«Polish Risorgimento»: Visions of the Modern Polish Nation and their Italian Foundations (Eastern European Culture, Politics and Societies)

«The book offers an opportunity to look at the genesis of national identity as it was constructed in a specific stateless and multicultural context through cultural transfer and the impact of the contemporary media. It explores Polish reactions to the Italian __Risorgimento__ which at the time represented the quintessential struggle for national freedom and offered hope for other oppressed nationalities. The Polish intellectuals were inflamed by the Italian movement, mostly as supporters, but also as its fierce opponents. They took on the __Risorgimento’s__ political and civilizational dilemmas, adjusting them to suit their own agendas. By vividly discussing Italy’s political prospects they were filling in the half-empty vessel of Polish national identity. As the result of this dialogue, they placed Poland firmly within Western civilization, determined which factors legitimized their nation and defined its religious outlook. The book allows us to discern the external foundations of such empowering national images as the ‘revolutionary Pole’ and the ‘Pole Catholic.’» Marta Petrusewicz, City University of New York, Università della Calabria. The book offers an opportunity to look at the genesis of national identity as it was constructed in a specific stateless and multicultural context through cultural transfer and the impact of the contemporary media. It explores Polish reactions to the Italian Risorgimento which at the time represented the quintessential struggle for national freedom and offered hope for other oppressed nationalities. The Polish intellectuals were inflamed by the Italian movement, mostly as supporters, but also as its fierce opponents. They took on the Risorgimento's political and civilizational dilemmas, adjusting them to suit their own agendas. By vividly discussing Italy's political prospects they were filling in the half-empty vessel of Polish national identity. As the result of this dialogue, they placed Poland firmly within Western civilization, determined which factors legitimized their nation and defined its religious outlook. The book allows us to discern the external foundations of such empowering national images as the 'revolutionary Pole' and the 'Pole Catholic.' Marta Petrusewicz, City University of New York, Universita della Calabria Contents Acknowledgments Introduction PART I The democrats – from alleanza dei popoli to Polonia fara da se Introduction 1 Path to independence: alleanza dei popoli 1848-60 2 The lingering demise of Romantic ideology 1860-71 3 Multi-cultural nation – the civil religion vs. Catholicism PART II Hôtel Lambert – ‘A vote for Italy is a vote for Poland’ Introduction 4 Risorgimento and the dawn of the ‘principle of nationality’ 5 The Risorgimento and the Polish communication with ‘Europe’ 6 Morals vs. pragmatics: a growing rift between the Italians and Poles, 1861-71 PART III The conservatives: Risorgimental background of ‘Pole Catholic’ Introduction 7 The Krakow conservatives against the revolutionary Risorgimento 8 The ultramontanes – Pole Catholic versus Italian dissenter Conclusions Bibliography