Two weeks have passed since the posting of the last Interlude dedicated to Rome (Interlude 40: Confutatis Maledictis) , and
@Tarabas and I apologize for having left you with a cliffhanger for so long. There are reasons for this delay: the most obvious has to do with the demands of RL, but it was also necessary to delve more deeply into the political situation in Rome, and decide the best and most credible way to narrate the events in Rome during the momentous month of April 1848.
We hope you will be happy to know that the preparation is mostly completed, and the story is ready to be told.
In this particular case, we are going to change the format: the Roman events will be narrated as entries in the diaries of Count Terenzio Mamiani della Rovere (a liberal and federalist patriot born in Pesaro in 1799, who participated in the insurrections of 1831 and after their failure was condemned to exile by the Papal Government. Mamiani spent most of his exile in Paris, where he became friend of Princess Belgioioso, prof. Ferrari and Signor Gioberti as well as of other Italian expatriates there. Mamiani was allowed to return to Rome in September 1847, in occasion of the death of his brother, and became involved in the Roman politics. His (fictional) diary gives a good perspective both of the events and of his political collocation).
The events of April 1848 will be under the title "Facilis Descensus Averno" [which is usually translated as "the road to Avernus is easy" or even "the road to Hell is smooth"] but it does not portend disasters or chaos. The quote is from Book VI of the Aeneid, by Vergil. Aeneas has reached Italy fleeing from the fall of Troy, and has landed near Naples. Not being sure what he has to do, he seeks enlightenment from the Sybil of Cuma, a priestess of the Apollonian oracle there. The Sybil leads him down the slopes of lake Avernus, a volcanic lake near to Cuma which was traditionally believed to be the door to the Underworld. After entering the Underworld, Aeneas meets the shadow of his father Anchises, who reveals to him the future history of Rome (without even saying "Spoiler Alert"
). After this revelation, Anchises leads Aeneas and the Sybil to the "eburnean door" which gives access to the world of the living, and in just a few more verses Aeneas is back on his ship, sailing towards Latium. It looks like that the road from Hell is even smoother than the road to Hell
, and this is the way the title applies to the events in Rome: there is going to be a swift descent into chaos, and a swifter recovery.
Since there are many things to be narrated in this chapter, it will be broken down into four sub-chapters:
- Noi semo l'assertori der libbero pensiero adesso er cielo è nero ma poi se schiarirà! Viva la libertà! (29 March-11 April)
- Qui nun se move foglia che 'r popolo non voglia chi vo' regna cor boia, da boia morirà! Viva la libertà! (12-16 April)
- Semo tirannicidi, s'armamo de cortello e giù dal piedistallo lì famo ruzzica'! Viva la libertà! (17April)
- E' l'omo che propone, ma 'r popolo dispone: er cane c'ha 'r padrone ma l'omo nun ce l'ha! Viva la libertà, viva la libertà! (18-21 April)
The titles of the sub-chapters are in Roman dialect, from a Jacobin song dating back to the first Roman Republic of 1798, and more or less translate as:
- We are the proponents of free thought: now the sky is dark but it will lighten up! Freedom forever!
- No leaf will fall against the people's will: who reigns by the hangman, with the hangman will die! Freedom forever!
- We are killer of tyrants: let's get our knives and push them down from their pedestal! Freedom forever!
- A man can propose, but only the people can order: a dog has a master, no master for a man! Freedom forever! Freedom forever!
I can assure you that the original verses of the song are much more catchy than it comes out in my poor translation