Mommsen and Verdi 9

Herbert Benario (Emory University)

Theodor Mommsen was the greatest Roman historian of the nineteenth century, and an active supporter of German unification, ultimately under the leadership of Prussia.  Giuseppe Verdi was the greatest Italian opera composer of the nineteenth century, and active supporter of the Risorgimento and independence for Italy from foreign rule.  His name also became symbolic of the aspirations of his countrymen, when they cried out Viva Verdi, which stood for “Vittorio Emanuele, Re D’Italia.”

These two great patriots were almost exact contemporaries.  Mommsen was a devotee of Italy and was greatly admired by the Italian people.  I have long wondered whether they had ever met or had correspondence.

There is, alas, no evidence that they had contact with each other.  Yet there may be an explanation for this, namely the fire which destroyed Mommsen’s study and library in his home in 1880.  Unquestionably some of his vast correspondence perished in this disaster.

There is further discussion of the roles of both men on the political scene, particularly Mommsen’s open letters to the Italian people after the Franco-Prussian War.

At death, each was honored with a burial and obsequies worthy of royalty.