National identity versus fierce local allegiances; the dichotomy of Northern and Southern Italy versus a creeping uniformity precipitated by globalization; Italy as an old idea already existing in Dante, versus a relatively young nation-State born a mere century and a half ago; a country seemingly intent on dwelling on its own shortcomings internally, versus a country admired elsewhere for its art, culture and lifestyle: this was the contradictory and complex image of Italy which emerged at this national interest event devoted to examining the country’s identity and shared history and experience.
In line with the Federalist Republican Carlo Cattaneo’s school of thought, the participants pointed to the flowering of the nation’s cities as representing the leitmotif of Italian identity. It was noted that the divide between the North and the South in this respect (with liberi Comuni or “free municipalities” being historically an almost exclusively Central and Northern phenomenon) had already developed several centuries before the Risorgimento. But although the resulting internal emigration came to serve as a powerful driver of integration between Italians of different regions, today parochial interests once again seem to be gaining ascendancy and playing a disruptive role, amplified by an economic crisis that has led many to believe that they can only maintain their level of prosperity by shirking as much as possible the obligations of solidarity which stem from belonging to a single unified nation.
Indeed, three major failings were highlighted as distinguishing the Italian national character: a lack of a sense of national belonging, a lack of a sense of responsibility and a lack of a shared memory. As a result of these, Italy does not have a collective image of itself to which its citizens can look for inspiration and as a model for their behavior. Fascism – it was noted – did give Italians such a model, but as it proved to be a pretense and a sham, nothing ever emerged again to take its place, culminating in the acute identity crisis that has stricken Italy today, with perhaps even more serious consequences than the ever-increasing levels of material poverty.
Given this backdrop, the participants suggested that it is not enough to sing the praises of the age-old civilization of an “eternal Italy” built on art, beauty and intelligence, when the State established in 1861 fails in its role of ensuring the equality of the rights and duties of its citizens, making it difficult for any sense of community to take root. Moreover, the real issue today was seen as not revolving around how to go about constructing a contrived shared memory, but rather how to cultivate a widespread awareness amongst Italians of a shared history that is often either mystified or relegated to oblivion. It was thus stressed that the preservation of the country’s great artistic, natural and cultural heritage is absolutely paramount, but that it must be achieved through efficient management practices. In conclusion, it was observed that whilst new technologies afford an invaluable opportunity to accomplish this task, they also present a risk, in that the Italian identity – however rich and time-honored it may be – if not properly nurtured, risks being lost and swallowed in the morass of globalization and cyberspace.