Italian Jews and the 1848-49 Revolutions: Patriotism and Multiple Identities

This study, based on new archival sources, focuses on the fragmentation of the traditional Jewish collective identity after the emancipation of Italian Jews in 1848. It analyzes the Jewish participation in the First war of independence, taking into account the generational conflict among fathers and sons; the relationships among Jews and non-Jews; the important role of education for the development of the Communities. It focuses also on the following figures: students, belonging to the middle-upper middle class, intellectuals (especially journalists), but also women and rabbis.