Schoolbooks printed in Revolutionary and Napoleonic Milan: Education and cultural imperialism, 1796-1814

Antonia Perna

doi:10.4000/13om9

Schoolbooks printed in Revolutionary and Napoleonic Milan: Education and cultural imperialism, 1796-1814

Antonia Perna

London South Bank Univeristy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This article examines the content of school textbooks printed in and around Milan from the Cisalpine Republic to the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. It evaluates whether these books for children can be considered evidence of French cultural imperialism, first in the capital of a sister republic and then in that of a satellite kingdom. The article first analyses republican textbooks, focusing on the civic and religious instruction presented to children by pro-republican giacobini; it then discusses the content of officially selected schoolbooks in the Kingdom of Italy. Ultimately, this article argues that schoolbooks show the limits of an assimilationist model of Napoleonic cultural imperialism, not only in the Cisalpine Republic but also – albeit to a lesser extent – in the increasingly centralized Kingdom of Italy.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	57-74
Journal	Mélanges de l’École française de Rome - Italie et Méditerranée modernes et contemporaines
Volume	136
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.4000/13om9
Publication status	Published - 2 Apr 2025
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

This research was generously supported by the British School at Rome (Rome Scholarship). The author also thanks Elisa Marazzi, Francesco Dendena, Giulia Bernardini, and the anonymous reviewers, for their support and suggestions.

Access to Document

10.4000/13om9

MEFRIM_136-1_DOS_05_PernaFinal published version, 447 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Cite this

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abstract = "This article examines the content of school textbooks printed in and around Milan from the Cisalpine Republic to the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. It evaluates whether these books for children can be considered evidence of French cultural imperialism, first in the capital of a sister republic and then in that of a satellite kingdom. The article first analyses republican textbooks, focusing on the civic and religious instruction presented to children by pro-republican giacobini; it then discusses the content of officially selected schoolbooks in the Kingdom of Italy. Ultimately, this article argues that schoolbooks show the limits of an assimilationist model of Napoleonic cultural imperialism, not only in the Cisalpine Republic but also – albeit to a lesser extent – in the increasingly centralized Kingdom of Italy.",

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