The Unification of Italy 1871

by Professor David Laven

Thursday 25 January 2018
20180121 Laven - Italy

2011 marked the 150th anniversary of the establishment of a united Italy. Arriving in Rome for a conference to mark the event, I was told bluntly by my talkative taxi driver from the airport that it was absurd to celebrate a failed and corrupt state that had never won the loyalty of its citizens.  My talk will explore the tensions between the realities of how a united Italy came into being and the myths that are still cultivated to argue that it was the nature of unification that has led to many of the weaknesses of the Italian State to this day.

David Laven is Associate Professor of Modern History at the University of Nottingham.  His latest book due for publication in 2018 is Restoration and Risorgimento 1796 to 1870. Professor Laven is a prolific author of books and articles on Italy including in 2016  The British Idea of Italy in the Age of Turner; Venice 1848-1914: the Venetian sense of the past and the creation of the modern Italian nation; Elites in the Kingdom of Lombardy – Venetia; Napoleon’s Legacy: Problems of Government in Restoration Europe.

More Upcoming Talks

Talks are held in the Digby Hall, Hound Street, Sherborne, starting at 8pm.

Complimentary tea and coffee are available from 7.15pm.

26 Sep
2017

Edward I

by Dr Marc Morris

Tuesday 26 September 2017
An overview of the career of one of the greatest English kings of the Middle Ages, his impact on the British Isles, and a legacy of division which continues to this day.
10 Oct
2017

Storms, War and Shipwrecks – Treasures from the Sicilian Seas

by Professor Paul Roberts

Tuesday 10 October 2017
Presentation about Roman finds from shipwrecks in the Mediterranean.