Historical Events

Printing played an important role during the complicated evolution of the Italian unification movement of the 19th century. As a medium that allowed rapid distribution by means of large print runs, it was most appropriate for quickly circulating politically-motivated topics. The photo library’s collection of graphics contains only a small selection of the wide range of subjects of such pictures. For example, the portrayal of the burning of the emblems of the French occupying forces on July 4, 1799 at the deeply symbolic Piazza della Signoria, protests at political heteronomy in Tuscany. In contrast to this, our view of the cathedral square during the plague in 1348 from Placido Landini’s history of the brotherhood of the Misericordia, which was published in 1843, tells a story of the Florentine tradition of clerical and charitable healthcare institutions. The unification of Italy in 1861 raised the question of a common national identity of the microstates, which were different in so many ways. Artists and men of letters from the past were stylised as representatives of the “new” Italy, with the intention of evoking thoughts of a binding tradition. Therefore, our plate shows the unveiling of the Dante memorial at the Piazza Santa Croce in 1865 – the same year in which Florence replaced Turin as the capital city of the unified Kingdom of Italy. The huge crowd at the square emphasises the significance attributed to this event.