Sicily, Piedmont, Lombardy, Venice and Trieste. Predominantly traders, sailors, transient workers, Catholic priests and seminarians, this group relied on the exchange of goods across the Atlantic to solidify transatlantic relations; during this period, stories about the New World passed between travellers through word of mouth and letter writing. Based on a vast and in-depth examination of newly-found personal and commercial correspondence, Blurred Nationalities is a major addition to the study of transatlantic mobility and migration between North America and the Italian peninsula. Blurred Nationalities challenges the idea that the level of national origin, for instance, Italianness, comprises the most only significant feature of this group's identity, revealing the multifaceted personalities of the people involved in these exchanges."-- Résumé de l'éditeur "Long before the mid-nineteenth century, hundreds, if not thousands of people were constantly moving between the United States and British North America and Leghorn, Genoa, Naples, Rome, Sicily, Piedmont, Lombardy, Venice and Trieste. Predominantly traders, sailors, transient workers, Catholic priests and seminarians, this group relied on the exchange of goods across the Atlantic to solidify transatlantic relations; during this period, stories about the New World passed between travellers through word of mouth and letter writing. Based on a vast and in-depth examination of newly-found personal and commercial correspondence, Blurred Nationalities is a major addition to the study of transatlantic mobility and migration between North America and the Italian peninsula. Blurred Nationalities challenges the idea that the level of national origin, for instance, Italianness, comprises the most only significant feature of this group's identity, revealing the multifaceted personalities of the people involved in these exchanges."-- Provided by publisher

Long before the mid-nineteenth century, thousands of people were frequently moving between North America – specifically, the United States and British North America – and Leghorn, Genoa, Naples, Rome, Sicily, Piedmont, Lombardy, Venice, and Trieste. Predominantly traders, sailors, transient workers, Catholic priests, and seminarians, this group relied on the exchange of goods across the Atlantic to solidify transatlantic relations; during this period, stories about the New World passed between travellers through word of mouth and letter writing.

Blurred Nationalities across the North Atlantic challenges the idea that national origin – for instance, Italianness – constitutes the only significant feature of a group’s identity, revealing instead the multifaceted personalities of the people involved in these exchanges.

Long before the mid-nineteenth century, thousands of people were constantly moving between the United States and British North America and Leghorn, Genoa, Naples, Rome, Sicily, Piedmont, Lombardy, Venice, and Trieste. Predominantly traders, sailors, transient workers, Catholic priests, and seminarians, this group relied on the exchange of goods across the Atlantic to solidify transatlantic relations; during this period, stories about the New World passed between travellers through word of mouth and letter writing. Blurred Nationalities challenges the idea that national origin, for instance, Italianness, comprises the only significant feature of a groups identity, and reveals instead the multifaceted personalities of the people involved in these exchanges. A new examination of transatlantic mobility between early North America and the Italian peninsula. Based on a vast array of previously untapped archival sources, this book shows the international outlook and the multifaceted personalities of its protagonists.