Der lange Weg nach Rom

Abstract

The Long Road to Rome. Conceptions of Colonial Futures in the Works of Cesare Balbo and Alfredo Oriani. This article discusses the transformation of Italian political thought on colonialism and imperialism through a comparative analysis of the works of Cesare Balbo and Alfredo Oriani. In doing so, it seeks to trace the shifts in the reception and deployment of the concept of the Roman Empire, particularly in relation to the development of Italian imperialist discourse. First, the study aims to show how the Italian understanding of colonialism, exemplified by Balbo, remained within the confines of 18th-century discourse regarding commercial empires and therefore conceived of colonial expansion without evoking the legacy of the Roman Empire, and how this view was challenged by late 19th-century thinkers, exemplified by Oriani. Hence, the article reconciles the views of Maurizio Isabella and his critics. Second, the study offers insights into Italian attitudes towards Rome and imperialism in general by tracing these attitudes to Machiavelli’s famous distinction between commercial and conquering republics. While there was a clear anti-Roman tendency within Italian political thought for most of its history, beginning with Humanists such as Leonardo Bruni, this line of thinking declined and became obsolete towards the end of the 19th century. Oriani, among others, was responsible for questioning the anti-imperial paradigm of Italian thought and thus for establishing the Roman Empire as a viable ideological buttress for Italian imperialism.