Page:The National Idea in Italian Literature.djvu/48

 In Antonio Fogazzaro's great romance, Daniele Cortis, a feature of the protagonist's political faith is that the monarchy is capable of completing "the lesson of Italian geography that King Victor Emanuel gave Europe." The note of irredentismo was no new thing in Italian literature. In the early days of the unification, we find Giovanni Prati lamenting that his native region, the Trentino, "il mio verde Tirolo," should still be held back from the maternal embraces of Italy:—

Carducci, in his Saluto italico, bids his "antichi versi italici" fly with the new year "al bel mar di Trieste" and her sister cities, gathering up the sighs and expectations, bearing the sacred name of Italy to the cities and regions of "Italia irredenta":—

It was a saying of Garibaldi that a great part of modern Italy is due to her poets: "Già buona parte di quest' Italia la si deve ai poeti." A few years ago a small volume was published at Florence, Poeti italiani d'oltre i confini, a selection from the poets of "Italia irredenta." Natives of the 36