RETI RISORGIMENTALI. PATRIOTTISMO, FAMIGLIA E AMICIZIE NELLE SCRITTURE PRIVATE DI MARGHERITA TROTTI BENTIVOGLIO (1832-1856)

Risorgimento relationships. Patriotism, family and friendship in Margherita Trotti Bentivoglio's private writings (1832-1856). Letters and journals of noblewoman Margherita Trotti Bentivoglio (1811-1867) are the core of the work. Grown up within an aristocratic family in early Restoration Milan, with an Austrian mother and an Italian father, she decided to leave her relatives and a monotonous life to follow her elder sister Costanza, who lived between Paris, Berlin and Bruxelles among the members of the exiled community. After the marriage with one of the exiles, Giacinto Provana di Collegno, her interest towards politics and Italian struggle for independence raised and became central in her existence. Focusing on the personal writings, the work aims at following her life, travels and many encounters, in order to draw a picture of her formative path heading from naive liberalism to mature believe in moderate thought.