Life
His brief career, from training to his premature passing, is situated entirely within the Romantic period, reaching the threshold of post-unification Realism.
Riccardo Casalaina was born in Trapani in 1844. From a young age, he revealed a talent for poetry and music, actively participating in the cultural and political life of his city. He pursued the study of music and dedicated himself to the composition of melodies and songs, often intertwined with poetic texts of his own invention.
After moving to Rome, he immersed himself in the artistic and patriotic circles of the capital. He was the author of poems and texts reflecting the Risorgimento fervor, leaving a trace of himself not only as an artist but also as a man engaged in the transformations of his time. He died prematurely in 1880, at just 36 years old, leaving a vivid memory among his contemporaries.
Aneddoto
The patriot artist
In addition to music and poetry, Casalaina wrote texts celebrating the aspirations for freedom of the Risorgimento, earning esteem in patriotic circles.Works
Casalaina's production includes poems, lyrics, and melodies of an intimate and patriotic nature. Although part of his work remains scattered, what survives testifies to the link between his poetic and musical sensitivity and the cultural context of the Italian Risorgimento.
Briciole di storia
Italy is made, now let the laws be made
A few years after Unification, Italians were still governed by a mosaic of different laws, a legacy of the old states. To create a true nation, a single law for everyone was needed. The feat was accomplished in 1865 with the approval of the first Civil Code of the Kingdom of Italy, a monumental work that unified and modernized the law, regulating every aspect of citizens' lives, from property to contracts, from family to succession. One of the most revolutionary innovations, and one bitterly opposed by the Church, was the introduction of civil marriage, which for the first time recognized as valid only the bond celebrated before a state official rather than a religious one.
Pubblico dominio (Commons)
,_by_Giovanni_Boldini.jpg){kind=link}