Little Ancient World

[Estro Felino]

Also known as the Little World of the Past and The Patriot, is a jewel of the Italian Literature of the Nineteenth Century, that celebrates the Risorgimento and the birth of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
It's the story of a marquis who lives in a villa on the shores of Lugano Lake, in Lombardy, in 1850s. In those years, Northern Italy is mostly under the direct and indirect control of the Austrian Empire. But many Italians are tired of living under the Habsburgs and wish they could create an all Italian kingdom, by unifying all of Northern Italy under the rule of the Savoyard dynasty.
The Austrians violently repressed the revolutions of 1848, but Italian patriots are more and more battle-hardened.
Franco Maironi will marry a bourgeois woman, Luisa Rigey, and that will be the symbol of an aristocracy that rejects the Ancient Regime, and prefers to build a better world, a juster world where people are free to become whatever they like, no matter of their status.
But the title is a nostalgic reference to that ancient world made up of values that are part of our identity as Europeans: the civilization that made Europe what it is now.


A scene from a movie inspired by the book.

 

[Estro Felino]

To make understand the geopolitical context: the kingdom of Piedmont is under the rule of the Savoy Dynasty.
In the North there is Tuscany and some little duchies which are under the indirect control of the Austrian empire which rules over Lombardy and Venetia. In central Italy there is the State of the Church, ruled by the Pope. And in the South, the kingdom of Two Sicilies, ruled by the Bourbons, the French Dynasty that used to rule for centuries in France.

 

[Tamino]

Also known as the Little World of the Past and The Patriot, is a jewel of the Italian Literature of the Nineteenth Century, that celebrates the Risorgimento and the birth of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
It's the story of a marquis who lives in a villa on the shores of Lugano Lake, in Lombardy, in 1850s. In those years, Northern Italy is mostly under the direct and indirect control of the Austrian Empire. But many Italians are tired of living under the Habsburgs and wish they could create an all Italian kingdom, by unifying all of Northern Italy under the rule of the Savoyard dynasty.
The Austrians violently repressed the revolutions of 1848, but Italian patriots are more and more battle-hardened.

Thank you for the tip!
I might check it out, it fits very well with some recent studying I've done.
I have been working my way through this podcast: Home
There are probably better sources available in Italian, but for interested English speakers it takes a pretty deep dive into the history of the Italian unification.
and I had the chance to see the museum in Torino recently : Museo Nazionale del Risorgimento Italiano - Torino
It's maybe not so interesting for people without prior knowledge... Room upon room with pictures of a important people and documents and maps... But it really brought things to life for me.

 

[Estro Felino]

Thank you for the tip!
I might check it out, it fits very well with some recent studying I've done.
I have been working my way through this podcast: Home
There are probably better sources available in Italian, but for interested English speakers it takes a pretty deep dive into the history of the Italian unification.
and I had the chance to see the museum in Torino recently : Museo Nazionale del Risorgimento Italiano - Torino
It's maybe not so interesting for people without prior knowledge... Room upon room with pictures of a important people and documents and maps... But it really brought things to life for me.

I am so glad to hear it.

 

[Regiomontanus]

Also known as the Little World of the Past and The Patriot, is a jewel of the Italian Literature of the Nineteenth Century, that celebrates the Risorgimento and the birth of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
It's the story of a marquis who lives in a villa on the shores of Lugano Lake, in Lombardy, in 1850s. In those years, Northern Italy is mostly under the direct and indirect control of the Austrian Empire. But many Italians are tired of living under the Habsburgs and wish they could create an all Italian kingdom, by unifying all of Northern Italy under the rule of the Savoyard dynasty.
The Austrians violently repressed the revolutions of 1848, but Italian patriots are more and more battle-hardened.
Franco Maironi will marry a bourgeois woman, Luisa Rigey, and that will be the symbol of an aristocracy that rejects the Ancient Regime, and prefers to build a better world, a juster world where people are free to become whatever they like, no matter of their status.
But the title is a nostalgic reference to that ancient world made up of values that are part of our identity as Europeans: the civilization that made Europe what it is now.


A scene from a movie inspired by the book.

Interesting, though IMO, not nearly as much so as the history of 'Italy' back in the 1 - 3rd centuries AD!