Scienza, storia e aspirazioni politiche. La cornice del restauro nella Sicilia dell’Ottocento

Through the study of historic documentation, by the end of the 19th century, most Sicilian medieval historical buildings had been restored to their supposed original style. On the island, the suggestions of the Ministry of Education were followed, inspired as they were by a specific, ideological programme, addressed to the enhancement of the historic buildings which were considered important for the history of the nation. This happened only at the end of a long, difficult process of political and cultural transformation, which was for the most part completed before the unification of Italy. This transformation, with the help of some foreign influential intellectuals and scientists, involved all of Sicilian society, also influencing the relationship between people and their nationalistic memories, and history in general. It was a process inspired by liberal and democratic ideals, which, in the main, maturated within the Masonic lodges, which played an important role in the education of many Sicilian intellectuals and experts in antiquity studies. With specific attention to the contribution of science in the study of the past, the essay investigates the innovative phase when, among many contradictions but in a climate of great trust in scientific progress, the bases for the protection of historic building were founded.