Presentation of the book. Prof.G. The Gullino MARQUES Presentation of the book tells the story of MANFREDINI FEDERICO G. Giantin
Professor Giuseppe Gullino, Faculty of History, University of Padova.
There are moments in which the history, instead of walking, it starts to run, one of the most famous of these sudden acceleration is given by the joint that the underlying view of the 'ancien régime and the unrelenting Napoleonic: convulsive years, where the new and the old world and the forceful at times added together sometimes canceled, however, always raising a fuss that prevented a clear perception of reality even to the most prudent expert prepared. This climate was fully crossed by the Marquis Federico Manfredini (Rovigo 1743 - Campoverardo 1829), which for almost half a century he served in the service of the Habsburg political and diplomatic positions of great responsibility. His was an old noble family that derived from Estes (1228), Frederick, driven by his father and canonical Count Girolamo Silvestri and agronomist, he completed his education at the college of nobles in Modena, then went to 'Accademia in Florence. In Tuscany Habsburg was able to create useful knowledge that led him to Vienna, was being the Seven Years' War and Manfredini could be employed in the regiment Botta (even by opening a company, duly paid for and maintained by the father, as s 'was used), who followed in Carniola. The peace, however, was near, but meanwhile Manfredini had the opportunity to get noticed by Maria Teresa is well known that the Viennese court, as the seat of the Holy Roman Empire, grew a supranational vocation and chose his men regardless of nationality: by way of example and limited to the Italians, during the Eighteenth century, the music teacher was Antonio Salieri, the poet laureate Apostolo Zeno and Metastasio, the general Eugene of Savoy (and, earlier, Raymond Montecuccoli), Antonio Botta Adorno and others, the Archbishop of Vienna, then, was the cardinal Antonio Migazzi.
The environment, therefore offering good availability, but Manfredini depended on the fortunes of an unforeseeable event, namely the death of the second wife of the future Emperor Joseph II, who had no children. It was therefore possible that one day the succession to the throne would have touched the younger brother of Joseph, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Pietro Leopoldo, and then some of the many sons of the latter. Manfredini was able to cleverly fit into this family strategy and obtained the appointment of "tutor", ie small escort of Hapsburg came to Florence in June 1763 and retained the post for fifteen years.
But not forgetting its original military purpose, so in 1788 he took part with the imperial troops in the conquest of Belgrade in the course of one of the many wars that marked Austrian Turkish ¬ the last two centuries of the modern age. Joseph II died in 1790 and succeeded him on the imperial throne was called, as expected, his brother, Grand Duke of Tuscany by the name of Leopold II, two years later it went down into the tomb, the imperial crown passed to his eldest son Francis, next to which the Manfredini had lived many years in Florence. In memory of long-serving honorably provided, therefore touched the governorship of the province of Salzburg. To stop the flow of a well-established career, and probably intended to further recognition, however, came the Napoleonic adventure. Already in 1789 the French Revolution broke out, after which nothing would be more like the first, seven years after the army "Jacobin" invaded Italy under the command of twenty-six Bonaparte.
Manfredini was part of the directors of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand, in front of so many upheavals and the collapse of the Italian States, he suggested caution. Florence, though aided by Vienna and London (Livorno was an emporium English, British naval base in practice), then Florence was not able to stand up in Paris, so that the Manfredini maneuvered to a policy of neutrality. But the events in June 1797 and rushed the French came in Tuscany Manfredini had an interview with Napoleon, Bologna, and was fascinated by the genius of evil: he was to occupy Livorno and yet a man able and experienced how our believed its false assurances and returned to Florence, full of admiration for the "justice" of the commander in chief and his "penetrantissima mind."
was the beginning of the ruin; Livorno fell into the hands of the French, however, Manfredini had new jobs by the Habsburgs, was in Austria and Sicily, but in a succession of increasingly frustrating misunderstanding and partial rehabilitation, until in 1809 he asked and obtained permission to retire to private life, to Campoverardo, where he would live more than twenty years, devoting most of his time drafting of pleadings.
He was sincerely devoted to the Empire, the Habsburgs and the values \u200b\u200bthey represent (not a word, however, about the end of the Serenissima, who was his country) was a good Catholic (his unequivocal condemnation of the Synod of Pistoia wanted Scipione de 'Ricci, 1786), in short was full of man' ancien regime, but never a reactionary. Under this' aspect is more like Peter Leopold Joseph II, and perhaps for that reason he could not condemn the necessary political determination the star of Napoleon.
Two words on the text. The style is vaguely Alfieri and tends emphasis, the period is dry, but too often obscure and convoluted. Being an autobiography clearly meant to carry out their work, some dark, regular lack of exact dates that may help the clarification, or at least the identification of characters and stories, all this, I said, is attributable to a short period time elapsed between the events described and the time of writing, which occurred in the last years of life Manfredini, and maybe a little more to desire - humanly comprehensible - not too edifying episodes of concealing or poor choice.
Giantin James has had the generosity (And patience, given the long practice of reading a large manuscript handwriting from nothin 'at all calligraphic) hours to publish the memoirs. This material, to the large amount of unpublished information it contains, has the merit of establishing a new contribution to our understanding of age and crucial not fail to be used constructively by researchers, while he is working as fascinating reading to the widest audience of all those who love history.
Giuseppe Gullino.
September 2006.
