Page 372 - Le Operazioni Interforze e Multinazionali nella Storia Militare - ACTA Tomo II

1012 XXXIX Congresso della CommIssIone InternazIonale dI storIa mIlItare • CIHm

After a deep analysis of La Voce and L’Unità, problemi della vita italiana between
October 1912 and July 1914, is possible to find in the memory of the Italo-Turkish War
on these magazines only two positive values. The first one, and maybe the most long-
lasting, is that finally Italy as well, after the military conquest, starts to be conscious of a
world different from its own: among the various critics towards the enterprise, between
the pages of the magazines can be found a deep interest towards Muslim culture, and a
sincere encouragement towards a better political, cultural and academic consciousness
of such a “new” world, by creating institutes and faculties in order to study the Islam:
“It will be needed to come with them [the Muslims], as soon as possible, in direct and immediate rela-
tionships, by showing them loyalty and good will, fair steadfastness and science. These are the only energies
which can bend and win them.
And, according to the fact that for them science means first of all Islam, let an Italian librarian conclude
with his humble ceterum censeo: let’s study the Islam!” 36
Second positive concept, stated right after the end of the war by a coworker of L’Unità
is that, according to him, finally Italy gained its national unity thanks to the duty of the
soldiers in Libya:

“The war “revealed” a better and bigger mood than what I thought up to that day. […] I am sure that all
the peasants coming from so many different Italian regions now do know, although confusedly, that they
belong to a common fatherland, named Italy.” 37
In the same item, another coworker states:
“In other words, I felt that the soldiers left for war, or were happy to participate in the war, not because
it was a good enterprise, but in spite of the mistake which the enterprise was.” 38
The Italo-Turkish war represents one of the biggest hoaxes that Nationalist press
organized in support of Italian government. Already on the pages of L’Unità and La
Voce of 1912 the propaganda system created by the newspapers is identified as “great
illusion”: it is important to point out that the methods used by the press in order to carry
on the hoax are very similar to the ones used two years and a half after the landing at
Tripoli, during hot summer 1914, by all European governments in order to unleash ha-
tred between people.

36 G. Gabrieli. 1912. “Com’è stata annunziata la pace agl’indigeni della Libia?”. L’Unità n°51, 30 Nov.:
“Bisognerà che noi veniamo con essi [i musulmani], al più presto, in rapporti diretti e immediati, adoprando
verso di essi lealtà e buona fede, fermezza dignitosa, e scienza. Sono le sole energie che li piegano e li
vincono.
E giacché scienza per essi è innanzi lutto l’Islam, sia permesso ad un bibliotecario d’Italia di conchiudere col
suo umile ceterum censeo: Studiamo l’Islàm !”
37 G. Fortunato, A. di Staso. 1912. “Concordia discors”. L’Unità n°45, 19 Oct.: “La guerra ha “rivelato” uno
stato d’animo migliore e maggiore di quel che io credevo fino a quel giorno. […] Sono convinto che tutti i
contadini delle varie così differenti nostre regioni ormai sanno, sia pure confusamente, di appartenere a una
patria comune, che ha nome Italia.”
38 Idem: “In altri termini, io ho sentito che i soldati partivano per la guerra, o alla guerra eran lieti di partecipare,
non per la bontà dell’impresa, ma malgrado l’errore che era l’impresa.”