Giornata Italiana

[Posted from Siessfires.com]

Italy is a land deeply tied into Western history. The expansion of the Roman Republic, and later the Roman Empire, were an integral part of formulating the Western identity that we know today. After Rome “fell” in 476, the Ostrogoths, a Germanic people, became the dominant polity in the Italian peninsula. They would not remain uncontested for long; the Roman Empire was still very much in existence even if the city of Rome fell to invasion. By this time the Roman Empire could better be described as the Empire of the Romans; the city of Rome was far past its glory days and was not even the most affluent city in the Italian peninsula, which at that point was Ravenna. It was to Constantinople that the Roman people turned for guidance, and Emperor Justinian the Great provided it by launching the Gothic War in Italy.

The Gothic War was an incredibly devastating conflict that was exacerbated by the first introduction of the bubonic plague to the Mediterranean. The Romans would eventually win the Gothic War, but it would be a bitter and short-lived victory. With severe depopulation, a crippled economy and an overextended bureaucracy, the Romans would lose Italy once more to the Lombards, another Germanic people.

The Lombards, from where the Italian region of Lombardy gets its name, were eventually displaced by Charlemagne and his Frankish Empire, yet another Germanic people that ended Lombard dominion in the Italian peninsula at the behest of the Pope. But as Charlemagne’s empire disintegrated after his death, so did political centralization in Italy. In its place a broad expanse of Italian cities would grow their influence and compete with one another. Milan, Florence, Genoa, Venice, Pisa, Amalfi, and many others would become hubs of commerce for centuries. Kingdoms were coalescing across Europe, but in Italy cash was king.

The Italian cities were helped by the advantageous position of Italy being in the middle of the Mediterranean; it was much faster and cheaper, albeit more dangerous, to transport goods by sea than by land. This gave Italians ample opportunity to turn their courage into profit on the sea. It was this opportunity that the man known today as Christopher Columbus seized when he sailed across the Atlantic Ocean with the support of the monarchs in Spain. Attempting to sail to India to pick up spices and make a fortune, Columbus chanced upon two continents unknown to him. These would be the Americas.

From today’s perspective, Christopher Columbus’ journey was a prerequisite for the foundation of the United States of America and a hallowed moment for Italians proud that one of their own was instrumental in one of the most important events in history. These two reasons are why Columbus is the namesake for the day celebrating Italian contributions to American society. It goes without saying that the United States of America would never have been formed if not for European settlement in the Americas, and the Transatlantic Exchange was indubitably one of the watershed moments of humanity. It also goes without saying that the inhabitants of the Americas would suffer centuries of calamity in the aftermath. And while it is folly to try to apply modern morality to historical figures, the specific actions that Christopher Columbus took while in the Americas, particularly selling nine and ten year old girls into sexual slavery, casts a dark pall on his voyages.

We cannot disregard the importance of Columbus’ crossing of the Atlantic, no matter your opinion of what followed. But surely there is an Italian that didn’t sell young girls to be raped that can be celebrated as a paragon of Italian contributions to American history; at the very least celebrate an Italian that actually visited the land that would eventually become the United States of America. Here you will see three candidates who would be substantially more flattering representations of Italians.

The first is Giovanni Caboto. Known in England as John Cabot, Caboto captained the first European expedition to visit North America since the Norse briefly visited in the 1000’s. Doing so a mere five years after Columbus, Caboto was instrumental in bringing the English over to the Americas as he sailed underneath the English crown. Though the precise location of his landing in North America is an uncertainty, his introduction of North America to the English was a necessary step for the founding of the United States to occur. Caboto himself would disappear from history shortly after his return to England, but he can rest assured that he will not be remembered for selling young girls to be raped.

The second is Giovanni da Verrazano. The namesake of the “guinea gangplank” is notable for being the first European to captain a ship to sail the entirety of the Atlantic coast of North America, particularly being the first European captain to enter New York bay. Sailing under contract of the King of France roughly 30 years after Columbus’ first voyage, Verrazano attempted to find a passage to the Pacific ocean but would be unsuccessful doing so. His fate is unknown; two prominent theories are that he became one of the first pirates to target the Spanish Main which carried gold from Mexico to Spain, another is that he rowed to shore on a Caribbean island and was cannibalized by Carib natives. However his life played out, I know of no accusations that at any point in his journey did he involve himself with selling young girls to be raped.

My preferred choice, however, is Giuseppe Garibaldi. One of the few individuals who can bear the title “Hero of Two Worlds”, Garibaldi was a tireless and renowned warrior for the cause of republicanism, democracy, and the enlightenment ideals that the American Revolution embodied. Fighting for causes he considered righteous across South America in the early half of the 1800’s, Garibaldi eventually made his way to New York City; the Staten Island house he resided in for several years would eventually be listed on the National Register of Historical Places. Garibaldi left the United States for Italy, becoming a vital asset in Italy’s eventual unification and a hero for anyone that believes in self-determination. Perhaps most importantly, he was never accused of selling young girls to be raped.

Any of the three options I have listed are all monumentally superior representations of Italians, and Americans of Italian descent should be vehement in their demands to not be represented by a slave trader. If we do not do this, and Americans of Italian descent continue to stubbornly chain themselves to the cruelty of Columbus, we will eventually find ourselves with no holiday commemorating the importance of Italians in the foundation, formulation and maturation of the United States of America.

Columbus Day was always more a day for the Italians than for Columbus; let us instead celebrate Giornata Italiana.