L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano W hat's the c a p i t a l of Italy? Rome, of c o u r s e , everyone knows that! Not many know, however, that it hasn't always been the case. On the 27th of March 1861, shortly after Italy became a unified country, Rome was proclaimed its Capital, but it would take 10 years for the C i t t à E t e r n a t o b e c o m e Italy's main city. Why did it take so long to pass from words to action? Rome is Rome: if it had been good enough to be the heart of an Empire, it certainly was good enough to be that of a young, relatively small kingdom, right? Right, indeed. But there were two big problems to solve before what had been said could turn into practice: the Savoia family's dislike for anything that was more than 10 miles away from the Alps, and the Pope's insistence to say Rome was his, and his only. On the 17th of March 1861 Italy became one country, a kingdom unified under the flag and name of the Savoias, r u l e r s o f t h e K i n g d o m o f Sardinia and lords of elegant, beautiful Turin. Our first king, Vittorio Emanuele II, was strong headed, coura- geous and a bit of a ladies' m a n . T h e r e w a s o n l y o n e thing he loved more than women: the bucolic world of his Piemonte: he hunted, he m o u n t a i n e e r e d , h e s p e n t time in local inns, chatting in d i a l e c t w i t h f a r m e r s a n d maids. A king, he may have been, but he was one of us at heart. V i t t o r i o E m a n u e l e I I wasn't too keen to move the royal court to Rome: not that it wasn't a beautiful place but, quite simply, it wasn't Turin. And let's face it: the city had a huge role in the unification process, so much so it is still today considered the real, true, beating heart of the Italian Risorgimento. Plus, Turin had become, in the pre- v i o u s d e c a d e , a t r u l y European place, thanks to the intelligent diplomatic work of C a m i l l o B e n s o , C o u n t o f Cavour, refined mind, father of the Fatherland and yet a n o t h e r i l l u s t r i o u s Piedmontese. Turin was per- fect, from that point of view: beautiful, elegant, internatio- nal, but everyone knew she wasn't to remain capital for e v e r . T h e n e w k i n g d o m , which extended all the way i n t o t h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n , couldn't be ruled from one of its northern-most region and then, how could you have a unified Italy without making of Rome its very centre? Besides the Savoias' reluc- t a n c y t o m o v e , t h e r e w a s another —much more promi- nent — issue: the Pope. In 1861, on the day it was pro- claimed capital of Italy, Rome wasn't part of Italy at all, it still belonged to the Pontifical State, and the Pius IX wasn't going to let go that easily. In his endeavor, he was suppor- ted by France, which had sent its troops to Rome to protect it from potential Piedmontese a t t a c k s . N o w w e k n o w Italians invented diplomacy and the French have always b e e n g o o d a t i t , s o i t shouldn't surprise diplomatic talks began almost immedia- tely to solve the thorny issue: soon, it was decided that the French army was to leave Rome, provided Italy was going to move its capital in a more central location. The French suggested Florence and the Savoias complied. And so, in 1864, Florence became the second capital of Italy. The people of Turin weren't happy: after centuries of being "the most important" city — first in the Kingdom of Sardinia, then during the first three years after the unifica- tion, in the Kingdom of Italy — t h e y d i d n ' t t a k e b e i n g declassed in status well. It wasn't arrogance, though, but fear of losing jobs and presti- ge, something that unfortu- nately happened for real: after the capital was moved to Florence, Turin lost its court, all ministries, all embassies a n d w e n t q u i c k l y f r o m 220,000 to 194,000 inhabi- tants. T h e S a v o i a s s e t t l e d i n Palazzo Pitti, and were to remain there until 1871, when they finally managed to move to Rome. In 1870, the French, protectors of the Pope, were vanquished by the Prussians during the French-Prussian war: the Savoias took advan- t a g e o f t h e s i t u a t i o n a n d their army entered in Rome through Porta Pia: ten years late, but finally Rome became not only part of Italy, but its deserving capital. T o d a y ' s w o r d i s e a s y i n e v e r y s e n s e ! E a s y b e c a u s e i t i s incredibly com- mon, because you won't find it hard to pronounce and because it means just that: easy! Facile (fah-tchee-lai) is an incredibly common word, one you need to have in your Italian daily vocabu- lary. F a c i l e c o m e s f r o m t h e L a t i n adjective facilis, a derivative of the verb facere, " t o d o , " a n d w a s a l r e a d y common in ancient Rome. F a c i l e c a n b e u s e d i n a l l contexts and in all registers: you won't find such an ubi- q u i t o u s l i t t l e a d j e c t i v e , exception made, perhaps, f o r i t s c o u s i n d i f f i c i l e , which means "difficult" and o f t e n g o e s h a n d i n h a n d with it. I s e v e r y t h i n g " f a c i l e , " w h e n i t c o m e s t o f a c i l e ? W e l l , y e s , p r o v i d e d y o u remember it is a word that you find in every context. So, you'll have era facile l'e- s a m e ? ( " w a s t h e e x a m e a s y ? " ) , b u t a l s o è f a c i l e capire perché non andate d'accordo ("it's easy to see why you don't get along"): you can use it for concrete things and abstract ideas, just the way you use "easy" in English. The adverb derived from facile, facilmente, is just as common: puoi trovare quel libro facilmente, basta andare online ("you can find that book easily, you just need to look for it online"). S o m e t i m e s , y o u m a y come across the noun faci- l o n e , w h i c h r e f e r s t o someone who hates thinking a n d i s a b i t s u p e r f i c i a l , perhaps even a bit silly. A facilone loves faciloneria, t h e q u a l i t y o f t h o s e w h o don't think much about the consequences of things. Ho trovato una ricetta piuttosto facile per fare la pizza I found a pretty easy reci- pe to make pizza Dalla stazione, l'univer- sità è facilmente raggiungi- bile con il bus From the train station, university can be reached easily by bus E' un bravo ragazzo, ma un po' troppo facilone He's a good guy, but a tad too superficial LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Word of the Day: Facile — easy to say, easy to use! Italian Curiosities: Why is Rome the Capital of Italy? Ever wondered why Rome is the capital of Italy? (Photo: Scaliger/Dreamstime) © Katarzyna Bialasiewicz | Dreamstime.com

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