Italophilia
Encyclopedia
Italophilia is the admiration, general appreciation or love of Italy
, its culture, society, arts and people. The term is used in two basic contexts: in international politics and in cultural context. "Italophilia", "Italophile", and "Italophilic" are the terms used to denote pro-Italian sentiments, usually in politics and literature. Its opposite is Italophobia.
, Italy promoted the entrenchment of classical Greek and Roman culture, values, laws, philosophy, and scientific method into their societies. Across Europe, various people and states admired these developments in Italy and sought to replicate them.
Francis I of France
was such an Italophile ruler during the Renaissance, who was known to eagerly appoint many Italians to his appellate courts. The powerful French noble family, the Guise
were known to be Italophiles and held close family bloodline connections with Italian nobility and royalty.
Renaissance Poland
was known to have strong Italophile influences. Famous Italian sculptor Giammaria Mosca was commissioned repeatedly by Poland to create sculptures. King of Poland Sigismund II Augustus
requested Mosca in 1529 to construct his tomb, in 1574 the King died and was placed in the tomb made by Mosca.
King John II of Portugal
imitated Italian princely style, attempted to pressure the aristocracy
to act in Italian manners, and sought to attract Italian artists to the country.
. As a matter of fact, most nobles and royals at the time visited Italy as a part of their education. This was also a period in which there were several Italophiles. Examples include Keats, who famously said that the country was the "paradise of exiles".
in Great Britain
saw Italophilic tendencies. Britain supported its own version of the imperial Pax Romana
("Roman Peace"), called Pax Britannica
. John Ruskin
was a Victorian Italophile who respected the concepts of morality held in Italy.
Germany
under Chancellor Otto von Bismarck
copied Pax Britannica and Pax Romana and sought to create Pax Germanica
in Europe.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, its culture, society, arts and people. The term is used in two basic contexts: in international politics and in cultural context. "Italophilia", "Italophile", and "Italophilic" are the terms used to denote pro-Italian sentiments, usually in politics and literature. Its opposite is Italophobia.
Renaissance
During the RenaissanceRenaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, Italy promoted the entrenchment of classical Greek and Roman culture, values, laws, philosophy, and scientific method into their societies. Across Europe, various people and states admired these developments in Italy and sought to replicate them.
Francis I of France
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
was such an Italophile ruler during the Renaissance, who was known to eagerly appoint many Italians to his appellate courts. The powerful French noble family, the Guise
Guise
Guise is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.-Population:-Sights:The ruins of the medieval castle of Guise, seat of the Dukes of Guise, are located in the commune.-Miscellaneous:...
were known to be Italophiles and held close family bloodline connections with Italian nobility and royalty.
Renaissance Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
was known to have strong Italophile influences. Famous Italian sculptor Giammaria Mosca was commissioned repeatedly by Poland to create sculptures. King of Poland Sigismund II Augustus
Sigismund II Augustus
Sigismund II Augustus I was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the only son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548...
requested Mosca in 1529 to construct his tomb, in 1574 the King died and was placed in the tomb made by Mosca.
King John II of Portugal
John II of Portugal
John II , the Perfect Prince , was the thirteenth king of Portugal and the Algarves...
imitated Italian princely style, attempted to pressure the aristocracy
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
to act in Italian manners, and sought to attract Italian artists to the country.
Age of Enlightenment and Grand Tour
During the 18th century, Italy was in the spotlight of the European Grand Tour, a period in which learned and wealthy foreign, usually British, German or American, aristocrats visited the country due to its artistic, cultural and archaeological richness. Examples included Goethe, Keats, Lord Byron and ShelleyShelley
-Meaning:In many baby name books, Shelley is listed as meaning "From the meadow on the ledge" or "clearing on a bank". It is Old English in origin. As with many other names , Shelley is today a name given almost exclusively to girls after historically being male...
. As a matter of fact, most nobles and royals at the time visited Italy as a part of their education. This was also a period in which there were several Italophiles. Examples include Keats, who famously said that the country was the "paradise of exiles".
New Imperialist era
The Victorian eraVictorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
saw Italophilic tendencies. Britain supported its own version of the imperial Pax Romana
Pax Romana
Pax Romana was the long period of relative peace and minimal expansion by military force experienced by the Roman Empire in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Since it was established by Caesar Augustus it is sometimes called Pax Augusta...
("Roman Peace"), called Pax Britannica
Pax Britannica
Pax Britannica was the period of relative peace in Europe when the British Empire controlled most of the key maritime trade routes and enjoyed unchallenged sea power...
. John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
was a Victorian Italophile who respected the concepts of morality held in Italy.
Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
under Chancellor Otto von Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
copied Pax Britannica and Pax Romana and sought to create Pax Germanica
Pax Germanica
Pax Germanica, Latin for "German peace", described the peace in Germany after its foundation in 1871 by Otto von Bismarck, the Unification of Germany; it coincided with the Pax Britannica. Bismarck's alliance system was designed to preserve the new, powerful Germany by ensuring a European peace and...
in Europe.