ABSTRACT
Before addressing fundamental questions about the meaning of the national and patriotic vocabulary of the Risorgimento, authors need to briefly review the principal meanings attributed to these two words during the eighteenth century; this will allow us to observe nineteenth-century affairs with a greater awareness of their radical newness. The people who adopted patriotic ideals during the Risorgimento were undoubtedly motivated by a varying mix of socio-political reasons. Ultimately, however, this list of motives and socio-professional groups does not seem powerful enough to account for the dedication, and sometimes even fanaticism, with which many Risorgimento militants fought their battles. The Risorgimento was thus a phenomenon of youthful rebellion. This was not, however, rebellion against the authority of the family. The historiography that has addressed Risorgimento literature and essay production has conventionally drawn attention to the profound differences in ideological belief, philosophical orientation, and political aspiration that motivated the intellectuals, literati, and political leaders of the Risorgimento.
