Il soldato cristiano. Religione e valore militare in un manuale veneziano del 1848

• Published in: Annali della Scuola normale superiore di Pisa, Classe di lettere e filosofia Classe di lettere e filosofia, 2017-01, Vol.9 (2), p.465-491
• Main Author: Tonolo, Giovanni
• Format: Article
• Language: Italian
• Subjects: Studi e ricerche
• ISSN: 0392-095X

The essay analyses the manual entitled Il soldato cristiano written by the patriarch of Venice Jacopo Monico in November 1848. In doing so, it aims to fill the cognitive gap, corresponding to the period between the Restoration and the unification of Italy, in the history of the literary genre constituted by religious tracts for the army. Firstly, it demonstrates through archival sources the paternity of the tract, which was published anonymously. Then it contextualizes the manual, paying particular attention to the patriarch's conduct during the risings of 1848 and to the organization of the military chaplaincy. Finally, through a philological analysis, the essay compares the tract with its model, composed by the Jesuit Giovanni Regoli in 1819, drawing attention to both analogies and semantic drifts. The survey of this tract - which represents the patriarch's attempt to reaffirm the rights of the Church in particularly troubled times - constitutes a case study which is useful for a wider comprehension of historical questions, such as the relations between the Catholic Church and revolution, the Venetian risings of 1848, the Catholic press in the 19th century.