Il clero patriottico e la sacralizzazione della nazione: don Giuseppe Fogazzaro nel Risorgimento vicentino

The story of Don Giuseppe Fogazzaro (1813-1901) is a case study that highlights the role of the Italian patriotic clergy in the process of "transfer of the sacred" from the traditional religious discourse to the modern national discourse. His journey helps us understand how patriotic feelings spread within the clergy of bourgeois origin. During the 1848 revolution, in addition to being part of the revolutionary committee in Vicenza, Fogazzaro worked with other members of the local clergy on a political project that used the language and practices of Christianity to engage the people in the national cause. This case study also shows how, after the unification of Italy, the patriotic clergy continued to be involved in creating a civic mythology of the Risorgimento.