Friday, 29 March 2024, 10:21 AM

Site: ONCE UPON A TIME IN... EUROPE
Course: ONCE UPON A TIME IN... EUROPE (Our Online Reading Space)
Glossary: Glossary of terms

BOOKS

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Snow (Turkish: Kar) is a novel by Turkish author Orhan Pamuk. It was published in Turkish in 2002 and in English (translated by Maureen Freely) in 2004. The story encapsulates many of the political and cultural tensions of modern Turkey and successfully combines humor, social commentary, mysticism, and a deep sympathy with its characters.

Snow, by Orhan Pamuk

Kar is the word for Snow, but the main character also abbreviates his name to Ka (his initials) with the novel set in the eastern Turkish city of Kars. An opening (and recurring) theme concerns reasons behind a suicide epidemic among teenage girls (which actually took place in the city of Batman).

(source: Wikipedia)

GEOGRAPHY

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Bronte is a town and comune of Sicily (in the province of Catania, Italy), near Mount Etna.

Bronte, Sicily (See a bigger map)

In 1860, during Garibaldi's Expedition of the thousand, there was a riot. The peasants had hoped for ? and did not get from Garibaldi ? an immediate relief from the grievous conditions to which they were forced by the landowners. They revolted in several localities, and at Bronte, on August 4, 1860, Garibaldi's friend Nino Bixio bloodily repressed one of these revolts with two battalions of Redshirts.

(source: Wikipedia)
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Caprera is a small island off the coast of Sardinia, Italy, located in the Maddalena archipelago.


Caprera, Italy (See a bigger map)


In the area of La Maddalena island in the Strait of Bonifacio, it is a tourist destination and is famous as the place to which Giuseppe Garibaldi retired (1856?82).

This island has been declared a natural reserve for the particular species of seabirds living on it (royal seagull, cormorant and peregrine falcon). The island's name is linked to that of Giuseppe Garibaldi, an Italian patriot and fighter who lived in the 19th century and was one of the fathers of the Italian independence. He bought the island in 1855 and died there in 1882. His house is now a museum and a memorial chapel and the island itself is a national monument. Caprera is linked to La Maddalena island by a 600 metre long causeway.

The island was probably given its name because of the numerous wild goats living on it (capra means "goat" in Italian).

It is the second largest island in the archipelago and has a surface of 15.7 kmĀ² and 45 kilometres of coastline. Monte Tejalone is the highest point (212 m). On the south-western side there is a very important sailing centre and the many coves and anchorages which can be found along the coastline make the landing easy.

Many remains of Roman cargo ships as well as of the boat of Garibaldi were found there. After the Roman occupation, Caprera remained deserted for centuries before being inhabited by groups of shepherds. Later in 1855 Garibaldi decided to settle there and planted the first trees of the blooming pinewood which covers the island today. A century after Garibaldi's death the island was freed from the numerous existing military restrictions and is now completely open to the public.

(source: Wikipedia)
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Piedmont (Italian: Piemonte, pronounced [pje?monte]; Piedmontese and Occitan: Piemont; French: Pi?mont) is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin.

Piedmont

The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of Cuneo and Turin. Franco-Proven?al is also spoken by another minority in the alpine heights of the Province of Turin. The name Piedmont comes from medieval Latin Pedemontium or Pedemontis, i.e., ad pedem montium, meaning ?at the foot of the mountains? (attested in documents of the end of the 13th century).

(source: Wikipedia)
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Sardinia (Italian: Sardegna, Sardinian: Sardigna) is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and before Cyprus) and an autonomous region of Italy. The nearest land masses are (clockwise from north) the island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Balearic Islands.

Sardinia, Italy

(source: Wikipedia)

HISTORY

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This was the year that Spanish Civil War started, on 17th July.
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The Austrian Empire (Austrian German: Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling Kaisertum ?sterreich) was a modern era successor empire centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire as a result of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867. The Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867 to 1918) was itself dissolved by the victors at the end of World War I and broken into separate new states.

Austrian Empire in 1859

The term "Austrian Empire" is also used for the Habsburg possessions before 1804, which had no official collective name, although Austria is more frequent.

(source: Wikipedia)
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The Expedition of the Thousand (Italian Spedizione dei Mille) was an event of the Italian Risorgimento took place in 1860. A corps of volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi landed in Sicily in order to conquer the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, ruled by the Bourbons.

The beginning of the expedition at Quarto
The beginning of the expedition at Quarto.

The project was an ambitious and risky venture to conquer, with a thousand men, a kingdom with a larger regular army and a more powerful navy. The expedition was a success and concluded with a plebiscite that brought Naples and Sicily into the Kingdom of Sardinia, the last territorial conquest before the creation of the Kingdom of Italy on March 17, 1861.

The sea venture was the only desired action that was jointly decided by the "four fathers of the nation" Italian Giuseppe Mazzini, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Victor Emmanuel II and Camillo Cavour, pursuing divergent goals. It is difficult to determine the true instigator: Mazzini desired to release the Mezzogiorno and Rome while Garibaldi wants to conquer in the name of Victor Emmanuel II, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and continue to Rome to complete the unity of Italy, Cavour that wants to prevent at all costs to avoid a conflict with his French ally, Napoleon III, which protects Rome.

The expedition also brings new large collective ambiguity and misunderstanding: for Garibaldi, it is to achieve a united Italy; to the Sicilian bourgeoisie, an independent Sicily as part of the kingdom of Italy, and for the mass farmers, the end of oppression and land distribution.

(source: Wikipedia)
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Ferdinand II (Ferdinando Carlo, 12 January 1810 ? 22 May 1859) was King of the Two Sicilies from 1830 until his early death in 1859.

Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies

(source: Wikipedia)
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Francis II (Italian: Francesco II, christened Francesco d'Assisi Maria Leopoldo, 16 January 1836 ? 27 December 1894), was King of the Two Sicilies from 1859 to 1861. He was the last King of the Two Sicilies, as successive invasions by Giuseppe Garibaldi and Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia ultimately brought an end to his rule, and marked the first major event of Italian unification. After he was deposed, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the Kingdom of Sardinia were merged into the newly formed Kingdom of Italy.

Francis II of the Two Sicilies in the english Wikipedia

(source: Wikipedia)