Alessandro Manzoni and His Legacy

Alessandro Manzoni was one of the most influential and celebrated writers of the 19th century. His novel The Betrothed (I Promessi Sposi), published in 1827, is widely regarded as a masterpiece of world literature and a symbol of the Italian Risorgimento, the movement for national unification. Manzoni also contributed to the development of the modern Italian language, culture and was a prominent figure of Liberal Catholicism in Italy. He died on May 22, 1873, at the age of 88 after a long and productive life. In this blog post, I will explore his biography, his works, and his impact on Italian history and literature.
Manzoni was born in Milan on March 7, 1785, into a noble family with literary connections. His grandfather was Cesare Beccaria, a famous philosopher and jurist who wrote On Crimes and Punishments, a seminal work of the Enlightenment. His mother was Giulia Beccaria, a talented writer who had an affair with Carlo Imbonati, a radical intellectual. Manzoni spent his childhood in religious schools, where he received a classical education. In 1805, he joined his mother and her lover in Paris, where he was exposed to the ideas of the French Revolution and became a follower of Voltaire and Rousseau. He wrote his first poems in this period, expressing his scepticism and anticlericalism.
In 1808, he married Henriette Blondel, a Calvinist woman who converted to Catholicism shortly after their wedding. Manzoni also returned to the Catholic faith under her influence and began to write religious poems that reflected his new convictions. He settled in Milan and at his villa in Brusuglio, where he devoted himself to his family and his studies. He wrote a series of Sacred Hymns (Inni Sacri) on various Christian feasts, as well as an ode on the death of Napoleon (Il Cinque Maggio), which was praised by Goethe as one of the best poems on the subject.

The Betrothed

Manzoni’s literary fame rests mainly on his historical novel The Betrothed (I Promessi Sposi), which he began to write in 1821 and published in 1827. The novel tells the story of two peasants, Renzo and Lucia, who are prevented from marrying by a tyrannical nobleman, Don Rodrigo, who wants Lucia for himself. The couple face many trials and tribulations during the turbulent times of the Spanish domination of Lombardy in the early 17th century, including war, famine, plague, and imprisonment. They are helped by various characters, such as Father Cristoforo, a Capuchin friar who protects them; Cardinal Federigo Borromeo, a saintly prelate who inspires them; and The Unnamed (L’Innominato), a ruthless bandit who repents after meeting them. The novel combines historical realism with moral and religious themes, portraying the struggle of the Italian people for freedom and justice.

The Betrothed was an immediate success and was translated into many languages. It also had a profound impact on the Italian Risorgimento, as it awakened a sense of national identity and pride among the readers. Manzoni himself was an active supporter of the unification movement and befriended many patriots such as Giuseppe Mazzini and Camillo Cavour. He also revised his novel several times to make it more consistent with the modern Italian language that he helped to shape. He based his linguistic choices on the Florentine dialect, which he considered to be the most pure and elegant form of Italian. He also wrote two historical tragedies influenced by Shakespeare: The Count of Carmagnola (Il Conte di Carmagnola) and Adelchi, both set in medieval Italy.

Manzoni’s last years were marked by personal tragedies and public honours. He lost his wife Henriette in 1833, and remarried Teresa Borri in 1837. He also lost several of his children to illness or accidents. He received many accolades for his literary achievements, such as being appointed senator of the Kingdom of Italy in 1860 by King Victor Emmanuel II. He also received visits from illustrious figures such as Giuseppe Verdi and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Manzoni died on May 22, 1873, after contracting meningitis from falling down the stairs at his home in Milan. He was buried in the Monumental Cemetery of Milan, where a large monument was erected in his honour. His funeral was attended by thousands of people, who mourned the loss of a national hero and a literary genius. His legacy lives on in his works, which are still widely read and studied today, and in his influence on the Italian language and culture.

References

– Wikipedia. (2021, May 18). Alessandro Manzoni. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandro_Manzoni
– Britannica. (2021, May 18). Alessandro Manzoni. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alessandro-Manzoni
– Office of the Historian. (n.d.). Unification of Italian States. Retrieved from https://history.state.gov/countries/issues/italian-unification
– Manzoni, A. (1984). The Betrothed. (B. Penman, Trans.). Penguin Classics.
– Croce, B. (1929). Manzoni and His Times. (E.F. Carritt, Trans.). Macmillan.
– Ginzburg, N. (1987). The Manzoni Family. (D.M. Lowenthal, Trans.). Arcade Publishing.
– Alessandro Manzoni Biography – Italian poet and novelist (1785–1873). https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Alessandro_Manzoni/.

Tags