Angelica Palli and Alessio: Love and Patriotism in the Early Italian Historical Novel

This chapter focuses on Alessio, ossia gli ultimi giorni di Psara (1827), not only one of the first Italian historical novels but also the brainchild of a woman, the poet and journalist Angelica Palli (Bartolomei). Alessio, one of the writer’s early works, testifies to her adhesion to transnational cultural, literary and political networks, and to her active involvement in the political movement for the unification of Italy, the Risorgimento. Alessio’s plot unravels within a real historical event that occurred during the Greek war of independence, the siege of the island of Ipsara by the Ottoman fleet. It focuses on the sentimental choice that the titular hero, Alessio, needs to make between the alluring Turkish prisoner Amina and his betrothed, Evantia. The novel, despite formally betraying its author’s stronger familiarity with poetry and tragic plays, embodies a complex and diverse set of influences. As a fundraising tool, it is the direct outcome of Palli’s Greek heritage, of her involvement in Livorno’s cultural life, of her family’s support of the Greek struggle for independence, and of her modern education. Moreover, if contemporary Italian and European literary debates on the moral and pedagogical value of historical novels shape its genesis, its originality lies in the author’s gift for an innovative psychological characterization of female characters.