The Sigonella Crisis of 1985: When Italy and the United States Almost Went to War

“We surrounded the plane, and then the Italians surrounded us.”

(New York Times, October 19, 1985)

The Achille Lauro Hijacking

On October 7, 1985 the Italian MS Achille Lauro cruise ship was hijacked by four heavily armed men of the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) off the coast of Egypt, as she was sailing from Alexandria to Ashdod, Israel. Some 80 passengers and 320 crewmembers were taken hostage, most of them Italians. There was only one casualty: the death of an elderly wheelchair-bound Jewish-American man named Leon Klinghoffer, an American citizen.

While negotations were being made with the PLF, the Italian Special Forces were planning to intervene and board the ship. The mission was to be led by 60 Italian special force troops from the 9th Paratroopers Assault Regiment “Col Moschin”, following a plan devised with COMSUBIN—Italy's elite commando frogman force.

During the preparations, the U.S. ambassador to Italy informed Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi that the United States also intended to mount a military assault on the vessel. Craxi protested, saying that it was an Italian ship and therefore only Italy should act. At this point Klinghoffer's death had not yet been confirmed, nor was his identity yet known.

While the Italian and Egyptian governments were leading successful negotiations with the PLF, President Ronald Raegan proceeded to implement a plan for military intervention, despite Craxi's protests. These plans proved unnecessary, however, and were not carried out, as on October 9 at 5:00 p.m. the four hijackers released the hostages, abandoned the ship and surrendered themselves to the Egyptian authorities in exchange for safe passage.

The ship's captain, Capt. Gerardo De Rosa, confirmed in a call with Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Andreotti that he had regained control of the ship, and also informed the Minister of Klinghoffer's death.

The next day, October 10, the four hijackers together with several Egyptian representatives boarded an EgyptAir Boeing 737 airliner. Also on board was Abu Abbas, leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) who had condemned the hijacking and helped the Egyptians negotiate the release of the hostages. The jet took off from Cairo at 4:15 p.m. EST and headed for Tunisia.


Jurisdiction Dispute Between Italy and the United States

Italy maintained that the ship, being Italian, was legally Italian territory and therefore the hijackers should be extradited to Italy. However, the United States insisted that the death of an American citizen justified their extradition to the United States.

The Reagan administration ordered the EgyptAir jet to be intercepted and forced to land so that the hijackers could be taken into U.S. custody.

On the night of October 10, on the orders of President Reagan and his Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, four F-14 fighters intercepted the aircraft and forced it to land in Sicily, at the Sigonella air base—a base which was shared by the United States Navy and Italian Air Force, but where the United States had no jurisdiction.

When Italian Colonel Ercolano Annichiarico learned of the American action, at about 10:30 p.m., he denied the American request to land at Sigonella. They landed anyway.

Not only had the Americans not received consent from the Italians to forcibly land a non-hostile plane flying in compliance with international law at Sigonella, but the American military action was taken solely for American purposes—not those of the NATO alliance—and was taken in order to secure criminals. This was in violation of the purely joint military purposes that the Italians had agreed to when deciding to share the utilization of the base.

Minutes after landing, American forces declared that the EgyptAir jet was now in the custody of U.S. military. The Italian Prime Minister, Bettino Craxi, was strongly opposed to American intervention. The Egyptian government also protested the American interception of its plane, which was a lawful flight under international law, and therefore, according to international law, the American interception of the plane constituted an illegal hijacking and act of terrorism.


Standoff Between the Italians and Americans

American troops of the Delta Force, led by General Carl Stiner, and SEAL Team SIX, under commanding officer Robert A. Gormly, had encircled the Egyptian airplane, but soon found themselves surrounded by Italian military security from the Italian Air Force and Carabinieri—the Italian military police. They insisted that Italy had territorial rights over the base and jurisdiction over the hijackers. The standoff between the United States and Italian armed forces began.

20 Carabinieri and 30 troops of the VAM—an elite branch of the Italian Air Force—contested for control of the plane with 80 armed operatives of the U.S. Delta Force and SEAL Team Six. The Italian forces were soon reinforced by 300 additional armed Carabinieri who had also blocked off the runway with their trucks. The Italian military refused to allow the SEALs to board the plane, threatening to open fire on the Americans if they made any attempt to do so.

Stiner and Gormly contacted the Pentagon to inform them of the situation, and this information was passed onto the Reagan Administration. Members of the President's staff told the Italian government that the U.S. special forces team intended to arrest the hijackers. The Italians dismissed the Americans' claim of a right to do so, maintaining that the matter fell within Italian jurisdiction due to the ship sailing under an Italian flag.

A phone call took place between President Reagan and Prime Minister Bettino Craxi. Reagan informed Craxi that the U.S. would seek extradition of the terrorists to face charges in U.S. courts. Craxi refused to back down and reasserted Italian territorial rights over the Sigonella air base.

Italian President Francesco Cossiga ordered Italian troops to use lethal force if necessary to block the Americans if they tried to leave with the prisoners. The American forces were outnumbered 350 to 80, although Gen. Stiner boastfully asserted that his men had enough firepower to defeat the Italian forces. However, the American leadership in Washington concluded that Stiner's men would never be able to successfully make it out of Italy with the hijackers.

The stand-off lasted throughout the night. After five hours of negotiations between the Italian and American governments, the U.S. yielded and conceded the Italian claim of jurisdiction. At 4:00 a.m. CET the next day, Stiner and his men were ordered to stand down.

After continued talks between Italy and Egypt the four hijackers were arrested by the Italian Carabinieri at Sigonella, and taken to the air base jail, then transferred to a local prison. They would eventually be tried and convicted in July of the following year.

In the meantime, the EgyptAir jet—carrying the Egyptian representatives and Abu Abbas—was cleared by the Italians to fly to Rome.


Jet Fighter Showdown Between the Italians and Americans

When Gen. Stiner learned that the Egyptian jet had been cleared by the Italians, he took it upon himself to board a T-39 Navy executive jet with American Special Operations personnel and planned to shadow the jet to make sure it landed in Rome rather than return to Cairo. When the Egyptian airliner took off from Sigonella at 10:00 p.m. the American T-39 was not granted clearance from that runway. In response, the Americans illegally used a nearby runway without receiving Italian permission to do so.

In response to this unauthorized act by Stiner and the Americans, the Italians sent in two Aeritalia F-104S Starfighter warplanes of the 36th Stormo from Gioia del Colle. These were soon joined by two more Italian F-104s from the Grazzanise air base.

In response to the Italian action, other American warplanes came up behind the Italian jets. The Italian jets also found that their radar had been sabotaged above the Tyrrhenian Sea by a U.S. Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler.

The pilots aboard the Italian and U.S. jets proceeded to exchange insults over the radio in a high-tension atmosphere bordering upon war.

Once the Egyptian aircraft approached Rome, all of the American jets turned back except the T-39 with Gen. Stiner, which continued to tail the plane. The Italian air-traffic controllers in Rome denied the T-39 permission to land, but the U.S. pilot falsely claimed there was an “in-flight emergency” which gave him an automatic right to land the jet, further infuriating the Italian authorities.


The Abu Abbas Question

The question of what should happen to Abu Abbas led to further disputes. Israeli intelligence asserted that Abu Abbas was the mastermind of the hijacking and not an innocent party. The Mossad—Israel's secret intelligence agency—and the United States secretly collaborated together to compile evidence for a case against Abbas, to pressure Italy into handing him over to the Americans.

The U.S. District Court in Washington, DC then issued warrants for Abbas and the hijackers, which were delivered to the Italian Ministry of Justice by the U.S. Ambassador to Italy on October 12 at 5:30 a.m.

Italy's Ministry of Justice determined that the United States' claims had no legal basis, and Prime Minister Craxi announced that Italy would not be complying with U.S. requests for extradition. The Reagan administration was shocked by Italy's decision. The U.S. Ambassador to Italy interrupted a meeting between Craxi and his cabinet with a personal plea from Reagan.

After consideration, Craxi and his cabinet voted to permit Abbas to depart from Italy and refused to hand him over to the Americans on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence to link Abbas to the hijacking.

Abraham Sofaer, a U.S. State Department legal adviser, publicly condemned Italy's decision.


Aftermath

The standoff at Sigonella and subsequent jet fighter showdown—collectively known as the Sigonella Crisis—was the most serious post-war diplomatic crisis between Italy and the United States. It marked the height of tensions between the Italian and American governments during the Cold War period and nearly led to the first open war between Italy and the United States since the end of World War II.

The United States' intervention and subsequent diplomatic pressures were widely regarded in Italy as acts of American arrogance, and Craxi's refusal to back down was popularly received. Moreover, the American violation of operating in Italian airspace and landing in a Roman airport without overflight or landing permissions was seen by the Italians as an affront to their laws and safety regulations, and it negatively influenced diplomatic relations between the two countries for some time.

The episode is still remembered with pride by Italians today, who view Craxi's handling of the Sigonella Crisis and the Abu Abbas Question as a defense of Italian rights and sovereignty, an exertion of independent foreign policy, and as a bold act of resistance and defiance against American pressures and bullying.

The Wal-Wal Incident of 1934: Origin of the Second Italo-Abyssinian War

Written by Luigi Villari

(Extracted from “Italian Foreign Policy Under Mussolini” by Luigi Villari.)

After the first World War Great Britain had begun to show signs of attempting political and economic penetration into Ethiopia. One British newspaper started a campaign to demand international action, or possibly British action alone, against Ethiopia to repress slavery which was rampant throughout the country, and it suggested that a mandate be conferred on Great Britain for the purpose. This would have meant a British protectorate, and it was for this reason that in 1923 Italy very imprudently supported Ethiopia's application for admission to the League of Nations. The application encountered opposition in many quarters, but it was eventually granted on the condition that Ethiopia should abolish slavery and respect all international engagements on the control of the arms traffic. It is needless to say that Ethiopia carried out neither of these undertakings. . . .

On August 2, 1928, Italy concluded a treaty of friendship with Ethiopia for the duration of 20 years, whereby the two governments undertook to promote reciprocal trade. It was completed by a convention for the construction of a motor road between Dessieh in Ethiopia and the Italian Eritrean port of Assab.

The frontiers between the other Italian colony of Somaliland and Ethiopia had never been delimited. An agreement had been signed on May 16, 1908, which stipulated that “all the territory belonging to the tribes toward the coast will remain under Italian rule, and all the Ogaden territory and that of the tribes toward Ogaden will remain under Ethiopia.”

The two governments undertook (Art. 5) to delimit the frontiers, but the work did not begin until December, 1910; and even then the Ethiopian delegates placed every obstacle in the way of the Italians, so that the delimitation was never completed. At this time the question was not important, for Italian Somaliland was not yet fully organized. But, in 1923, the new Governor, Count Cesare De Vecchi, proceeded to occupy the whole territory of the colony. He established a line of small military posts along the presumptive frontier to give security to the tribes under Italian protection against the frequent incursions of Ethiopian raiders, whose object was to carry off natives and enslave them.

These posts also served to protect the springs used by all the inhabitants of the area, whether they were Italian or Ethiopian subjects, to water their flocks and herds in that very dry country. One of the posts in question was Wal-Wal, around which some small forts had been erected. The raids [by Ethiopians] continued because the internal conditions of Ethiopia were chaotic, not only along the Somaliland border but also along that of Eritrea. At the same time in spite of the provisions of the 1928 treaty every obstacle was raised against the activities of Italian traders and business men in Ethiopia, and the building of the Ethiopian sector of the Dessieh-Assab road was held up.

In November, 1934, large Ethiopian forces suddenly approached the Italian frontier post at Wal-Wal—an area which had been under Italian rule for many years and to which Ethiopia had never made any claims at all. About that time, an Anglo-Ethiopian commission had been engaged in delimiting the frontier between Ethiopia and British Somaliland; and on November 23rd it, too, appeared before Wal-Wal, with an escort of 80 men of the British Somaliland Camel Corps and another much larger force of Ethiopian warriors. The British and the Ethiopian commissioners sent a joint protest to the commander of the Italian frontier area, because they were not allowed to circulate freely “in Ethiopia, in the Wal-Wal area.”

A conversation took place between the Italian commander, Captain Roberto Cimmaruta, and the British Commissioner, Lieut.-Colonel Clifford. Cimmaruta protested because the Ethiopian force was commanded by Samantar, a notorious bandit and criminal. The Ethiopians were now strengthened by fresh bands until they were five times as numerous as the Italian force of native troops at Wal-Wal. Colonel Clifford obviously encouraged the aggressive attitude of the Ethiopians, assuring their commander that the territory belonged by right to Ethiopia and giving him to understand that the claims of Ethiopia were supported by the British Government. Addis Ababa was thus led to count on Great Britain; the Negus and his advisers evidently were unfamiliar with the history of the Schleswig-Holstein dispute in 1864. Clifford, himself, however, now withdrew to Ado, so as to avoid direct responsibility for himself, while leaving his protégés to do what they wished.

On the night of December 4, 1934, the Ethiopians attacked Wal-Wal, but were beaten off after heavy fighting. As the Italians were only one-fifth as numerous as the Ethiopians, it is hardly likely that they would have been the first to attack, as the Addis Ababa Government asserted. Moreover, the only advantage which the Italians had over the Ethiopians was the possession of a couple of aeroplanes, but the attack took place at nightfall when the planes would have been of very little use. Cimmaruta, himself, not expecting the attack at that point, had moved to another post, and the native soldiers, with no Italian officer at Wal-Wal, would certainly not have taken any such initiative.

Protracted negotiations now took place at Addis Ababa, the Italian Government demanding satisfaction for the outrage and compensation for the families of the native soldiers killed in the attack. After various exchanges of notes, it was agreed that the matter should be referred to a committee of arbitration and conciliation.

In the meantime, behind the Italo-Ethiopian dispute British-Italian friction began to loom on the horizon. At first, it seemed limited to the activities of various official, semi-official and unspecified British representatives in Ethiopia, but it soon extended to the Government itself. The Cabinet was beginning to be eager, for electioneering reasons, to secure the support of the League of Nations Union. . . .

Further frontier incidents occurred in East Africa, and many raids by irregular and even regular Ethiopian forces were made on Italian colonial territory.

The Wal-Wal incident was submitted in May to the League Council, where it was finally decided that the Arbitration Committee should meet in June, first in Milan and then at Scheveningen, Holland. . . .

Ethiopia now began to concentrate ever larger forces on the frontiers of the two Italian colonies and to import quantities of war material, purchased or received gratis [free] from foreign countries. Until February, 1935 (nearly three months after Wal-Wal) the Italian East African colonies had been left almost defenseless save for small native garrisons with a few Italian officers and N.C.O.'s, whereas Ethiopia brought forward a large and well-armed standing army. It was then that Italy began to think of reinforcing its African garrisons with home troops, which required a week's voyage to reach Eritrea and a fortnight to reach Somaliland.

1527: Charles V and the Sack of Rome

Written by Don Giovanni Bosco

(Extracted from “A Compendium of Italian History From the Fall of the Roman Empire” by Don Giovanni Bosco.)

The Italians formed a new league to oppose the Imperialists and free themselves from their yoke. Up to this time Charles V had respected the Pope; but Clement VII having refused to make the concessions demanded of him, the emperor became indignant. To have his revenge, he ordered the duke of Bourbon, who now commanded the Spanish army in Lombardy, to march against Rome and take possession at once of the city and of the pontiff. This severe order he promptly obeyed, for he who had betrayed his king was also able to betray his own religion.

The Spanish army, now that the French king was taken and all immediate danger at an end, had become relaxed in discipline, and appeared more in the character of those adventurers who, when relieved from care, fall into a thousand disorders, and dishonour the profession of arms by turning warfare into rapine and murder. The duke of Bourbon, with a crowd of mercenary soldiers, amongst whom were above 13,000 Germans, marched forward to Rome. His passage through the country was marked by every kind of devastation. The cities, the villages, the poorest cottages were sacked, and the unfortunate inhabitants infamously murdered.

[Giovanni] de Medici, called the Knight of the Black Orders [Giovanni dalle Bande Nere], attempted to make head against them. He was captain of an army of adventurers, and united to extraordinary strength great courage and military science. He maintained also a severe discipline in his army, which had produced many renowned captains. [Giovanni] de Medici now came forward to oppose the Imperialists with all his energy, and gained many advantages over them, but in a wild skirmish he was struck in the thigh and soon after died.

The armed rabble of Bourbon, freed from the watchful opposition of [Giovanni] de Medici, now pursued their course without delay, and soon arrived within the Papal States. The Pope was taken by surprise, not imagining that a Christian prince would turn his arms against the head of his own religion. But he was terribly undeceived when he saw the Spanish army before the gates of Rome. On that day the constable dressed himself in white armour, the better to be visible to his own people; and never ceased urging his soldiers to the combat, promising that they should enjoy the sack of that great capital. The confusion which now followed within the walls of Rome is indescribable. The Pope demanded money of all the rich citizens to make the necessary preparations for resistance; but they all, whether through folly or perfidy, refused any supplies for the succour of their country, and that at a moment when they ought to have sacrificed everything for it, even to the last farthing. Still the Pope ordered the gates to be shut, and a grand defence to be made. The Imperialists not being able to enter the city freely, as they wished, assailed the bastions, but Were thrown back into the fosses by the Romans. Seeing this, the constable took a ladder, placed it against the wall, and courageously ascended; but being struck by a musket ball, he fell dead to the ground, expiating his perfidy with his life. This circumstance irritated the enemy beyond measure, who rushed from every quarter, and having overcome a most obstinate resistance, scaled the walls, descended into the streets, occupied the city, and gave it over to be sacked.

It is wholly impossible to describe the cruel rapacity of the soldiers, the murders and the horrors of that fatal day. For three months Rome was miserably given a prey to the fury of an unbridled soldiery. Nothing was spared, neither private houses nor churches, by those wretches, who had neither country nor religion to bind them. The Pope himself, after having taken refuge in the Castle of St. Angelo, fell into their hands, and was exposed to every kind of outrage.

Charles himself, who had returned to Spain, could not refrain from blushing, when he was informed of the enormities which had been perpetrated in his name. Putting on mourning, and feigning to be profoundly afflicted for the indignities which the Pope had suffered, he went in person to Rome, presented himself to the Pope, and set him at liberty, asking his forgiveness for these offences, and promising to use his utmost endeavours to repair his wrongs. The Pope, believing him to be really penitent, overlooked all the misfortunes of which he had been the author, and, deceived by his promises, received him again into the bosom of the Church. But Charles was really influenced in his wish to conciliate the Pope only by the discords which were breaking out in different parts of his own dominions, and it was not long before he began again to mix himself up in the affairs of the Church, and create again deep disgust in the mind of the Roman pontiff. Meantime he was becoming advanced in years, and began to feel that neither human grandeur nor vast possessions could quiet the remorse which his past conduct occasioned him. He accordingly now formed a determination which is without example in the history of emperors.

He convoked at Brussels the chief princes of his dominions, and publicly announced to them that, wearied by the cares of the world, he had resolved to retire into a monastery, and there seek that repose which he could never enjoy upon the throne. He then recommended his officers to yield obedience to his son, as they had yielded it to himself. This said, he descended from the throne, and soon after entered a convent of the Augustines, situated in Estremadura [Spain]. On his arrival, the monks received him with the greatest respect—surprised to see a king, who for so many years had ruled over millions, prefer their poverty to the crown of many kingdoms.

'I come here,' he said,' poor and naked as on the day of my birth, and hope to find amongst you the peace which I cannot find in the world.' He passed his time there for the most part in exercises of piety, and in works of severe penitence. The only pleasure which the king, who could never be idle for a moment, allowed himself, was to collect a large number of clocks in his rooms and watch if their movements were perfectly uniform. And when he saw that they always differed from each other more or less, he exclaimed,' Ought I to wonder that I could not get men to agree with one another, when I cannot make these clocks agree, which after all are mere machines?'

Thus Charles, after having spent some years of his life in penitence, died in the monastery, and was buried on the same spot.

Brief History of Italy and the Italian People

Ancient Italics and Roman Period

The Italians are an old nation—one of the oldest in Europe—which can be traced back to the time of the Romans, and even farther back to the early Italic tribes and pre-Indo-European aboriginals of the Italian peninsula (from whom the Romans, and therefore modern Italians, descend).

The Italian nation is very ancient, as is the existence of a unified Italian state. Italy, in fact, was the first unified nation-state in European history. Although Italy was unified most recently in 1861, this was not the first time Italy was united. Italy was first unified over 2,000 years ago in 222 BC under the Romans, making Italians the first unified people in the history of Europe. With the extermination of the Gauls in the north and the expulsion of the Greeks from the southern shores of the peninsula—thus eliminating from Italy the two major foreign and hostile powers—the Romans were able to join and unite all the native tribes of Italy into a single unit, with a common Latin language, Roman culture and Roman-Italic identity.

Whereas many nations in Europe underwent a long and sometimes obscure ethnogenesis and were formed in the Middle Ages, and while some national identities only formed as recently as a couple centuries ago, the development of the Italian identity and ethnic formation (ethnogenesis) of the Italian people was completed already more than 2,000 years ago. In the Roman era the Italian people were known as Romans, but also as Italians (called Itali or Italici in Latin). This common identity existed since Roman times and has persisted in continuity throughout the centuries up to the present day.

Corsica and Italy

Written by Luca Cancelliere


Part I – Corsica and Italy until 1729.

Since prehistoric times Corsica, the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily, Sardinia and Cyprus, was linked on one side to the Italian peninsula, and other the other side to the neighboring island of Sardinia. The first great Corsican civilization was that of the megalithic, which appeared in the fourth millennium BC and which, according to Giovanni Lilliu, was related to the contemporary Sardinian “Ozieri culture”. During the Bronze Age “Torrean civilization” spread throughout Corsica. The name derives from truncated conical constructions known as “torri”, similar to the Sardinian Nuraghe. Once again, the link with the contemporary Sardinian-Nuragic civilization is obvious. Inhabited by Ligurian peoples since the second millennium BC, Corsica entered the sphere of Etruscan influence after the Battle of Aleria in 535 BC and was later occupied by the Romans during the First Punic War (264-241 BC).

Since then and for two millennia, notwithstanding the brief 65-year occupation by the Vandals between the fifth and sixth centuries AD, Corsica was continuously linked to the Italian peninsula. It was part of the medieval Kingdom of Italy, governed by the Longobards until 774, and then was part of the Kingdom of Italy within the Holy Roman Empire. In this period there was a strong presence of Italian noble families in Corsica: the Obertenghi, the Pallavicino and the Malaspina. After the year one thousand Corsica became a subject of the maritime Republic of Pisa (1073-1284). Finally, after the famous Battle of Meloria (1284), the long rule of the Republic of Genoa began (1284-1768). Genoa established permanent rule only after 1374, following the elimination of the Aragonese claims arising from the Bull of Investiture of Boniface VIII.

Already in Roman times the island had undergone profound romanization, especially owing to the distribution of land to Roman legionaries from Sicily and Calabria, and the creation of the two Roman colonies of Mariana and Aleria. But above all, the Pisan period was instrumental in constructing Corsican identity as we know it today. The Tuscan vernacular prevailed unchallenged in place names, in onomastics (still today Corsican surnames are predominantly of Tuscan origin), in popular songs and in the use of Italian as the official language of administration and the Church. The Corsican idiom which formed in the Middle Ages was defined by Niccolò Tommaseo as “a powerful language, and the most Italian dialect of Italy” and “the least corrupt Italian dialect”. Pisan influence was also crucial in art and architecture: Pisan Romanesque became the typical architectural style of the island.

From the thirteenth until the nineteenth century, the primary school where young Corsicans attended for higher education – even after the French conquest – was the University of Pisa. From the fourteenth century onwards the “Corsican Guard”, a papal military body composed of Corsicans, enjoyed considerable importance until it was abolished in 1662. The island's government, since the end of the fifteenth century, was outsourced by the Republic of Genoa to the “Bank of Saint George”, which subdued the island's unruly aristocracy and gave Corsica a definitive administrative order with the “civil and military Statutes” of 1571, which entrusted the island to the “Magistrate of Corsica” headquartered in Genoa and to a resident governor assisted by the “Council of Twelve”. The territories were governed by lieutenants and the villages by local assemblies which appointed the “Fathers of the Commune”.

Another factor which contributed to strengthening the links between Corsica and the Italian mainland was the steady influx of Italians from Tuscany and especially from Lunigiana and Lucchesia, which lasted for centuries until the beginning of the twentieth century. Even until a few decades ago, the Corsicans used the term "Lucchesi" to refer to the whole Italian mainland. The establishment of new colonies by the Genoese, populated by Ligurian colonists, such as Bonifacio and Calvi, did not override the supreme influence of Tuscany on the Corsican idiom.

On the other hand, a large part of the population in northern Sardinia is of Corsican origin. In the Middle Ages the city of Sassari was the recipient of Corsican and Tuscan demographic flows. This is reflected in the Sassarese dialect, which has a Corsican-Tuscan base (with Logudorese-Sardinian contributions and, to a lesser extent, Ligurian). Regarding Gallura, it is known that after the Sardinian-Aragonese wars of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the area was largely repopulated by Corsicans, who planted the current Gallurese dialect, which can be considered a Corsican-Tuscan dialect akin to Southern Corsican. Many Gallurians later did the reverse of their ancestors, emigrating to Corsica from Sardinia. This was the linguistic, cultural and political status of the island on the eve of the Corsican Revolution of 1729.

Part II – The Corsican Revolution (1729-1769).

The rural Corsican nobility, which had developed a significant political experience in the local assemblies during the Genoese period, and had become a class with its own proud self-consciousness, was the protagonist of the long Corsican Revolution, which broke out in 1729. Historiography generally ignores this important historical event, which constituted the first of the “bourgeois revolutions” of the eighteenth century and which anticipated the Enlightenment era. The armed insurrection against the Genoese in 1735 began with the declaration of the Constitutional Court, in which they proclaimed the independence of the “Kingdom of Corsica”. It was at this time that Corsica adopted its current hymn “Dio ti salvi Regina”, written in the Italian language by Francesco De Geronimo of Puglia.

After the French intervention, requested by the Republic of Genoa, which was unable to quell the revolt, and after the assassination of the head of the insurrection Gian Piero Gaffori (1753), the Corsican Revolution found a new leader in Pasquale Paoli (1725-1807), a Corsican noble who was reared in the environment of the Neapolitan Enlightenment of Antonio Genovesi and Gaetano Filangieri. In 1755 he was proclaimed the “General of the Corsican Nation” and promulgated the “Corsican Constitution”, written in Italian. The Italian character of Corsica was obvious to Pasquale Paoli. He said:

“We are Italians by birth and by sentiment, but above all we are Italians by language, customs and traditions (…). And all the Italians are brothers and sisters united by history and united before God (…). As Corsicans we wish to be neither servants nor “rebels”, and as Italians we want the right to be treated as equal to other Italians (...). Either we will be free or we will be nothing (...) Either we will win with honor or we will die with our weapons in our hands (…). Our war of liberation is holy and just, as holy and just as the name of God, and here, in our mountains, the sun of freedom will be won for all Italy.”

The important link between Corsica and Italy was also underlined by Pasquale Paoli in his last will of 1804:

“I leave fifty lire a year for the maintenance of a skilled teacher, who in the village of Morosaglia, home of the church of Rostino, can teach and write Italian well, according to the approved standard style, as well as arithmetic to the youth of that church, and to any others who may take advantage of the opportunity to learn (…). I want the government to reopen a public school in Corte, a middle place for most of the island's population. I leave two hundred lire a year for the salary of four professors: the first to teach natural theology and the natural principles of divinity of the Christian religion; the second to teach ethnics and the rights of the people; the third to teach the principles of natural philosophy; and the fourth to tech the elements of mathematics. And I desire that the pupils be taught in the Italian language, the mother language of my people. (…) In the case that this school in Corte is not opened, then, in order to contribute to the education of my country, I leave one hundred and fifty lire a year for five students to attend any of the best universities of the Italian mainland. Two will be selected in the department of Golo, two in Liamone (…), and the fifth will be selected from the church of Rostino.”

Pasquale Paoli, after many vicissitudes which saw him also as a protagonist of the revolutionary events of 1789, died in exile in London in 1807 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. When his remains were brought to the family tomb at Stretta di Morosaglia in 1889, the plaque was written in Italian.

But let's return back to the Corsican Revolution before 1769. Initially, the fortune of arms and the Corsican people's desire for independence managed to get the better of French military power. More Frenchmen were killed in that war than in the Algerian War. However, after several years, during which Pasquale Paoli had wisely and successfully established the administrative and military foundations of an independent Corsica, the island was transferred from Genoa to France with the Treaty of Versailles of 1768. It put the Corsicans in a difficult situation. They were finally defeated by the French in the famous and unfortunate Battle of Ponte Nuovo on May 7, 1769.

Part III – Corsica under French occupation (1769-1918).

After the very brief period of the so-called “Anglo-Corsican Kingdom” of 1794-1796, which gave another constitution to Corsica, once again written in Italian, the nineteenth century saw the final demise of the traditional assembly institutions of the Corsican villages and a growing centralization of administrative functions by the government of Paris, exerted through the two departmental prefects of the island. The “Fiumorbo War” of 1815-1816 was the last major Corsican insurrection. During the nineteenth century, as evidenced by a decree on March 10, 1805 instituting the compulsory use of the French language on the island, Italian was still the official language of administration, the Church and culture in Corsica. The pure use of the Italian language was typical of the Corsican nobility, while the people generally spoke the Corsican vernacular. The first significant text in the Corsican dialect appeared within the work “Dionomachia”, written in the Italian language in 1817 by the magistrate Salvatore Viale:

“O Spechiu d’e zitelle di la pieve
O La miò chiara stella matuttina
Più bianca di lubrocciu e di la neve
Più rossa d’una rosa damaschina
Più aspra d’a cipolla, e d’u stuppone
Più dura d’una teppa, e d’un pentone…”

The author described Corsican as belonging to the Italian language:

“From the reading of these songs it can be clearly seen that the Corsicans do not have, nor can they have, any poetry or literature other than Italian. The source and material of a people's poetry lies in its history, its traditions, its customs, its way of life and its feeling: all things which define Corsican people differs substantially from that of the continental Frenchman, especially considering that the prototypical Frenchman is someone from Paris. (...) And the Corsican language is pure Italian; indeed, it has hitherto been known as one of the purest dialects of Italy.”

Mazzini, who arrived from Marseilles in 1831, described his arrival in Corsica this way:

“There I felt once again, with the joy of those repatriates, like I was back on Italian soil... From Bastia to Ajaccio and beyond...everyone spoke of Italy...and longed to rejoin the great motherland”.

On February 18, 1831, reflecting the unanimous reputation of Corsica as Italian land, the Parisian revolutionary General La Fayette reached an agreement with the Italian revolutionaries to exchange Corsica for Savoy. Many Corsicans participated in the Italian Risorgimento, such as Leonetto Cipriani, who fought in the First War of Italian Independence in 1848-1849 and joined the Expedition of the Thousand in 1860. The Italian language was banned beginning with a judgement of the Supreme Court of Paris on August 4, 1859, which reaffirmed that the only official language in Corsica was the French language. Already in 1852 the French government decided that all the acts of civil status should be drawn up only in French.

In the aftermath of the Second War of Italian Independence, it was feared that the newly formed Kingdom of Italy might make claims on Corsica. In 1870, several Italian politicians suggested to Vittorio Emanuele II (who, however, did not welcome the suggestion) that Italy should take advantage of the French defeat in Sedan by recovering Corsica, in addition to annexing Rome. In March 1871, the young radical deputy Georges Clemenceau proposed to the National Assembly that they should consider selling the island of Corsica to Italy. This proposal was justified in light of the support that Corsica, and particularly Ajaccio, had given to the person of the Emperor, and in light of the ensuing wave of discriminatory measures against the Corsicans following the proclamation of the Third French Republic. On May 19, 1882, just days before his death, Garibaldi said that:

“Corsica and Nice must not belong to France; and there will be a day when Italy, conscious of its value, will reclaim its eastern and western provinces which which shamefully languish under foreign domination.”

In those years Emmanuel Aréne of Ajaccio, a moderate Republican, imposed the corrupt and nepotistic methods of his “clique” onto the social and political life of Corsica. France's isolationist tariff policy was discriminatory toward the island. Until 1912, a 15% tax was imposed on goods exported to France, but only 2% for goods imported from France. This severed the historical economic links between Corsica and the Italian mainland, causing serious damage to the island's economy. Meanwhile, the establishment of a number of elementary schools on the island, and the recruitment of many young Corsicans into the French Army during World War I (with nearly 20,000 killed), accelerated the frenchification the island.

Part IV – Corsican Awakening and Pro-Italian Irredentism (1918-1945).

Between the end of the nineteenth century and the interwar period, Corsica witnessed a cultural rediscovery of its identity with the foundation of many magazines, the first of which was “A Tramuntana” (1896) founded by Santu Casanova. The recovery of the Corsican language and identity was combined with the recognition that Corsica belonged to the Italian cultural and linguistic sphere, according to the old Corsican adage: “Da Capi Corsu à Bonifaziu, aria di Roma è mare di u Laziu.” (“From Capo Corso to Bonifacio, the wind blows from Rome and the sea of Lazio.”)

The same Santu Casanova, founder of the Corsican awakening in 1896, joined the pro-Italian irredentist movement and forty years later sent a telegram to Mussolini on October 29, 1936:

“On this day of October 29, 1936, the same in which I leave my native Corsica forever and disembark at Livorno, the beloved homeland of Costanzo and Galeazzo Ciano and so many heroes, I feel like I am born again and reinvigorated with strength like Antaeus, returning to the Land of my ancestors which still remains the true Fatherland for us Corsicans. Therefore, on this bright and beautiful day, I offer you my fraternal greetings, O immortal Duce, with love and respect. Please accept it as an homage of our Corsica, a most pure Italian sister. A noi!”

In 1919 the newspaper “A Muvra” was founded by Petru Rocca. He would go on to create the Corsican Action Party (“Partitu Corsu d’Azione”) in 1922, following the example of the contemporary Sardinian Action Party (“Partito Sardo D’Azione”). In this period there was a flowering of poetic and literary works in Corsican, including the first Corsican novel “Terra Corsa”, written in 1924 by Marco Angeli. In 1927 the party transformed into the Corsican Autonomist Party (“Partitu Autonomista Corsu”) and was dissolved in 1939 due to its collaboration with the Italian Fascist regime. Indeed, simultaneous to the rise of Fascism in Italy, Corsica had developed an explicitly pro-Italian irredentist current. In 1933 the Groups of Corsican Culture (“Gruppi di Cultura Corsa” or GCC) was founded at Pavia by the Corsican student Petru Giovacchini, who previously founded a pro-Italian magazine “Primavera” in 1927. The GCC was later transformed into the Groups of Corsican Irredentist Action (“Gruppi di Azione Irredentista Corsa” or GAIC).

Many Corsican patriots and intellectuals (Petru Giovacchini, Marco Angeli, Bertino Poli, Domenico Carlotti, Petru Rocca, Pier Luigi Marchetti) chose to emigrate to Fascist Italy, where many magazines and publications dedicated to Corsica were established: “Atlante Linguistico Etnografico Italiano della Corsica”, “Archivio Storico di Corsica”, “Corsica Antica e Moderna”. Gioacchino Volpe, one of the leading Italian historians of the twentieth century and founder of the aforementioned “Archivio storico di Corsica”, published the “History of Italian Corsica” (“Storia della Corsica italiana”) in Milan in 1939, which is still one of the most important historiographical works dedicated to the island. Already by 1923 the Livorno newspaper “Il Telegrafo” published an edition for Corsica.

The Italian military occupation during World War II, which took place in November 1942 as part of “Operation Anton” (an Italo-German occupation of territories subject to the Vichy government) was peacefully accepted by the Corsicans who greeted the Italians as liberators. The Groups of Corsican Irredentist Action openly supported the occupation and asked for the union of Corsica to the Kingdom of Italy. After September 8, 1943, the Corsican resistance was supported by many Italian soldiers who played a crucial role, losing 700 men among their ranks, and contributing to the expulsion of German troops from the island. After the war, France condemned seven pro-Italian irredentists to death, including Petru Giovacchini, who escaped execution by staying in Italy. Petru Rocca was sentenced to 15 years' hard labor. Simon Cristofini was executed in Algiers in 1944 and his wife Marta Renucci, the first Corsican female journalist, was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment.

Part V – Corsican Regionalism after 1945.

After World War II the French authorities in Corsica unfurled a strong propaganda against any form of pro-Italian irredentism, against Corsican autonomism, against the use of Italian and Corsican on the island, and adamantly denied the linguistic and cultural links between Corsica and Italy. Such intellectual dishonesty, coupled with anti-Fascist propaganda, led to the death of pro-Italian irredentism and the rise of left-wing Corsican regionalism.

The events that happened in the 1960's assured that the the project of frenchification of the island was a complete failure. In 1957 two statal and private joint-stock companies were created: SOMIVAC (“Société d’économie mixte pour la mise en valeur de la Corse”) and SETCO (“Société pour l’équipement touristique de la Corse”). The latter was a substantial failure. SOMIVAC, however, took 90% of Corsica's own agricultural land devoted to wine-growing, which was originally promised to the Corsicans, and gave it to the so-called “Pieds-Noirs” (French refugees returning from independent Algeria). The arrival of about 15,000 “Pieds-Noirs” in Corsica – often accompanied by North African immigrants – was seen by the Corsicans as a colonization of their island by France. This, together with the detrimental discrimination perpetrated against Corsicans by SOMIVAC, generated a strong negative reaction among the local population.

As a reaction to all this, the FRC (“Fronte regionalista corso”) and the ARC (“Azione Regionalista Corsa”, later “Azione per la rinascita della Corsica”) were founded in 1968. On August 18, 1975 Edmondu Simeoni (ARC) and 21 other people occupied one of the farms given to a “Pied-Noir” (French refugee), leading to the intervention of French special forces, the dissolution of ARC on August 29, 1975, and serious incidents in Bastia, such as the murder of a policeman and tanks in the streets. In 1976 the “Fronte Paesanu Corsu di Liberazione” and “Ghjustizia Paolina” merged to form the FNLC (“Fronte di Liberazione Naziunale Corsu”, dedicated to acts of armed resistance against the French government for many years. Since 1987 it has its own legal political arm, the “Cuncolta Nazionalista”. In 1977 Edmondu Simeoni founded the “Unione di u Populu Corsu”.

The Corsican Regionalists in the meantime presented a series of demands including recognition of the Corsican language and the introduction of bilingualism, environmental protection, defense against reckless overbuilding, and the reopening of the University of Corte originally founded by Pasquale Paoli, which was closed by the French when they conquered of Corsica. Already in 1972 the French Government, in response to Corsican demands, arranged the creation of the Regional Natural Park of Corsica (which covers about 40% of the island), and in 1981 the University of Corte was finally reopened. In 1975 Corsica, which hitherto belonging to the Region of “Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur”, was eleveated into its own region within the French Republic. Also in 1975 the only Corsican department was divided into the two current departments of Ajaccio and Bastia, corresponding to the historical regions of “Pumonte” and “Cismonte”, as it was in the period from 1793-1811.

In 1982 Corsica was granted the new Regional Statute. Since the 1990's, despite sporadic events of armed struggle (such as the murder of the French prefect Claude Erignac on February 6, 1998 in Ajaccio), the Corsican regionalists began to reap a considerable amount of electoral success. In 1992 the “Corsica nazione” party led by Jen-Guy Talamoni, which was established in 1992 through the merger of various Corsican regional movements, won 20% of the vote during the elections for the Corsican Assembly. “Corsica Libera”, founded on February 1, 2009 with the merger of “Corsica Nazione” and “Accolta naziunale corsa” (founded by the former regional councilor Pierre Poggioli), under the leadership of Jen-Guy Talamoni, supports a radical regionalist agenda (i.e. independence) and obtained 9.85% of the vote in 2010 and four seats in the second round of elections for the Corsican Assembly.

“Femu a Corsica”, a “moderate regionalist” coalition (i.e. autonomists), led by Gilles Simeoni (son of Edmondu, lawyer and mayor of Bastia in 2014) and Jean-Christophe Angelini (secretary of the “Partitu di a Nazione Corsa”, founded in 2002 through the merger of the “Unione di u Populu Corsu” with two other movements) obtained 25.89 % of the vote in 2010 and 11 seats in the second round of elections for the Corsican Assembly. Greater autonomy was granted to the region in 1991 when it was elevated to a “Territorial Collectivity of the French Republic” (“Collectivité territoriale de la Republique”), with its own Executive Council and President, and an Assembly, both based in Ajaccio, in addition to the Corsican Laws of 2002.

A referendum for the expansion of regional autonomy, including the suppression of the two departments and the transfer of its functions to the "Territorial Collectivity", was rejected in 2003 due to opposition by the Gaullists who support traditional French centralism, and some opposition by certain segments of the Corsican regionalists who were fearful that such a partial and unsatisfactory concession would weaken the instances of self-government of the island.

Part VI – Corsica in the 21st Century.

Corsica today is sparsely populated with a total population of little more than 300,000 (equivelant to 35 people per sq km), of which 26,000 are foreign nationals (who form 8% of the population, more than half of them being North Africans). The island suffers from strong economic, territorial and cultural marginality compared to the rest of France, to which Corsica has belonged for nearly 250 years. From the economic point of view, Corsica is last in France for both total GDP for the average GDP per capita (less than one-fifth – only 20,000 euros compared to the French average of almost 26,000 euros). The unemployment rate is also far higher than the national average (16% versus 12%). The prevailing economic sectors are agriculture, livestock and tourism, while the only export industries are beer and aircraft components. The roads and rail links of the interior are bad (the Porto Vecchio-Bastia railroad was completely suppressed, so the only rail links now are between Ajaccio, Bastia and Calvi), while flight (six civil airports) and naval connections (mainly from Ajaccio, Bastia, Bonifacio and Isola Rossa to the French ports of Marseille, Nice and Toulon, and to the Italian ports of Savona, Porto Torres, Livorno and Santa Teresa di Gallura) are used mainly during tourist season. In Corsica there is also the military airport of Solenzara, strategically a very important base for French Air Force fighter-bombers, as well as numerous exercise polygons on the rest of the island.

The main difference between Corsica and France, however, remains the deep linguistic and cultural otherness of the former compared to the latter; the gap has only partially been filled despite nearly 250 years of forced frenchification. Regional autonomy, which despite many difficulties was laboriously and gradually expanded by the reforms of 1975, 1982, 1991 and 2002, is the necessary framework for the recovery of Corsican identity, which necessarily requires the official recognition of the island's native language.

Corsican regionalism is now a remarkable political force. Since 2010 the Corsican regionalists control some 15 seats (including 4 by the radicals of “Corsica Libera” and 11 by the moderates of “Femu a Corsica”) out of 51 in the Corsican Assembly, whose centre-left majority represents the Executive Council of Corsica, chaired by Paul Giacobbi of the “Parti radical de gauche”. The mayor of Bastia, Gilles Simeoni, is also a Corsican regionalist. On the other hand Laurent Marcangeli, mayor the other great city, Ajaccio, is a member of the centre-right “Union pour la Majorité Presidentielle” (UMR). On May 17, 2013, the Corsican Assembly voted the Corsican language as co-official with French, although the French Prime Minister Manuel Valls was quick to declare this resolution as unconstitutional.

Over the past 25 years, however, different voices in Corsica have been in favor of a reassessment of the Italian language as a cultured language of the island and a recovery of the historic cultural and linguistic ties between Corsica and the Italian mainland. Among the supporters of these initiatives is the magazine “A Viva Voce”, which describes itself as “the only magazine in Italian written by Corsicans”, animated by a group of Corsican scholars who propose the adoption of the Italian language either in place of Corsican, or as a learned language in support of Corsican:

“Some men and women of Corsica, mindful of the learned language of our ancestors, have decided to publish this magazine in Italian. This is our heritage and also a means to keep the Corsican language alive.”

A joint collaboration has also been launched between the University of Corte and the University of Pisa, who organize conferences and cultural activities together, designed to renew the ancient bond between the two shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Even more recently there appeared a website called “Corsica Oggi”, dedicated to Corsican news and current affairs entirely in the Italian language, which is “seizing the opportunity to resume the ties that have aways linked Corsica and Italian culture.”

As the website says:

“It makes no sense for Corsican to distance itself from Italian. The real danger has always been unnatural frenchification. Already today, words such as “u tuvagliolu” (il tovagliolo) are often replaced by a word borrowed from French, in this case “a servietta”. We believe that the study and use of the Italian language alongside Corsican and French will be of great benefit, and will allow our language to survive and flourish. By using the Italian language, you will see how similar it is to Italian. Not only can it help us preserve our identity, but it can also be an occasion for cultural enrichment and economic opportunities, given our geographical proximity to Italy and the importance of tourism in our island.”

It is desirable that the Corsican people, who are waging a commendable battle through its political representatives to defend and preserve its indigenous language, will soon be reunited also with the Italian language, which inseparably belongs to its history, and recover it as a traditional language of culture on the island, to be used alongside Corsican in schools, on television, in the press, in theater and in literature, as an indispensable instrument for the preservation of Corsican identity.

History of Ticino

Ticino is a canton of Switzerland primarily inhabited by an Italian population, and comprises most of the Italian-speaking area of Switzerland. Of all the ethnically Italian regions located outside of Italy, Ticino is unique because it is the only Italian region situated within a majority non-Italian country whose language, culture and identity is still Italian. This is in contrast to regions such as Istria or Grigioni, whose Italian populations have been greatly diminished over the last couple centuries.

In ancient times the area of southern and eastern Switzerland was inhabited by a group of tribes known as the Rhaetians. The Rhaetians were the descendants of Etruscans who had settled in the Alps after being driven out of Italy by Gallic invaders in the 4th century BC. The Rhaetians derived their name from Retus or Rhetus, an Etruscan leader from ancient Tuscany who led his people into exile across the Rhaetian Alps. The area inhabited by the Rhaetians included what is today the Canton of Grigioni (also known as Graubunden or Grisons), Trentino, Tyrol and other Alpine areas stretching from northeastern Italy to southern Germany.

What is today the Canton of Ticino was in part inhabited by a Rhaetian tribe called the Brenni or Breuni, who lived near Bellinzona and in Valle di Blenio. They were possibly related to the tribe that inhabited the Brenner region. However, Ticino was primarily inhabited by a tribe known as the Lepontii or Lepontians. Although it is popular today to regard them as Celts — a vestige of the 19th century "Celtomania" movement — the Lepontii were historically regarded as either a Rhaetian tribe or a Ligurian tribe. Linguistic and archaeological evidence ties them to the Ligurians of northwestern Italy, although their alphabet certainly derived from Etruscan, which suggests a connection to the Rhaetians.

In any case, despite being partly inhabited by Rhaetians, the area of Ticino was never part of the Rhaetian province. Ticino — which was already Romanized by the time of Augustus — was instead part of ancient Italy, included in the 11th region of Italy known as Transpadana. The Romans established settlements in what is now Mendrisio, Locarno, Lugano, Riva San Vitale, Bioggio and Minusio, and founded the city of Bellinzona, which is today the capital of Ticino. Ticino remained part of Italy for the next several hundred years; even after the fall of Rome, Ticino remained part of Italy during the Gothic period (5th-6th century), the period of the Justinian reconquest (6th century), the Longobard period (6th-8th century) and the Carolingian period (8th-9th century). Ticino was part of Italy during the period of the independent Kingdom of Italy (9th-10th century) and still remained part of the Kingdom of Italy after Italy's incorporation into the Holy Roman Empire (962). In the 12th and 13th centuries Ticino was fought over by the communes of Como and Milan, and in the 14th century Ticino became part of the Duchy of Milan.

Also in the 14th century a new confederation of allied states emerged known as the Swiss Confederacy, comprised of three small German-speaking cantons in the Alps known as Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden. Beginning in the 15th century the canton of Uri began attempting to conquer the lands of the Duchy of Milan, namely those Milanese lands which now form Ticino. Over the course of the next century, Uri and the other Swiss cantons conquered Ticino in a series of military campaigns, taking its three most important cities: Bellinzona, Lugano and Locarno. These military campaigns were a result of the aggressive expansionist policy of the Swiss Confederation. The Swiss cantons partook in the Italian Wars and gained not only Ticino, but also some other Italian territories which today are part of Lombardy. This may seem ironic given Switzerland's present-day reputation as a land of pacifism, diplomacy and permanent neutrality, but in fact Switzerland was born of warfare and bloodshed, and its territory grew through aggressive wars of expansion and imperial conquest against its neighbours. Indeed the Swiss cantons were in an almost constant state of war from 1315 until 1847, including numerous civil wars amongst themselves.

The Swiss conquest of Ticino was completed by 1515. Apart from Vaud, Ticino was the last territory to be conquered by the Swiss Confederacy. Ecclesiastically, however, these conquests were not recognized: the area continued to be viewed by the Church as part of the Dioceses of Como and Milan (and it remained so all the way up until 1859). Prior to the modern era, Ticino did not exist as an organized canton and it was not a member of the Swiss Confederacy. Instead, the lands of Ticino were divided into vogteien or condominiums, i.e. dominions or possessions of the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden and the other Swiss cantons. These territories were ruled as subjects and therefore did not have the same rights or status as the Swiss cantons. In 1755 the Italian population of the Leventina Valley unsuccessfully revolted against Uri in a bid for independence. The revolt was suppressed and the leaders Giovan Antonio Forni, Lorenzo Orsi and Giuseppe Sartore were beheaded.

In 1798 the Swiss Confederacy was conquered by Napoleon. The area of modern Ticino, together with the other Swiss cantons, formed part of the short-lived Helvetic Republic (1798-1803) — a client state of Napoleon's French Empire. The territory of Ticino was initially divided into two cantons: the Canton of Bellinzona and the Canton of Lugano. This Italian region — subjected to the Swiss cantons for nearly three centuries — became equal in status to the other Swiss cantons for the first time. However, the Italians were not entirely content: a movement was founded in the region by local Italian patriots who wanted these cantons to be annexed to the Italian Cisalpine Republic. Their wishes were ignored. With the Act of Mediation in 1803, the two cantons of Bellinzona and Lugano were organized into a single canton for the first time, known as the Canton of Ticino, which became a member of the restored Swiss Confederation—another client state of Napoleon's French Empire.

From 1810-1813 Italian troops, led by General Achille Fontanelli, occupied Ticino with the intention of annexing it to the Kingdom of Italy. After the fall of Napoleon in 1814, Ticino was returned to the Swiss Confederation, which adopted a decentralized political system. Between 1815-1830 Ticino attempted to rule autonomously within the Confederation. Ticino was effected by the Liberal Revolution of 1830, and for the remainder of the century the canton suffered from political struggles between conservatives and liberals. Many monasteries were closed, religious education was suppressed and Ticino was secularized by the liberal government. For this reason, despite being historically and nominally Catholic, Ticino did not join the 1845-1847 Sonderbund (a league of conservative Catholic cantons which sought independence from the liberal Protestant cantons). The liberals of Ticino, however, did support the Italian Risorgimento, which caused the Austrians to impose an economic blockade against Ticino and expel more than 6,000 Ticinese residents from Austrian-ruled Lombardy in 1853.

Modern Switzerland was created in 1848 as a federal state, after the end of the Sonderbund Civil War of 1847, with Ticino as one of its 25 cantons. Since that date Ticino has remained part of Switzerland and has come to be regarded as "Swiss". Today, the cantons of Ticino and Grigioni form Svizzera Italiana or Italian Switzerland.


Attempted Germanization of Ticino

Historically, the Old Swiss Confederacy established in the 13th century was composed only of German-speaking cantons. But over the course of the next few centuries, the German cantons expanded and conquered Francophone, Italian and Romansh-speaking territories. The Germans formed much of the ruling political class and the majority of the federal government; they favoured the centralization of the State and German immigration to the Romance cantons, and in the 20th century assured that German became the dominant language of the mass media, business and popular culture in Switzerland. Nevertheless, the Canton of Ticino has retained its Italian heritage and identity.

Geographically Ticino is situated in the Italian peninsula and forms part of the region of Lombardy; the entire canton is located south of the Alps and is cut off from the rest of Switzerland by a spine of mountains, and is accessible only through the San Gottardo Pass. The town of Campione d'Italia forms an Italian exclave, administratively part of the Province of Como, Italy, but located within Ticino. Ticino's location has had a decisive impact on its history and culture. Today Italian is the only official language of Ticino and the cantonal constitution explicitly states that the culture and identity of Ticino is Italian. However, this is not due to a lack of effort to eliminate the Italian character of the region. Many attempts have been made over the years by the Swiss government to Germanize Ticino and eliminate its Italian character, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The first major assault came in 1859, when the federal government of Switzerland abruptly rejected the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the bishops of Como and Milan without the consent of the Holy See. The churches of Ticino were part of the dioceses of Como and Milan since time immemorial, and had always remained part of these two dioceses without interruption up until this time period. However, in an attempt to bring Ticino under the Swiss-German diocese of Basel-Solothurn and suppress the influence of the Risorgimento (and thus prevent the anticipated annexation of Ticino to Italy), the Swiss federal government refused to recognize the authority of Como and Milan over the churches in Ticino. This decision was eventually acknowledged by Pope Leo XIII, who detached Ticino from Como and Milan in 1884 and authorized the creation of the Diocese of Lugano-Basel in 1888, thereby officially ending the millenial ecclesiastical link between Ticino and Lombardy. The Diocese of Lugano did not become separated from Basel until 1971.

For the first several decades of the 20th century the Swiss federal government — dominated by a German majority — persistently interfered in the affairs of Ticino and attempted to limit Ticino's cantonal autonomy and authority. The Swiss government also began to persecute Italian patriots. During World War I, many Swiss-Italians volunteered in the Italian Army. In response, the Swiss government enacted surveillance against Italians in Ticino, who became subjected to fines, censorship, home searches, arbitrary arrests, systematic violation of private mail and charges of espionage. The Swiss-German authorities also banned pro-Italian gatherings. On May 26, 1915 an Italian crowd defied the ban by gathering in Lugano and shouting "Long live Italy!". The Swiss military intervened, which almost led to a massacre of Italian civilians. In 1934 Italian nationalists organized the "March on Bellinzona", an unarmed demonstration expressing desire for unification with Italy. In this same time period the Swiss government renewed their persecution of Italian patriots, such as the Swiss-Italian journalist Teresina Bontempi. Her journal L'Adula was suspended several times for denouncing Germanization, and in 1935 she was imprisoned by the Swiss government on charges of "treason" for promoting irredentism in Ticino. She was exiled to Italy in 1936.

Another method of attempted Germanization in the 20th century was the migration of Germans into Ticino. In 1880 the total population of Ticino was 130,777; Germans were only 0.8% of the population (1,054 Germans), while Italians were 98.9% (129,409 Italians). But in 1930, a mere 50 years later, the German population rose to 7.3% (11,622 Germans), while the Italian population dropped to 91% (145,347 Italians). By 1941 the German population in Ticino swelled to 8.15% (13,209 Germans) and had taken over a disproportionate amount of top positions in the local economy. This increase of German-speakers in the early-to-mid 20th century was not a natural progression; it transpired due to the rapid influx of German immigrants and the accelerated use of the German language in public affairs, leading to ethnic tension between the native Italians, the German immigrants and the Swiss government. German immigration to Ticino intensified in the 1950's and reached its peak in 1980 when Germans became 11.1% of the population, before dropping back down to 8.3% in 2000.

Ticino today has a very large foreign immigrant population (94,366 foreigners, equal to 27.2% of the population). However, nearly half of them are fellow Italians from the neighboring provinces of Italy. Italians therefore are still 85% of the population. Thanks to its proximity to Italy and isolation from the other cantons, the Canton of Ticino has managed to escape the same fate as the neighboring Grigioni, where the Italian and Romansh-speakers — who previously formed 64% of Grigioni's population in 1803 and 50% in 1910 — have become a minority in their own land. Ticino, on the other hand, is still strongly Italian by comparison.

Measures have been taken by the local cantonal government to defend and preserve the Italian character of Ticino. The Constitution of Ticino, Article 1 states:

"The Canton Ticino is a democratic republic of Italian culture and language."

The Communication by the Canton Ticino on December 20, 1984 concerning the revision of the Constitution states:

"As well as referring to the democratic form and the Italian language, as a characteristic of the Canton, the Constitution also refers explicitly to Italian culture: the fact that the Canton Ticino belongs not only to the Italian language region but also to the Italian cultural region is a fundamental element of its history and an essential component of its identity. Furthermore, that clear reference to Italian language and culture is not mere rhetoric: it represents a significant commitment which the Ticino authorities and people must give to an increasingly effective promotion of their Italianity."

Notable Italians

Many notable Italians came from Ticino, especially architects. Ticino has a very strong architectural tradition and has produced more architects per capita than any other region in the world, and in a record span of time (most of them lived between the 15th and 19th centuries), and while living in oppressive conditions as subjects of the Swiss. Ticino's architects includes men who revolutionized the history of architecture, and men who worked all over Europe and achieved international fame.

Some of the most important Italians from Ticino:

• Francesco Borromini - Architect; one of the founders of baroque architecture
• Luigi Canonica - Architect and urban planner; official architect of the Cisalpine Republic
• Carlo Maderno - Architect; one of the founders of baroque architecture; designed the facade of St. Peter's Basilica
• Domenico Gilardi - Architect; helped rebuild Moscow after its destruction by Napoleon
• Giovanni Battista di Quadro - Architect; helped build and rebuild Poznan in Poland
• Giovanni Battista Trevano - Architect; introduced the baroque style to Poland
• Francesco Boffo - Architect; helped build Odessa in Ukraine
• Ippolit Monighetti - Architect; worked in Russia
• Cosimo Morelli - Architect; worked in the Papal States
• Pietro Nobile - Architect; leading architect of the Habsburg court
• Francesco Righetti - Architect; worked in Argentina
• Domenico Rossi - Architect; worked in Venice
• Luigi Rusca - Architect; worked in Russia and Ukraine
• Gaetano Matteo Pisoni - Architect; worked in Belgium and Switzerland
• Giovanni Antonio Viscardi - Architect; worked in Bavaria
• Pietro Morettini - Architect and military engineer; worked in Germany, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands
• Bernardacci Brothers - Architects; worked in Russia
• Fossati Brothers - Architects; renovated Hagia Sophia
• Lafranchini Brothers - Stuccoists; worked on the palladian houses of Ireland
• Giuseppe Artari - Stuccoist; worked in Germany and Great Britain
• Giovanni Pietro Magni - Stuccoist; worked on the Würzburg Cathedral
• Antonio Raggi - Sculptor and stuccoist
• Giovanni Antonio Pilacorte - Sculptor
• Grazioso Rusca - Sculptor
• Camillo Rusconi - Sculptor
• Vincenzo Vela - Sculptor
• Giovanni Battista Bagutti - Painter
• Carlo Bossoli - Painter
• Antonio Ciseri - Painter
• Francesco Antonio Giorgioli - Painter
• Giuseppe Antonio Orelli - Painter
• Vincenzo Angelo Orelli - Painter
• Giuseppe Antonio Petrini - Painter
• Francesco Innocenzo Torriani - Painter
• Giuseppe Antonio Maria Torricelli - Painter
• Giovan Giacomo Paleari Fratino - Military engineer
• Domenico Reina - Tenor
• Gian Battista Mantegazzi - Composer
• Maestro Martino da Como - Gastronomist and chef; the world's first celebrity chef
• Carlo Gatti - Entrepreneur; the first to make ice cream available to the general public
• Carlo Ponti - Photographer and optician; inventor of the alethoscope and megalethoscope
• Nicolò Rusca - Priest and martyr; tortured and murdered by Protestants
• Romano Amerio - Theologian and critic against the Second Vatican Council
• Teresina Bontempi - Journalist and irredentist
• Francesco Chiesa - Poet and teacher; co-founded the Ticinese branch of the Dante Alighieri Society
• Leonardo Conti - Doctor, SS-Obergruppenfuhrer and Reich Health Leader of National Socialist Germany

There have also been several architectural and artisan families from Ticino:

• Adamini Family - Family of architects who worked in St. Petersburg, Russia. The most prominent was Domenico Adamini (1792-1860). Other members were Leone (1727/1728-1764), Agostino (1752-1792), Tommaso (1763/1764-1828), Leone (1789-1854), Antonio (1792-1846) and Tommaso Adamini (1823-1850), all of whom worked in Russia; some of them were nominated master builders of the Imperial Court. Giuseppe Antonio Adamini (1756) was an architect for the Royal Court in Lisbon, Portugal and in India. Later members of the family were Bernardo (1834-1900), Clemente (1832-1907), Tommaso (1829-1887) and Emilio Adamini (1854-1914), all of whom were hydraulic and railway engineers who specialized in the construction of railroads.

• Albertolli Family - Family of architects, stuccoists and painters from Bedano who worked in Italy in the 18th and 19th centuries. Members of the family included Francesco Saverio Albertolli (1701-1761), architect; Michele Albertolli (1732-1761), architect; Grato Albertolli (1740-1812), stuccoist; Giocondo Albertolli (1743-1839), architect, painter, sculptor, stuccoist and knight of the Iron Crown; Gian Giacomo Albertolli (1761-1805), professor of civil architecture; Raffaele Albertolli (1770-1812), painter, engraver and stuccoist; Ferdinando Albertolli (1780-1844), architect and professor of design; and Fedele Albertolli (1789-1832), painter. They were possibly related to the 16th century architect Giovanni Albertalli of Grigioni.

• Agustoni Family - Family of architects who worked in Genoa, Germany, Czechia and the Papal States. The most important was Lazaro Agustoni (1570-1642), who remodeled Würzburg Cathedral and built many churches in Germany and Prague with his brother Francesco. His nephew Giacomo Agustoni (1668-1735) built baroque structures in Bohemia. His other nephew Domenico Agustoni (1606-1681) was a foreman in Prague. Battista Agustoni (1565-1616) and Agostino Agustoni (1570-1616) were master builders in Genoa. Antonio Agustoni (1669-1729) worked as a stuccoist in Copenhagen. Pietro Agustoni (1741-1815) worked in the Papal States. One branch of the family became known as the Cantone or Cantoni family, represented by the architects Antonio Cantone, Bernardino Cantone (1505-1576/1580) and Pietro or Pier Francesco Cantone (1585-1657). Other members included Francesco Maria Cantoni (1685-1712), Pietro Cantoni (1710-1785), Gaetano Cantoni (1745-1827) and Simone Cantoni (1739-1818), who was one of the major neoclassical architects in Italy.

• Aostalli Family - Family of architects who worked in Prague. The most important members of the family were Giovanni Maria Aostalli (1500-1567), Giovanni Battista Aostalli (1510-1575) and Ulrico Aostalli de Sala (1525-1597).

• Bagnato Family - Family of master builders who worked in Switzerland and Germany. The most important members of the family were Paolo Bagnato (1660-1704), Giovanni Gaspare Bagnato (1696-1757) and Francesco Antonio Bagnato (1731-1810).

• Brenni Family - Family of stuccoists and architects from Salorino who helped introduce Late Baroque style to Germany. There were over a dozen members of the family who worked around Europe. The most famous were Carlo Enrico Brenno (1688-1745), who worked in Germany and Denmark, and Vincenzo Brenna (1747-1820), who was the leading court architect of Tsarist Russia.

• Bussi Family - Family of painters and stuccoists from Bissone who worked in Austria, Bavaria and Czechia. The most notable members were Carlo Antonio Bussi (1658-1690), a painter who worked in Passau Cathedral and decorated many churches in Austria, and Santino Bussi (1664-1736), a stuccoist who worked in many castles in Austria and Czechia.

• Carabelli Family - Family of artisans from Castel San Pietro who worked in Portugal, Italy and Ticino. Members of the family included Giovanni Albino Carabelli (1690-1766), sculptor and engraver of the Royal Court of Portugal; Giuseppe Carabelli (1722-1803), woodcarver; Francesco Carabelli (1737-1798), sculptor who worked in Milan; Donato Carabelli (1760-1839), sculptor and stuccoist who worked in the Milan Cathedral; Casimiro Carabelli (1774-1840), stuccoist.

• Carlone Family - The Carlone or Carloni was a prolific artisan family composed of architects, master builders, stuccoists and painters who worked in Central Europe and Italy in the Baroque and Rococo periods. The family was divided into two main branches: the Carlone di Scaria in Lombardy and the Carlone di Rovio in modern Ticino. Most of them were itinerant artists. Members of the Ticino branch included: Antonio Carlone (1470-1520), architect and sculptor; Michele Carlone (1468-1519), architect and sculptor; Giovanni Carloni (1510-1576), sculptor; Taddeo Carlone (1543-1615), architect and sculptor; Giovanni Bernado Carlone (1584-1631), painter; Giovanni Battista Carlone (1603-1684), painter; Giovanni Andrea Carlone (1639-1697), painter; Giovanni Carlone (1636-1717), painter; Giovanni Battista Carlone (1580/90-1645), architect; Giuseppe Maria Carlone (1646-1695), architect and sculptor.

• Casella Family - Family of sculptors and stuccoists from Carona who worked in Italy. The most notable member was Daniele Casella (1557-1646), one of the most important sculptors of Genoa in the 16th and 17th centuries. Other members included Donato Casella (c. 1505-1560), Alvise Casella (1525-1590), Francesco Casella (1540-1602), Giovanni Battista Casella de Annibale (1623-1678), Giovanni Battista Casella de Monora (c. 1620-1679) and many others.

• Castello Family - The Castello or Castelli was a family of stuccoists and architects from Melide who worked in Germany and Austria. The most notable member was Matteo Castelli (1555-1632), official architect of the Royal Court of Poland who co-designed the Royal Castle in Warsaw..

• Colomba Family - Family of architects, painters and stuccoists from Arogno who worked in Austria, Germany, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Ticino and Prague. Members of the family included Andrea Colomba (1567-1627), stuccoist; Giovanni Antonio Colomba (1585-1650), stuccoist; Cristoforo Colomba (1625-1680), architect and stuccoist; Giovanni Battista Colomba (1638-1693), architect, painter and stuccoist; Luca Antonio Colomba (1674-1737), painter; Giovanni Battista Innocenzo Colomba (1717-1793), architect, painter and stage designer.

• Contin Family - Family of architects and sculptors who worked in Venice in the 16th and 17th centuries. The family produced four artisans who each worked in architecture and sculpture: Bernardino Contin (1530-1596) and his three sons Antonio Contin (1566-1600), Tommaso Contin (1570-1634) and Francesco Contin (1585-1654). Bernardino Contin was the son of Venetian architect Antonio da Ponte (1512-1597). Antonio Contin assisted his grandfather in the construction of the Rialto Bridge in Venice.

• Fontana Family - One of the most prolific and important architectural families from Ticino. The most notable members of the family were Domenico Fontana (1543-1607), who completed the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, and his nephew Carlo Fontana (1638-1714), who introduced classicism to Baroque architecture. Other members included Giovanni Fontana (1540-1614), architect, engineer and Dominican friar; Giulio Cesare Fontana (1580-1627), architect and engineer; Baldassarre Fontana (1661-1733), architect and stuccoist who worked in Bavaria, Moravia and Poland; Francesco Fontana (1668-1708), architect and engineer; Giovanni Maria Fontana (1670-1712), architect who worked in Russia; Giuseppe Fontana (1676-1739), architect who worked in Poland; Jacopo Fontana (1710-1773), architect of the Royal Court of Poland; Giovanni Antonio Fontana (1738-1803), architect; Luigi Fontana (1824-1894), architect who worked in Russia. A branch of the family in Valsolda included Paolo Fontana (1696-1765), architect who worked in Poland and helped introduce Baroque architecture to Ukraine.

• Gagini Family - Family of architects and sculptors who worked in Italy. The family produced a dozen sculptors between the 15th and 18th centuries. The most important were Domenico Gagini (1420-1492) and Antonello Gagini (1478-1536), who worked on the Palermo Cathedral. Other notable members were Giacomo Gagini (1517-1598), Fazio Gagini (1520-1567) and Vincenzo Gagini (1527-1595).

• Lombardo Family - Family of architects and sculptors from Carona who worked primarily in Venice. They were a branch of the Solari or Solaro Family who changed their name to Lombardo after moving to Venice. The most notable members were Pietro Lombardo (1435-1515), Tullio Lombardo (1455-1532), Antonio Lombardo (1458-1516) and Sante Lombardo (1504-1560). They designed many Venetian tombs and churches.

• Lucchese Family - Family of architects, stuccoists, painters and geometers. The family was ivided into two branches: one from Pambio and one from Melide. The most notable member of the Melide branch was Filiberto Lucchese (1606-1666), one of the main architects of the Viennese court in the 17th century. He also worked in Bohemia and Moravia. He was in charge of the fortifications of Vienna and the eastern border of the Habsburg Empire. His grandfather Alberto Lucchese (c. 1545-1600) was court architect in Innsbruck.

• Lucchini Family - Family of architects from Collina d'Oro. Members of the family included Luca Lucchini (1720-1788), architect who worked in the Bergamo area; Giovanni Francesco Lucchini (1755-1826), architect who worked in Bergamo; Giuseppe Lucchini (1756-1829), architect who worked in Russia; and Pasquale Lucchini (1798-1892), architect and engineer who designed tunnels and roads in Ticino and was one of the founders of the Bank of Italian Switzerland.

• Maggi Family - Family of architects from Bruzella who worked in Czechia and Italy. The most notable members of the family were Giacomo Antonio Maggi (1636-1706), Pietro Maggi (1642-1709) and Pietro Maggi (1756-1816).

• Maraini Family - Family of artists, architects, intellectuals and entrepreneurs in Italy and Japan in the 19th and 20th centuries. The most notable members of the family were: Adelaide Pandiani Maraini (1835-1917), sculptress; Clemente Maraini (1838-1905), engineer and building contractor; Emilio Maraini (1853-1916), deputy of the Kingdom of Italy and founder of the Italian sugar industry; Enrico Maraini (1855-1938), banker and building contractor; Otto Maraini (1863-1944), architect; Carolina Maraini Sommaruga (1869-1959), countess; Antonio Maraini (1886-1963), artist and deputy of the Kingdom of Italy; Fosco Maraini (1912-2004), anthropologist, ethnologist, mountaineer, photographer and writer. Descendants of the family still exist today.

• Pellegrini Family - A prolific family from Coglio which attained prominence in Savoy, Italy, France and Argentina. The founder of the family was Bernardo Pellegrini (born 1758). His sons included Jean Claude Pellegrini (1787-1854), Chief Engineer of the Corps of Bridges and Roads in France; Barthélemy Charles Gaétan Pellegrini (1790-1832), military engineer in Metz; Jean Bernard Pellegrini (1794-1865), architect; and Charles Henri Pellegrini (1800-1875), engineer, lithographer, painter and architect. His grandsons included the architect Charles-Bernard Pellegrini (1819-1864) and the President of Argentina Carlos Pellegrini (1846-1906).

• Pozzi Family - Family of architects, painters and stuccoists from Bruzella who worked in Germany, Switzerland and Italy. Members of the family included Francesco Pozzi (1704-1789), architect, painter and stuccoist; Giuseppe Antonio Pozzi (1732-1811), stuccoist; Carlo Luca Pozzi (1734-1812), sculptor and stuccoist; Domenico Pozzi (1745-1796), painter and historian; Giovanni Domenico Francesco Pozzi (1755-1796), painter; Carlo Ignazio Pozzi (1766-1842), architect, painter and stage designer; and Massimiliano Giuseppe Pozzi (1770-1842), sculptor.

• Solari Family - The Solaro or Solari was a family of architects and sculptors from Carona who worked primarily Italy, but also in Russia and France. Members of the family included Marco Solari (1355-1405), master builder who worked on the Milan Cathedral and the Certosa di Pavia; Giovanni Solari (1400-1482), architect and engineer who worked on the the Milan Cathedral and the Certosa di Pavia; Guiniforte Solari (1429-1481), architect, engineer and sculptor; Francesco Solari (1430-1475), architect and sculptor; Pietro Antonio Solari (1445-1493), architect and sculptor who worked in Moscow; Andrea Solari (1465-1524), painter who worked in France and Italy; and Cristoforo Solari (1468-1524), architect and sculptor. A branch of the Solari Family moved to Venice and changed their name to Lombardo.

• Tencalla Family - Family of artists and architects from Bissone who worked in Auastria, Germany, Poland, Czechia and Italy. Members of the family included Giovanni Giacomo Tencalla (1591-1653), architect and sculptor of the royal courts of Vienna and Poland; Costante Tencalla (1593-1646), architect of the Royal Court of Poland; Carpoforo Tencalla (1623-1685), painter who helped introduce Early Baroque style in Central Europe; Giovanni Pietro Tencalla (1629-1702), architect and sculptor of the Royal Court of Vienna; Giacomo Tencalla (1644-1689), painter who worked in Czechia; and Carpoforo Mazzetti Tencalla (1685-1743), painter, sculptor and stuccoist in Venice.

• Trefogli Family - Family of painters, artisans, architects and engineers from Torricella who worked in Piedmont and Peru in the 19th and 20th centuries. The most notable member of the family was Marco Antonio Trefogli (1782-1854), painter and stuccoist. He had 11 children, including Michele Trefogli (1838-1928), architect, engineer and State Architect of Peru; Bernardo Trefogli, painter; Paolo Trefogli, architect and engineer; and Camillo Trefogli, merchant.

• Trezzini Family - Family of architects from Astano who worked in Russia in the 18th century. The most important member of the family was Domenico Trezzini (1670-1734), who introduced the baroque style to Russia. Other members included Pietro Antonio Trezzini (1692-1760), Carlo Giuseppe Trezzini (1697-1768), Pietro Trezzini (1710-1734), Matteo Trezzini (1710-1750) and Giuseppe Trezzini (1732-1785). The last notable member was Angelo Trezzini (1827-1904), painter, lithographer and illustrator in Milan.

History of Grigioni

Grigioni, also known as Graubünden or Grisons, is a canton of Switzerland and a historical Italian region currently divided between Italian-speaking, Romansh-speaking and German-speaking populations. The cantons of Ticino and Grigioni together form Svizzera Italiana or Italian Switzerland.

In ancient times the area of southern and eastern Switzerland was inhabited by a group of tribes known as the Rhaetians. The Rhaetians were the descendants of Etruscans who had settled in the Alps after being driven out of Italy by Gallic invaders in the 4th century BC. The Rhaetians derived their name from Retus or Rhetus, an Etruscan leader from ancient Tuscany who led his people into exile across the Rhaetian Alps. The area inhabited by the Rhaetians included what is today the Canton of Grigioni, part of the Canton of Ticino, Trentino, Tyrol, and other Alpine areas stretching from northeastern Italy to southern Germany.

The names of the tribes that inhabited what is now Grigioni included the Calucones in Val Calanca, the Rugusci in the Upper Engadine Valley, the Suanetes in Valle di Schams, who are also said to have lived in Val Soana in Piedmont, and the Vennoneti, who are also said to have lived in Valtellina, Lombardy. They all belonged to the Rhaetian family of tribes.

Grigioni was Romanized by the time of Augustus and most of its territory was part of the Roman province of Rhaetia. The Romans founded minor towns such as Magia (Maienfeld), Lapidaria (Andeer) and Tinetione (Tinizong), and major cities such as Curia (Chur), which is today the capital of Grigioni. Ever since the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180), the province of Rhaetia was defended and governed by the Legio III Italica, a legion of the Roman army composed of Italian legionaries. In 292 AD Rhaetia officially was made part of Italy by Emperor Diocletian, who divided the province into Raetia Prima and Raetia Secunda and incorporated them into the Diocese of Italy. Rhaetia became part of Italy during the same time period as the islands of Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily and Malta.

The area of what is now Grigioni remained part of Italy for the next several hundred years. Even after the fall of Rome, Grigioni remained part of Italy during the Gothic period (5th-6th century). In this period Grigioni formed part of Raetia Curiensis (the old Raetia Prima), which was nominally part of the Kingdom of Italy under the Ostrogoths.

In 536 Grigioni with the rest of Raetia Curiensis was conquered by the Franks and became separated from Italy. However — due to its isolation — Roman law, language, culture and identity prevailed in the region throughout the Middle Ages. In the 7th, 8th and 9th centuries the most powerful family of Raetia Curiensis was the Victorids (also known as the Zacconi), an ancient Roman aristocratic family who ruled the region and kept Raetia Curiensis in a state of de facto independence from the Frankish Empire. The Victorids were both secular and religious rulers, simultaneously occupying the bishopric of Chur and holding political power in Raetia Curiensis, using the title of Praeses.

In 806 Charlemagne ordered the separation of the bishopric from the political office and appointed a count to rule Raetia Curiensis. The Carolingian counts began to encroach and usurp authority in the region, leading to a struggle between the Carolingians and the Victorids. After the death of the last Victorid (Victor III, bishop of Chur) in c. 833, ancient Roman power in Raetia Curiensis was finally broken.

Ecclesiastically, Grigioni was still linked to Italy. Christianity had spread to Rhaetia from Italy as early as the 2nd century, and the bishopric of Chur was under the territorial jurisdiction of the archdiocese of Milan since at least the 5th century. It was not until 843 — about a decade after the death of the last Victorid — that the bishopric of Chur was detached from Milan and became a suffragan of the archdiocese of Mainz.

Politically, Raetia Curiensis remained a separate county within the Carolingian Empire and later East Francia, ruled by Alemannic counts. In 917 it was attached to the Duchy of Swabia by Burchard II, Duke of Swabia and Count of Rhaetia. In 962 Raetia Curiensis became part of the Holy Roman Empire and remained subject to the Dukes of Swabia.

Between the 10th and 11th centuries Raetia Curiensis was divided into three new counties and ceased to exist. Although formally belonging to the Duchy of Swabia, for the next few centuries political power in the region was split between various feudal lords, barons, counts, abbots and the Prince-Bishop of Chur. The Duchy of Swabia was dissolved in 1268 and local feudal lords fought for control over the territory. In the 14th century the citizens of the valley communities in Grigioni began to create alliances to defend themselves from local and foreign rulers.

By the 15th century Grigioni was divided into three independent leagues: the League of God's House, the League of the Ten Jurisdictions and the Grey League (from which Grigioni takes its name; grigio means gray in Italian). In 1471 these three leagues joined together to form the Free State of the Three Leagues, which was de facto independent from the Holy Roman Empire. The alliance was formed primarily to resist the power of the Habsburgs, the Prince-Bishopric of Chur and local feudal lords. In 1524 the Three Leagues formalized its independence. The Three Leagues became an associate or ally of the Swiss Confederacy, but remained independent of the Swiss Confederacy for the next three centuries.

The Three Leagues was conquered by Napoleon in 1798 and lost its independence; it was renamed the Canton of Raetia and annexed to the Helvetic Republic — a client state of Napoleon's French Empire. With the Act of Mediation in 1803, the canton was renamed Grigioni (Graubünden in German; Grisons in French) and became part of the restored Swiss Confederation — another client state of Napoleon's French Empire. Modern Switzerland was created in 1848 as a federal state, with Grigioni as one of its 25 cantons, after the end of the Sonderbund Civil War of 1847. Since that date Grigioni has remained part of Switzerland and has come to be regarded as "Swiss".


Grigioni Italiano

The southern valleys of Grigioni (Val Bregaglia, Val Calanca, Val Mesolcina and Val Poschiavo) form part of a sub-region known as Grigioni Italiano or Italian Grigioni. These southern parts of Grigioni are geographically separated from the rest of Grigioni by the Lepontine Alps, and also have a different political history than the rest of Grigioni. These parts of Grigioni remained linked to Italy for a significantly longer period of time before becoming part of the Three Leagues in the 15th and 16th centuries.

A summarized history of some of the most notable towns of Grigioni Italiano:

• Poschiavo was part of ancient Italy since the 1st century BC and was included in the 11th region of Italy, known as Transpadana. It was part of the Kingdom of Italy since the 5th century and belonged to the territory of Como. In the 10th century it was separated from Italy and became a subject of the Bishop of Chur. In the 11th and 12th centuries it was disputed over by Como, Chur and the lords of Mazia. In 1175 the rights of Como were recognized by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. By 1200 Poschiavo was a free commune. It returned to Como from 1306-1338. It was part of the Duchy of Milan from 1350-1406. In 1408 it became a subject of the Prince-Bishop of Chur. After 1494 it joined the League of God's House and became part of the Three Leagues.

• Brusio was part of ancient Italy since the 1st century BC and was included in the 11th region of Italy, known as Transpadana. It was part of the Kingdom of Italy since the 5th century and belonged to the territory of Tirano. By 1212 it was a free commune. It was part of the Duchy of Milan from 1350-1406. In 1408 it became a subject of the Prince-Bishop of Chur. After 1494 it joined the League of God's House and became part of the Three Leagues. 

• Campocologno was part of ancient Italy since the 1st century BC and was included in the 11th region of Italy, known as Transpadana. It was part of the Kingdom of Italy since the 5th century and belonged to the territory of Tirano. It was part of the Duchy of Milan from 1350-1521. In 1521 it was annexed to Brusio and became part of the Three Leagues. 

• Bregaglia was part of ancient Italy since the 1st century BC and belonged to the prefecture of Como (included in the 11th region of Italy, known as Transpadana). After 350 it was administratively transferred to Raetia Prima. It was part of the Kingdom of Italy since the 5th century. In the 9th century it was separated from Italy and became a district of Raetia Curiensis. In 960 it became a subject of the Bishop of Chur. By 1100 Bregaglia was a free commune. In 1367 it joined the League of God's House, which later formed the Three Leagues, but the Prince-Bishop of Chur retained strong political power. In 1546 Bregaglia made Italian the official language and aspired towards independence, but remained part of the Three Leagues.

• Calanca, Mesocco, Soazza and Roveredo were part of ancient Italy since the 1st century BC and were included in the 11th region of Italy, known as Transpadana. They were part of the Kingdom of Italy since the 5th century. By 1137 Calanca, Mesocco, Soazza and Roveredo were fiefdoms of the De Sacco family. In 1480 the De Sacco sold their rights to Gian Giacomo Trivulzio of Milan. Also in 1480 Mesocco and Soazza joined the Grey League with the permission of Trivulzio and became part of the Three Leagues. In 1496 Calanca likewise joined the Grey League and became part of the Three Leagues. The towns of Calanca, Mesocco, Soazza, Roveredo and the surrounding territory remained locally ruled by the Trivulzio family until 1549.

Germanization of Grigioni

Together with the Italian-speakers, the Romansh are the native peoples of Grigioni. The Romansh are an Italian people by origin, descended from the ancient Rhaetians (Etruscans) and Italian colonists who settled the Alps during the Roman period. But instead of standard Italian or Lombard dialect, which is spoken by the natives of Grigioni Italiano and the neighboring Canton of Ticino, they speak Romansh, a set of Latin dialects that developed after the fall of Rome. Romansh is part of the Rhaeto-Romance language subgroup and is closely related to the Ladin and Friulian dialects of Italy.

Romansh territory historically extended as far as Lake Constance and even included parts of the modern cantons of Schwyz, Glarus and St. Gallen, Liechtenstein and western Austria (Tyrol and Vorarlberg). Migrations of Germans during the High Middle Ages (11th-13th centuries) together with German political domination (Carolingian Empire and Holy Roman Empire) and German ecclesiastical control (Prince-Bishops and Imperial Abbeys) caused the Germanic-Latin boundary to move farther south at the expense of Latins. Today — and for the last few centuries — Romansh territory is limited only to Grigioni.

Until the 13th century the only languages spoken in Grigioni were Italian and Romansh. However, in the 13th and 14th centuries Walser and Alemannic Germans immigrated to Grigioni, especially to the areas of Scanavico (Schanfigg) and Prettigovia-Tavate (Prättigau-Davos), which were Germanized between the 14th and 16th centuries. As a result of these migrations, in the course of the next few centuries Romansh territory within Grigioni gradually shrank. This can be observed in the history of several towns:

• Tavate (Davos) was a Romansh town until the arrival of Walser Germans around the year 1280. 

• Maiavilla (Maienfeld) was also historically a Romansh town. In the 14th century Walser German immigrants arrived and founded several villages. Initially the German migrants were not granted the rights of citizenship, but by the 16th century the entire town was Germanized. 

• Tosana (Thusis), in the Tumleastga Valley, was a Romansh town, but became German in the 16th-17th centuries. Several other towns of the Tumleastga Valley became Germanized in the 19th century. 

• The city of Chur was a Romansh city until the 16th century, but was governed by German Prince-Bishops who held both ecclesiastical and temporal power since the 9th century. In 1464 the city was nearly completely destroyed by fire. After the fire, a large number of German immigrants from Vorarlberg and Liechtenstein moved to Chur. Formerly the most important Romansh city and capital of the Three Leagues, the Romansh became a minority in Chur and it became Germanized following the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. 

• San Maurizio (St. Moritz), located in the Upper Engadine Valley, was entirely a Romansh village until recent times. In the 19th century German immigrants moved into the village. By 1880 only 50% of the population in San Maurizio still spoke Romansh as a first language. By 1941 only 20% spoke Romansh. The number declined to 8% in 1970, 6.23% in 1990 and 4.72% in 2000. Italian was also a prevalent language in San Maurizio, but has likewise declined. In 1900 Italian was spoken by 31% of the population. The number of Italian-speakers declined to 27.25 % in 1980, 21.32% in 1990 and 22.83% in 2000. German is now the official language.

The most severe Germanization of Grigioni took place in the 19th and 20th centuries, and is still continuing today. The official censuses of Grigioni reveal radical changes in population in the 209 years between 1803 and 2012. There is a sharp decrease in the Romance-speaking population and an overwhelming increase of German-speakers, due in part to German immigration, and in part to Italians and Romansh people abandoning their native languages and adopting German. This can be seen in the population statistics:

• In 1803 the overall population of Grigioni was about 64% Romance and about 36% German (36,700 Romansh-speakers; c. 10,276 Italian-speakers; c. 26,424 German-speakers). 

• In 1910 the overall population of Grigioni was 50% Romance and 50% German (37,147 Romansh-speakers; 20,963 Italian-speakers; 58,465 German-speakers). 

• In 2012 the overall population of Grigioni was 26% Romance and 74% German (27,955 Romansh-speakers; 23,506 Italian-speakers; 143,015 German-speakers).

Over the years, attempts have been made by the Swiss government to Germanize the Italian cantons and eliminate the Italian-Romansh character of Ticino and Gigioni. Historically, the Old Swiss Confederacy established in the 13th century was composed only of German-speaking cantons. But over the course of the next few centuries, the German cantons expanded and conquered Francophone, Italian and Romansh territories. The Germans formed much of the ruling political class and the majority of the federal government; they favoured the centralization of the state and German immigration to the Romance cantons, and in the the 20th century assured that German became the dominant language of the mass media, business and popular culture in Switzerland.

Unlike Ticino, which has retained its Italian heritage and identity, Grigioni has been subjected to a slow and steady process of Germanization over the last few centuries, and a rapid Germanization in the last two centuries. As proven by official censuses, the Canton of Grigioni, up until the early 19th century, was primarily Romance-speaking (Romansh and Italian). However, a wave of immigration of Germans to Grigioni, which caused German to become the language of industry, together with strict enforcement of the German language by the government and education system, caused the Romance population of Grigioni to drop from 64% in 1803, to 50% in 1910, and to only 26% in 2012 (less than 1% of the total Swiss population), while German-speakers today dominate Grigioni at 74%.

Despite the overwhelming majority of the population being Italian and Romansh at the time of its creation, the official language of government in the Three Leagues was German from about 1524 until 1794, although Italian and Romansh were used in law and courts in places where it was locally spoken. In 1794 Italian and Romansh were finally recognized as official languages by the Three Leagues. German intellectuals and politicians in the 18th and 19th centuries ridiculed Romansh as a "peasant language" and encouraged the Germanization of Grigioni. In the 19th century, after Grigioni became part of Switzerland for the first time, German public schools were often opened in Romansh towns, forcing Romansh children to receive a German education. In the second half of the 19th century the Romansh population began to form organizations to resist Germanization and defend local Romansh language and culture. But as recently as the 1930's children were publicly punished and ostracized for learning Romansh and attending privately-funded Romansh schools.

Romansh was not recognized as a national language by the Swiss government until 1938. However, the government made a distinction between "national" and "official" languages: declaring Romansh a "national language" was merely a symbolic act and did not carry any official status in law. As recently as the 1980's it was still considered insulting and degrading to speak Romansh in parliament. Not until 1996 was Romansh finally partially recognized as an official language with limitations. That is to say, its use was recognized "when interacting with Romansh-speaking people". It was not until 2004 that Romansh became an official language of legally equal status with the other official languages in the Canton of Grigioni.

Although Italian and Romansh are both official languages in Grigioni today, German is also an official language, making Grigioni the only trilingual canton in Switzerland. Even though the three languages now have equal status, German still takes precedence over the native Italian and Romansh languages due to social stigmas following decades of Germanization policies by the government, and due to German-speakers now being the majority of the population. The German language also continues to permeate business, politics and the mass media. The German language also continues to permeate business, politics and the mass media. As demonstrated by the surnames, much of the population of Grigioni is still of ethnic Romansh origin, but now speaks Germans instead of Romansh.

Due to recent immigration, several foreign languages are now more prevalent in Switzerland than the Romansh language: Serbo-Croatian, Albanian, Portuguese, Spanish, English and even Turkish are all more widely-spoken in Switzerland today than Romansh.


Germanization of Grigioni Italiano

Grigioni Italiano is comprised of four valleys (Val Bregaglia, Val Calanca, Val Mesolcina, Val Poschiavo) and the town of Bivio in Val Sursette. The population is over 85% Italian. The inhabitants traditionally speak a local Italian dialect of Lombard instead of Romansh. Grigioni Italiano has not suffered Germanization as strongly as the rest of Grigioni. However, attempts have been made for a long time to Germanize the region.

In 1869-1870 the towns of Brusio and Poschiavo — the last-remaining parts of Grigioni which were still part of the Catholic Church in Italy — were detached from the Italian diocese of Como and placed under the Swiss-German diocese of Chur, thereby officially ending the millennial ecclesiastical link between Grigioni and Italy, and granting to Chur the jurisdiction over the entire region which they had ambitiously sought for centuries.

Pro Grigioni Italiano, an Italian cultural association, was founded by Arnoldo Marcelliano Zendralli in 1918 to defend the Italianity of Grigioni and oppose the Germanization of the Canton.

Bivio was historically an Italian city and remained Italian until very recently. In 1860, Italian was spoken by 80% of the population. In 1980, 42% of Bivio still spoke Italian. By 2000 the Italian-speaking population decreased to 29.41% and the German-speaking population rose from 36.97% in 1980 to 55% in 2000. In 2005 the German-speaking community — now a majority for the first time — changed the official language of Bivio from Italian to German, replacing the ancient language of the town.

Grigioni Italiano is in danger of losing its Italian heritage. Although Italians still make up about 85% of the population, Italians were formerly 100% of the population, and the current Italian population amounts to less than 15,000 people. The ancient Italian populace is gradually disappearing, and a combination of cultural Germanization and foreign immigration is threatening them with eventual extinction or absorption into the larger German and Germanized population.

A similar fate which has befallen Grigioni has also happened to the Canton of Valais, which was once entirely Romance in population. The very name 'Valais' (Wallis in German) shares the same origin as the terms 'Walloon', 'Welsh' and 'Vlach', each deriving from the proto-Germanic term walhaz, a name which the Germanic invaders applied to the local Roman populations. Although formerly inhabited only by Latin-speaking people, now the eastern half of Valais is almost entirely German. Both Grigioni Italiano and the larger Canton of Grigioni are facing the same eventual fate as Valais.


Notable Italians

Like the neighboring Ticino, many Italian artists, architects and craftsmen came from Grigioni. Many of them worked in Germany and Austria. Below are some of the most important Italians from Grigioni:

• Carlo Angelini - Architect
• Giacomo Angelini - Architect
• Giovanni Albertalli (Giovanni Albertallo) - Architect
• Giovanni Battista Artari - Sculptor
• Giovanni Bonalino - Architect
• Alberto Camesina - Stuccoist
• Giovanni Battista Camessina - Architect
• Tommaso Comacio - Architect
• Guido Fanconi - Pediatrician and one of the founders of modern pediatrics
• Gabriele de Gabrieli - Architect
• Francesco de Gabrieli - Architect and stuccoist
• Paganino Gaudenzi - Theologian
• Giovanni Rigalia the Elder - Architect
• Giovanni Rigalia the Younger (Giovanni Pietro Rigaglia) - Architect
• Antonio Riva - Architect
• Domenico Maria Sala - Architect
• Lorenzo Sciascia - Architect
• Giovanni Serro - Architect
• Elda Simonett-Giovanoli - Journalist
• Giovanni Simonetti - Architect and stuccoist
• Giovanni Antonio Viscardi - Architect
• Giorgio Genatio (Jenatsch) - Politician and military commander

(Giorgio Genatio was of Romansh origin. His native language was a Romansh dialect known as Putér. He learned multiple languages, but wrote primarily in Italian and consistently called himself Giorgio in his letters. His original surname was Genatio or Jenatz — he used both the Italian and Romansh forms in his signatures. His name has been popularly Germanized to "Jürg Jenatsch" due to the influence of a 19th century novel by Conrad Ferdinand Meyer, who changed his name from Giorgio to Jürg in order to appeal to German readers.)

There have also been several prominent families from Grigioni:

• Barbieri Family - The Barbieri were a family of architects and builders from Roveredo. In the 17th and 18th centuries the family produced five architects: Alberto Barbieri (c. 1580-1645); Martino Barbieri (1583-1633); Giulio Barbieri (c. 1610-1681); Domenico Barbieri (c. 1615-1686); and Giovanni Domenico Barbieri (1704-1764).

• Giacometti Family - The Giacometti were a family of artists and architects in the 19th and 20th centuries. The most notable members of the family were: Giovanni Giacometti (1868-1933), a painter; Augusto Giacometti (1877-1947), a painter; Zaccaria Giacometti (1893-1970), a professor of constitutional law; Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966), a sculptor, painter, draughtsman and printmaker; Diego Giacometti (1902-1985), a sculptor and designer; Bruno Giacometti (1907-2012), an architect.

• Planta Family - The Planta family is one of the most ancient families of Grigioni. The family is of Roman origin and likely belonged to the senatorial class. Their oldest recorded ancestor is Julius Planta, a friend and emissary of Emperor Claudius, whose name is recorded on the 1st century Tabula clesiana, discovered near Cles in Trentino, Italy. Another ancient member of the family, Pompeius Planta, is mentioned on an inscription discovered in Balbura, Anatolia. Pompeius Planta was the Roman Procurator of Asia Minor under Emperor Vespasian. A second Pompeius Planta (perhaps the same as the first) was the Roman governor of Egypt from 98-100 AD and was a friend of Emperor Trajan. A third Pompeius Planta, mentioned by Probus, was a Roman historian in the 2nd century. Lucius Avilius Planta, another ancient member of the family, is commemorated on an inscription in Rome from the year 90 AD. The oldest Planta recorded in Grigioni's history is Orsicinus or Ursicinus, bishop of Chur in the 5th century. Another bishop of Chur, also named Ursicinus, is venerated as a saint. He was the founding abbot of Desertina (Disentis) in the 8th century and also belonged to the Planta family. An Angelina Planta was abbess of the Abbey of Monastero (Müstair) in 1110. The modern history of the Planta family began in 1139, when they obtained feudal rights in the Upper Engadine. The Planta family was later one of the co-founders of the Three Leagues. A branch of the family lived in Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Planta family still exists today in Switzerland.

• Salis Family - The Salis or De Salis family first appeared in Grigioni at the end of the 13th century. The founder of the family was Rodulfus de Salice de Solio (died in 1300). He was a descendant of the Salici, an Italian patrician family from Como. The Salis family became ministeriales of the Prince-Bishops of Chur and occupied many political offices, becoming mayors and governors in Bregaglia and Valtellina. They were also squires and knights, and held many castles in Grigioni. A branch of the family later moved to Britain and adopted the title Count de Salis-Soglio. Another branch of the family adopted the title Count de Salis-Seewis. Descendants of the Salis family still exist today. The most prominent member of the family was Colonel Giovanni Ulrico di Salis-Soglio (Johann-Ulrich von Salis-Soglio), commander of the Sonderbund in the Swiss Civil War of 1847.

• Victorid Family - The Victorid or Zacconi family were bishops of Chur and independent rulers of Raetia Curiensis between the 7th and 9th centuries. The founder of the family was Zacco, a 6th century military commander whose descendants married into the Victorids, a local family of Roman origin. The first member of the family to hold religious office was Victor I, bishop of Chur in c. 614. His brother Jactatus was ruler of Raetia Curiensis. Tello was the first Victorid to simultaneously hold the office of bishop of Chur and ruler of Raetia Curiensis (759-765). The last Victorid ruler was Victor III, bishop of Chur. He died in c. 833.

• Zuccalli Family - The Zuccalli were a family of architects and builders from Roveredo. The most notable member was Enrico Zuccalli (1642-1724), who was the official architect of the Bavarian court and one of the major architects who introduced Italian Baroque architecture to Germany. Other members were Gaspare Zuccalli (1629-1678), Domenico Cristoforo Zuccalli (1650-1702) and Giovanni Gaspare Zuccalli (1661-1717).