There are many reasons not to celebrate Italy's 150th anniversary. For me, the trivial facts like Venice and Rome were not annexed until 1866 and 1870, respectively, or that the first King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy, couldn't speak Italian, are not among them. For many of us the day is a grim reminder of the invasion of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies by Piedmont and the atrocities committed against our ancestors.
I could write about the Fenestrelle death camp, the massacre at Auletta or something similar (there is no shortage of material), but other consequences are just as important. We shouldn't focus exclusively on the negative aspects. We are a people with a rich, vibrant history and plenty to be proud of. The conquest of the Two Sicilies does not define us as a people. We are much more than the losers of the Risorgimento.
It can, unfortunately, be difficult to promote pride in our history when that history is vague to our own people. After unification our culture, history and languages were so repressed that today, even when unintentional, it's done almost by default. This is as much a crime against our people as the bloodshed. Without this knowledge, many people will not understand why we are protesting. We need to help them understand. Instead of simply denouncing unification, we should be commemorating our own Southern Italian heroes, history and traditions to counter it.
All this should be enough to protest the celebrations; however, my main reason is because today’s Italy offers little promise of a better future. Cultural leveling is still occurring. Anti-southern sentiment is still common, as is political and economic domination from the north. Movements that do address our situation often ally us to detrimental or foreign causes. In modern Italy, everyone seems to be using us to their own benefit, and not ours.
Italy's upcoming centocinquantenario stinks of desperation and chicanery. It's reminiscent of the mock plebiscites (and their predetermined outcomes) used to "legitimize" the military conquest and colonization of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Lacking any real substance, the state-sponsored celebrations simply serve as momentary distractions from lurid government scandals and urgent national issues: economic inequality, corruption, waste disposal, immigration, declining birthrates, etc.
Thankfully, the occasion is helping to galvanize southern Italian consciousness and the desire for historical truth. Protests were organized against the Lombroso Museum in Turin and Garibaldi's landing in Marsala; commemorations for the victims of Savoyard brutalities were held in Pontelondolfo and Gaeta; and an impressive show of force was mobilized at the San Paolo football stadium, where scores of tifosi flew the flag of our ancient Regno in opposition to the unpopular anniversary.
While not yet reaching the point of an all-out revolt, more and more southerners are no longer willing to meekly accept the status quo. They're actively working towards greater autonomy and self-determination. Hopefully this awakening won't just lead to a superficial change in government (Left or Right), where we could expect more of the same lies and broken promises, but instead into a true attempt to found a new southern homeland.
It would be poetic justice if the event meant to celebrate so-called "national unity" was the impetus needed to achieve southern independence.
Forza e onore!
