Primavera d'Italia: War, Love and Revolution
- Thread starter Tarabas
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Not exactly Old Ferdie is still there and Pius IX is still the Pope.
pls don't ban me
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this letter might end up in a museum because of the signing.
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I had no thought about this possibility, but I would say it's very likely. 1848 will be the true founding myth o TTL Italy, so I can imagine a lot of related museums and memorials, as well as, a true collection of the memorabilia of this fateful year.
To be honest, Carlo Alberto removed himself from the field when he granted Ferdinando the Lieutenancy and the role of commander in chief.
It may have come as a surprise to many, but, as @Tarabas has pointed out, Carlo Alberto always felt that he was unworthy to be a king, and saw himself as a regent for his older son
Not to mention the Grand Duke of Tuscany, and the Dukes of Parma and Modena ( both of whom abandoned their lands, but have not yet abdicated).
I have a feeling that just one of the five is going to prosper: care to guess whom?
Our reformed "duchino"?
Nice way to go for Carlo Felice, knowing your country and your descendants are on the rise (at least a little bit of peace of mind) and, obviously, amazing letter!
Actually the father of our semi-reformed duchino, Carlo II di Borbone Parma, who is at the moment in exile in Florence and has not yet abdicated in favor of Ferdinando Carlo.
I was thinking that Ferdinando Carlo will not changing his name when (if?) he will get the crown of Cispadania. Ferdinando Carlo I di Borbone Parma, which would be a way to signal a break with the past (and also to do a little brownnosing, of course). But as of mid May, Ferdinando Carlo is still in Dobardo', and can think just of Rosalinda
It is, I don't think a king (and a father) can die at a happier moment: in peace with himself and with God, knowing that both his son and his daughter are on secure thrones and knowing also that all the country is on the rise.
Compare this letter with Carlo Alberto's state of mind in Narrative Interlude #1, when he felt overwhelmed by events, chained by the oath Carlo Felice extorted from him on his death bed in 1831, and wishing only to abdicate a crown he never felt he truly deserved.
Anyway, you made a little mistake, the letter is written by Carlo Alberto, not Carlo Felice who was his predecessor on the throne. I don't blame you, the names given to the princes of Savoy are confusing enough
Tuscany is set up for being one of the states with the calmest 1848, if the situation at Leighorn's port does not go downhill as it did IOTL. Without OTL escape to Gaeta and subsequent 10 years of "reactionary" government, Leopold is likely to be fondly remembered as "the Good Granduke", a patriot and champion of democracy in Tuscany.
As a matter of fact, he was not really much disliked by his subjects even after the repression of the '50s IOTL (which in any case was mostly driven by Austrian troops which had invaded the Legations and Tuscany in early May 1849; the Grand Duke, after his return to Florence, suspended and then cancelled the Constitution granted in February 1848, but after the departure of the Austrians the repression ceased). At the time of the Tuscan insurrection in 1859, the Grand Duke didn't even try to oppose it, and left with the family in a coach, directed to the Adriatic coast and then by ship to Trieste.
The population of Florence lined on the road taken by the coach, and they were mostly shouting: "Arrivederci, sor Granduca".
Anyway, the most popular nickname for the Grand Duke was "Canapone", with reference to his very large nose; his son and heir was nicknamed "Canapino", of course.
Yes, there were even some calling him "Babbo Leopoldo" when he left Florence. He did not even left any disposition for the government AFAIK. I guess he could not trust any reformist drive anymore, or simply followed Vienna's orders. Be as it may, he was a pretty decent man, likely the best Italian ruler of his generation.
Babbo Leopoldo was a decent monarch, but he had to cope with two failed insurrections, 1831 and 1848, and he was not the man fit for the times (also because both times the Austrians intervened and sent troops to Tuscany who were under direct orders from Vienna, not from Florence.
Babbo Leopoldo was a good person and a good ruler, but his hands were tied by Vienna. I think the new situatio will make him breath more easily.
He was a decent ruler in normal times, but he sucked when there was a crisis. I do agree that the new developments in Italy should be to his taste
Although, his move in OTL 1848 of faking an illness and meeting the Florentine envoys in his bed and bedclothes to prove that claim while planning to escape, was pure Italian genius (sort of).
I would describe his ploy as "animal cunning", and I would never describe his escape to Gaeta as the proper way to confront a constitutional crisis.Although, his move in OTL 1848 of faking an illness and meeting the Florentine envoys in his bed and bedclothes to prove that claim while planning to escape, was pure Italian genius (sort of).
Therefore, I can only reconfirm my opinion: he was never any good at crisis management 😏
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