Introduction

Abstract

This special issue contributes to the ongoing debate surrounding the controversial legacy of the Risorgimento, with the aim of fostering a deeper understanding of the construction of the Italian nation-state through perspectives that depart from the dominant paradigms of post-unification Italian culture. Far from constituting a settled myth, the Risorgimento remained a persistent site of tension from the early 1860s onwards. Both materially and symbolically, the image of Italy became a visible arena in which the transition from patriotic idealism, shaped by heroic narratives and teleological interpretations, to a profound disenchantment brought about by modernity unfolded. The critical reappraisal of the Risorgimento imaginary took place within a rapidly changing cultural system in which theatre and, above all, literature relinquished part of their autonomy in order to engage with the new media environment created by the expansion of the periodical press. From this perspective, the contributions gathered in this issue examine how intellectuals and writers redefined key categories such as the people, power, and the nation, dismantling the conventions of celebratory rhetoric in order to identify the contours of a social and historical “truth” far more complex than that conveyed by established national narratives.