History passes through Turin 2018

The program of cultural activities carried out by Intesa Sanpaolo at the Turin skyscraper is resumed with three conferences by historian Alessandro Barbero.
The project History passes through Turin, curated by Giulia Cogoli Comunicazione, dedicates three events to the Unification of Italy and in particular to three crucial moments of our story: The Savoy kingdom and Austria, the role of Cavour and Vittorio Emanuele II, the Savoy army and the new Italy.

Thursday 8th November – 6:00 pm
1848: the Savoy kingdom alone against Austria
Once, when some sensational upheaval happened, it was said that “a Forty-eight has happened”. And indeed in 1848 it seemed that Europe, emerging from Restoration, was sinking into revolution. Throughout Italy, in Turin as well as in Rome and Naples, the sovereigns agreed to the constitution, and the capitals of the Austrian Lombardy-Venetia, Milan and Venice, rose up against foreign domination. At the beginning, all of Italy was to take part in the war that followed, but in fact Carlo Alberto’s Piedmont was left almost alone to fight it. His army was weaker than the Austrian one and the great generals were missing while on the other side there was one: Radetzky. Yet the result was not obvious.

Thursday 15th November – 6:00 pm
1859: Cavour and Vittorio Emanuele II unify Italy
Eleven years later, the Second War of Independence was exactly like the first: same, identical theater, only factors changed. Thanks to the plot woven by Cavour, the Piedmontese had at their side the French army, considered the best in the world, and certainly the most enthusiastic. Vittorio Emanuele II was not a more skilled general than his father Carlo Alberto, even if he believed he was. But Napoleon III presented himself as the heir of his great namesake, and the world really believed it. On the other side, there was no longer the old Radetzky, but a young novice emperor, Francesco Giuseppe, who had no intention of renouncing so easily to the Italian possessions inherited from his ancestors.

Thursday 22nd November – 6:00 pm
1866: the Savoy army between old Piedmont and new Italy
In 1866 Italy, united for five years, attacked for the third time the secular enemy, Austria, to complete the leap towards the east interrupted seven years earlier by the armistice of Villafranca. This time Lombardy was the starting point of the invasion and the enemy was forced from the beginning into the fortresses of the Quadrilateral. The Italians had the numerical superiority as well as generals confident of victory. But in war there are many factors that can change even an apparently already written outcome: a too ambitious strategic plan, the rivalries between generals who behave like first women, the atavistic defects of a country where it is considered wise not to take responsibility.

Free admission until all seats are taken, but advanced reservation is required and available on our website according to the following scheduling:
  -  first appointment from Friday 2nd November
  -  second appointment from Friday 9th November
  -  third appointment from Friday 16th November