Mirror of national density

Dr Vitali has selected a series ofphotographs ofthe Italian wars of liberation which in a number of campaigns between 1848 and 1870 succeeded in turning Italy into a national state. Before the Risorgimento Italy had been, as Metternich called it, a ‘mere geographical expression’. Numerous museums and archives were founded after the liberation to preserve the story, and to give national consciousness to a people used to a variety of loyalties. However, what was once pride is now called vainglory, and these museums were often left to decay and are largely forgotten. The present compiler, realizing some of the potential of the materials in those places, has used them and various private collections to give us a remarkable series of photographs.