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NationalityandKnowledgein Eighteenth-CenturyItaly JAMESL.FUCHS 1hedramatistVittorioAlfierireceivedoneofhismoreenthusiastic reviewsfromahighlyinfrequent,ifnotreluctant,playgoerandcritic— PasqualePaoli,theCorsicanpatriotandrevolutionary.Inalettertoa confidant,Paoliprofessed:"Ireadhistragediesoverandoveragainand likethemmoreeachtime,andtheydon'tsendmetosleepasalways happensifItrytoreadthecompleteworksofanyothermoderndramatistallthroughatastretch .Ifeelsorryforthosepoorcreatures[inItaly] becausetheylackthevitalitytobeintunewiththegreatpassionswhich arouseandinspirethiswriteroftragedies."1NordidAlfierilackesteem forPaoli.HededicatedhisTimoleonetohim,consideringhim"emi- nentlyworthytoheartheaccentsofTimoleoneasonewhoisfullyable tounderstandandappreciatethem."2 Somewhatironically,butnotinappropriately,Paolicametoadmire AlfieriwhilethetwomenwereinEngland:Alfieriwasaguest,Paolian exile.SinceexilehadreinforcedbothPaoli'spatriotismandtheegalitar- ianfoundationofthatpatriotism,hispraiseofapoetwhohappenedto havebeenaPiedmontesenoblemanisrevealingandstriking.Though Paoliwashimselfasourceofgreatpatrioticinspiration,he nonetheless—likesomanyItaliansoftheEnlightenment—lookedupto Alfieriasthespokesman,ifnottheepitome,ofapre-nascentItalian 207 208 / FUCHS nationalism.Nocontemporarywasconcernedwith,orimpressedby, Alfieri'sdisclaimersregardingthisrole. Alfieri'sexampleasapatrioticpoetwasscarcelyunprecedentedor exceptionalwithinItalianhistoryandculture.Though,unlikehisliterary successorGabrieleD'Annunzio,hedidnotactuallyoccupyacityin ordertopursuehispatrioticpoint,hewasconsciousthat"Writingtrage- diesaboutfreedominalanguageofapeoplewhichisnotfreecould perhapsrightlybeconsideredmerefoolishness,"andheclearlyperceived acorrespondingrelationshipbetweenItaliannationalismandtheItalian language.3 Thesamepointhadbeenmadeequallydramatically,albeitnotbya playwright,attheverybeginningoftheeighteenthcentury.Vincenzo Coronelli,aFranciscanMinisterGeneralandcartographerwhowasalso theauthorofthefirstmodernalphabeticalencyclopediainItalian,rec- ognizedin1701thattheembattledstateoftheItalianPeninsulawas paralleledin,andalsolinkedto,theembattledstateoftheItalianlanguage .4Inothercountriesaswell,vicissitudesofnationalityhavecorre- spondedtothoseoflanguage.Nonetheless,therewereuniquecircum- stancesthatfosteredanational/linguisticrelationshipinseventeenth- andeighteenth-centuryItaly.TheproponentsofAriosto'sandTasso's literaryItalianhadfoughttheirbattlesasfiercelyastheforeignpowers thathadcarvedupItaly.Theconclusionofthemanydebatesbetween theAccademiadellaCruscaanditsrivalswasaTuscantriumphthatwas toremainbothimperfectandincomplete.Coronelli,intheintroduction tohisencyclopedia,whichheentitledtheBibliotecauniversalesacro- profana,lamentedwhatheconsideredtobethebarrenstateofthe Italianlanguage.Heinsistedthattherewasadearthofvocabulary;and inpublishingthefirstcompleteItalianencyclopedia,heenvisionedhim- selfasa"missionaryoftheItalianidiom."5 ByattemptingtoenrichtheItalianlanguagethroughthevehicleofan encyclopedia,Coronelliwassimultaneouslypursuingotherintellectual, andevensocial,goals.Intellectualandsocialmotivesbecamefusedinhis desiretodisseminateencyclopedicknowledgetoasbroadanItalian audienceaspossible. CoronellinotedthatpriortohisBibliotecauniversale,Italiansseeking encyclopedicknowledgehadbeencompelledeitherto"borrowfromthe bibliotecheanddictionariesofforeigntongues";orto"sweatforalong timeinresearchingdispersed[information]."Nor,inmostcases,wasit evenpossibletoobtain"dispersedinformation"evenwhen"sweating" forit,sincesomanybooksthatwereindispensablesourcesforagiven subjectwerehousedinprivatecollections.Consequently,therewasa needboth"forreducingintoasuccinctepitome"alargenumberof ItalianEncyclopedism / 209 otherwiseinaccessiblebooks,andfortranslatingthat"epitome"sothat allItalians,orratherallthosewhoknewTuscan,wouldnotbebarred fromencyclopedicknowledge. Byremovingthislanguagebarrier,Coronelliwasnecessarilyremoving anintellectualandsocialone.AlthoughGreekandLatinwerestandard fareforthewell-to-do,themajorityofItalians,humanismnotwithstand- ing,hadnotrainingintheselanguages.6Withoutquestion,someofthose whowerenotlearnedhadconsiderablesumsofmoney—enough,Cor- onellipresumed,tobeabletoaffordtheforty-fiveprojectedvolumesof theBibliotecauniversale.Butmostpeoplewholackedaclassicaleduca- tiondidsoatleastpartlybecausetheydidnothavethemeansorleisure forit.Seekingtoremedytheirexclusionfromencyclopedicknowledge, CoronellispecificallypointedoutthatheexpectedtheBiblioteca univeraletobenefitthosetowhom,heclaimed,"Heavenhadnotbeen liberal."Whenmakingtheseremarks,hewasalludingtoinabilityto affordalargenumberofbooks,buthecertainlyhadeducationalbarriers inmindaswell. Coronellithusaimed,throughtheBibliotecauniversale,bothto enlightenandunify.HewouldunifynotsimplybyprovidingallItalians withthesamebodyofinformation,butalsobyorganizingthatinforma- tioninawaythatemphasizedpreciselytheunityhewasattemptingto instillwithinhisreadership.Analphabeticalarrangement,hehoped, wouldmakethesearchforinformationeasier,renderinghisencyclope- diamoreaccessiblethanatopically-arrangedwork.Heexpectedthis accessibilitytoinviteabroadanddiversecoreofreaders.Atthesame time,analphabetical,non-topicalencyclopediawouldproduceanonhierarchicaltreatmentofthesubjectmatter :thusitwouldparallelhis campaign,inequallyanti-hierarchicalfashion,tomakehisworkaccessi- bletothelaymanandtherebyexpanditsreadership.AsinPaoli'scase, Coronelli'svisionofunitywasegalitarianinnature. Coronelliarguedthattheorganizationofpreviousencyclopedicworks hadcontributedasmuchtotheirunapproachabilityasthelanguagesin whichtheyhadbeenwritten.Therewasnoorder,heasserted,inthenon- alphabeticalbibliotechethateitherheoranyotherreadercouldfollow, whichmeantthattheseworkswerenotreallybibliotecheatall."The bibliotechewithoutorder,"heclaimed,"mustratherbenamedlaby- rinths,wherethemind,confounded,islost;or...achaosofmaterials, preciousyes,butalteredbyconfusion."AshethenaddedinLatin,"A massofbodiesrudeandundigestedisneitherornamentalnorofuse." Explainingtheprobleminmorepracticalterms,hearguedthatany epistemologicalorganizationthatforcedpeopletoplodthroughan entireworknecessarilydiscouragedthemfromlooking,andthus 210 / FUCHS impededthedisseminationofknowledge.Then,oncehebeganthinking thatamethodoforganizationcouldblocktheuniversaladvancementof knowledge,hebegantolinkpreviousencyclopedicarrangementsto arrangementswithinItaliansocietythatblockedbothunityandmobility. Inparticular,hewagedacampaignagainstbothregionalismandhierar- chywithinhisreligiousorder,theFranciscanOrderofMinori Conventuali. AsMinisterGeneraloftheOrder,Coronellisought,withineachcon- vent,topromoteforestieri—which,inthiscase,meantfriarsfromother citieswithinItaly—whenevertheyinfactmeritedsuchpromotions.7This wasnoeasytask,sincethe"pan-Christian"sympathiesthatSt.Francis hadattemptedtoinstillamonghisfollowershadyieldedtoregional loyaltieslongbeforetheeighteenthcentury.Resistancetoforeignerswas particularlystronginCoronelli'snativeVenice,whereallreligiousorders welcomedandactuallysolicitedtheRepublic'sinterventionintheirinter- nalaffairs,particularlywhentheysoughtlegislationagainsttheintro- ductionofforestieriintotheirconvents. BothdespiteandbecauseoftheVenetians'adamantoppositionto forestieri,Coronelliconcentratedhiscampaignuponwhatwastempo- rarilytobecomethe"notsoSereneRepublic."Heaccordinglyattempted toappointasregentsintheVenetianConventodegliFrari,PadreMae- stroAllesandroBurgosofMessina,whowasapoet,historian,andtheo- logian;andPadreMaestroGiuseppePlatini,atthattimeregentofthe Foggiaconvent.Lateron,whentheFraribrotherssucceededinblocking theappointmentsofbothmen,Coronellipersistedinhiseffortstonomi- nateforeignersandnamedPadreGiuseppeFrezziofViterboinstead.He alsoattemptedtoappointforestieritolectureshipsinthePaduanCollege oftheSanto,buttheseeffortswerealsochecked.Venicewasonceagain "theMostSereneRepublic." Theattempttopromoteforeignerswasatonceacampaignagainst regionalismandprivilege,butCoronelli'seffortsagainstprivilegewithin theOrderofMinoriConventualiwerenotdirectedatoneparticularissue butatanentire"worldly"lifestyle.Amonghisotherinnovationsatthe Frari,Coronellicompelledeveryonetoabandonprivatekitchensandeat intheconvent'srefectoryinstead,eventheguardianoftheFrari.Healso madecertainthateveryonereceivedthesameamountsoffoodaswellas thesamemenu.Therefectorythusbecameamensacomuneforthehigh andthelow.Coronelliactuallyarticulatedtheconnectionbetweenhis ecclesiasticalreformsandhisencyclopedicinnovationsinametaphorin theprefacetohisBibliotecauniversale.Hecomparedhisencyclopediato agranary,whichwasavailabletoallandfromwhichallcouldtake equally.Howsimilar,then,inhisownmind,wastheBibliotecauniver- ItalianEncyclopedism / 211 saletoamensacomune,atwhichthesameportionswereavailabletoall, anduponwhichallhadtheequalrighttodrawinordertosatisfytheir needs. Combininghiseffortsagainsthierarchieswithhisinterestinunityand nationality,Coronelliusedquestionnairestosolicitasbroadacontribu- torshipaspossible.Hecirculatedthesequestionnairesenmasse,and theirlanguagesuggeststhediverseaudiencethathewasattemptingto reach—bothascontributorsandasreaders.Thequestionnairesaskedfor information"invernacularidiom,andplainandconcisestyle";8and Coronellialsofoundtheneedtostipulatetohispotentialcollaborators thattherenotbeeven"minimummutationoralteration"ofinformation foundinbooksoronmonuments.Suchastipulation,combinedwith highlyspecificdirectionsonhowtocollect,write,andsendinformation, suggeststhathewasseekingcontributorswithlittleornoexperiencein suchmatters.Healsomadeclearhisexpectationthatcontributorswould becomereaders;andthus,ineveryaspectoftheBibliotecauniversale, CoronelliplannedtobringtogetheralargeandbroadgroupofItalians. Inmanyways,Coronelli'squestionnairesstressednotionsof"people- hood"and"nationality"byconcentratingnotsimplyupongeographical butalsouponethnographicalinformation.Coronelliwasinterestedin localcustoms,religion,andfestivals.Althoughinformationaboutthese subjectswasnecessarilyregional,thecompilationandcombinationof differentobservances,rites,andcelebrationswithinoneall-embracing Italianworktendedtoemphasizesimilarityandunity.Culturalunityis notinfrequentlyapreconditionofpoliticalunity;Coronelli'sliterary mergingofAquila,theAdriatic,Belluno,Bergamo,Bologna,Bolzano, Brescia,Brindisi,Calabria,theCampagnaRomana,and—ofparticular importanceforVenice—Candia,constitutedinandofitselfastep towardbothculturalandpoliticalunity.Sincemanyoftheseentrieswere repletewithcharts,synoptictables,drawingsofcoatsofarms,along withothermaterialsandinformationthatCoronelli'squestionaireshad yielded,thisliterarycohesionparalleledtheunifiedeffortsofcontributorsinallpartsofItaly .Thanksalsotothesecontributors'diversesocial backgrounds,thefoundationforthisencyclopedic"risorgimento"wasto bepopularparticipation. Coronelliobtainedstillmoreinformationaboutlocalcustomsfrom hisownjourneys;andespeciallyinaccountsoftheMoreaandDalmatia, heexploredthemoresofpeoplewhowerelinkedimperialistically,ifnot culturally,toVeniceinparticularandItalyingeneral.9Healsodescribed atlengthVenetiancustomsandfestivals—withinindividualmonographs suchashisRegattediVenezia(Venice:n.p.,1709)andintheBiblioteca universale. 212 / FUCHS Inbothhisuseofquestionnairesandhisgeneralethnographiccon- cerns,Coronellianticipatedinterestsanddevelopmentsofthelatereighteenthcenturyaswellasoftheearlynineteenthcentury .Duringthe 1770s,AlbertoFortis,alsoanItalianpriest,likewisejourneyedto Dalmatia,andhewroteanextremelyelaborateaccountconcerningthe customsofthelocal"Morlacchi."LudovicoAntonioMuratoripublished in1751—whenhewaslibrarianatthecourtofModena—aseriesof essaysonItalianantiquities;andalbeitfromahighlyunsympathetic pointofview,hedescribedItalianpopulartraditionsatconsiderable length.10 Therevivalofinterestinpopulartraditionwasalsoapparentinother partsofEurope,notleastinGermany,whichwasasun-unifiedasItaly." BothethnographyandpatriotismweremajorthemesforoneofCoronelli 'sencyclopedicsuccessors,JohannHeinrichZedier,whopublishedhis 64-volumeGrossesvollständigesUniversalLexiconbetween1732and 1750,andfoursupplementaryvolumesbetween1751and1754.'2Zedier appearstohavebeeninfluencedbyCoronelli'sformataswell,sincehe concludedhisfourthsupplementalvolumewiththeword"Caq,"justas CoronellihadconcludedhisfinalvolumeoftheBibliotecauniversale withtheword"Caque."Theeditorsofthe1740editionofMoreri's GrandDictionnairehistoriquesimilarlystressedtheissueofethnogra- phy,13althoughneithertheynorZedierconcentratedupontheethnogra- phiesoftheirowncountriestotheextentthatCoronellihad. Italianswerethussomewhatunusualintheirattitudetowardnational ethnography,because—thanksinnosmallparttoCoronelli—popular customshadbeenatopicofinterestsincethebeginningofthecentury. HehadsetthestageforFortis,Muratori,andGiustinaRenierMichiel, whowastowriteaboutVenetianfestivals;14andinsettingthisstage, Coronellihadprovidedbothanegalitarianandanationalistic backdrop. Coronellihadcontinuallystressedtherelationshipbetweennationality andlanguage.Thusevenwhendealingwithcustomsthatwerepeculiarto non-Italiancultures,hetendedtousewordsassociatedwiththelanguage oftheculturesinquestion.Forexample,hisreadingsofJewishtracts concerningthetreatmentofvirginsspurredhimtodesignatetheHebrew word"aalma"toheadhisentryonvirgins.15Hesimilarlyrecognizedthe importanceofcertainherbsandplantswithinArabictraditions,andhe accordinglyusedtheArabicwords"abagar,""agak,"and"abani"when writingaboutjuniper,thistles,andtheMatrubianherb"hairhound." CoronellicorrespondinglyusedItalianwordstodescribeItaliancus- toms,butthelinkthatheestablishedbetweentheItalianpeopleandthe Italianlanguagewasfarmoreprofound.Becausehewascompilingan ItalianEncyclopedism / 213 encyclopediawiththeintentionofattractingandedifyingasmanyseg- mentsoftheItalianpopulationaspossible,heprovided,forthebenefit ofhismorelimitedreaders,fairlylengthyentriesconcerningsomerather mundaneItalianwords.Hedevotedoneandone-halfcolumnstothe words"abbottonare"(throwout)and"adolescenzia"andmorethanhalf acolumneachto"abaco"("littlebylittle"),"apice,"and"amano."The entry"adozione,"whichreceivedfourcolumns,isrepresentativeofhun- dredsofsuchwords. Withsimilarmotives,CoronellialsoincludedanumberofItalian expressionsandwordswithsensationalinterest.Heparceledoutsix- seventhsofacolumntodefiningtheverb"abbordellare";hisanalysisof itsetymologyfromtheword"bordello,"andofitsvariousmeanings (literally,itmeans"toturnintoabordello"or"toprofane")waspains- taking.Insimilarlyelaboratefashion,heprovidedexamplesofsentences inwhichthewordhasdifferentusesandconnotations.Heallocatedone andone-halfcolumnsto"bacio"("kiss");andhavingmadethatdecision, hedescribedforhisreaders'edificationthreetypesofkisses:the"oscu- lum"(foraruleroranoldfriend),the"basium"(forafamilymember), andthe"suavium"(foralover,oranyoneelseworthyofakissof"amore impudico...socalledbyitssmoothness").16Theword"bastardo" receivedfourcolumnsandathoroughetymology;"amare"(v.)nine columns;"amore"(η.)eight;and"amato"eight."Adulterio,"asubject forFranciscansermons,butnotusuallyforFranciscanencyclopedias, tookuptwoandone-halfcolumns. TheselengthyentriesformundaneandrisquéItalianwordsillustrate yetanotherwayinwhichCoronelli'sdescriptionsofbothpopularcustomsandpopularexpressionscombinednotinfrequentlywiththealpha - beticalorganizationtoreinforcetheegalitariannatureofhisenterprise. Acerebralscientificarticlecouldappearsidebysidewithanetymologi- caldiscussionofavulgarexpression,andheviewedbotharticlesas importantaspectsofeighteenth-centuryItalianculture.Moreover,these combinationsoccurredonceagaininbothanalphabeticalcontextandan Italianlinguisticcontext.Thislinguisticandsociallevelingandunity thusparalleledthepracticalandintellectualunitythatheimposedupon hiscontributors/readersthroughhisquestionnairesandthearticlesthat stemmedfromthem.TheItalianlanguageandtheItalianpeoplehad beenbroughttogetherfromyetanotherperspective. Coronelli'suseofquestionnairestoobtainlocalinformationwasto provemorecommoninFrancethaninItalyduringthelateeighteenth century;butearlyinthenineteenthcentury,afive-pointquestionnaire circulatedinvariouspartsofItaly,seekinginformationaboutcustoms, "prejudicesandsuperstitions,"and"so-callednationalsongs."17Sucha 214 / FUCHS questionnairecouldbeusedeitherfororagainstthegoalofnational unification.In1818,anItalianofficialuseditasabasisforaregional study,18buttherewascertainlymaterialavailableforamoreambitious, andnational...

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