TheNiçard exodus (Italian:esodo nizzardo[ˈɛːzodonitˈtsardo];French:exode niçois[ɛɡzɔd(ə)niswa]) was one of the first emigration phenomena that involved theItalian populations in thecontemporary age. It was due to therefusal of a quarter of theNiçard Italians to stay inNice after its annexation toFrance in 1861, which was decided after thePlombières Agreement.[1]
The exodus took place starting from 1861, concomitantly and following the annexation ofNice and its surroundings from theKingdom of Sardinia toFrance. After theTreaty of Turin was signed in 1860 between theSardinian king andNapoleon III as a consequence of thePlombières Agreement, the county of Nice was ceded to France as a territorial reward for French assistance in theSecond Italian War of Independence againstAustria, which sawLombardy united withPiedmont-Sardinia. King Victor-Emmanuel II, on April 1, 1860, solemnly asked the population to accept the change of sovereignty, in the name of Italian unity, and the cession was ratified by a regionalreferendum. Italophile manifestations and the acclamation of an “Italian Nice” by the crowd are reported on this occasion.[2] These manifestations could not influence the course of events. A plebiscite was voted on April 15 and April 16, 1860. The opponents of annexation called for abstention, hence the very high abstention rate. The “yes” vote won 83% of registered voters throughout the county of Nice and 86% in Nice, partly thanks to pressure from the authorities.[3] This is the result of a masterful operation of information control by the French and Piedmontese governments, in order to influence the outcome of the vote in relation to the decisions already taken.[4] The irregularities in the plebiscite voting operations were evident. The case of Levens is emblematic: the same official sources recorded, faced with only 407 voters, 481 votes cast, naturally almost all in favor of joining France.[5]
The Italian language had been the official language of the County, used by the Church, at the town hall, in theaters and at the Opera, and taught in schools. It was immediately replaced by French as the official language.[6][7] Discontent over annexation to France led to the emigration of a large part of the Italophile population, also accelerated by Italian unification after 1861. A quarter of the population of Nice, around 11,000 people from Nice, decided to voluntarily exile to Italy.[8][9] The emigration of a quarter of theNiçard Italians to Italy took the name of Niçard exodus.[10] Many Italians from Nizza then moved to the Ligurian towns ofVentimiglia,Bordighera andOspedaletti,[11] giving rise to a local branch of the movement of theItalian irredentists which considered the re-acquisition of Nice to be one of their nationalist goals.
Giuseppe Garibaldi, born in Nice, tenaciously opposed the cession of his hometown to France, arguing that the Plebiscite he ratified in the treaty was vitiated byelectoral fraud. In 1871, during the first free elections in the County, the pro-Italian lists obtained almost all the votes in the legislative elections (26,534 votes out of 29,428 votes cast), and Garibaldi was elected deputy at theNational Assembly. Pro-Italians take to the streets cheering“Viva Nizza! Viva Garibaldi!”. The French government sends 10,000 soldiers to Nice, closes the Italian newspaperIl Diritto di Nizza and imprisons several demonstrators. The population of Nice rose up from February 8 to 10 and the three days of demonstration took the name of "Niçard Vespers". The revolt is suppressed by French troops. On February 13, Garibaldi was not allowed to speak at the French parliament meeting in Bordeaux to ask for the reunification of Nice to thenewborn Italian unitary state, and he resigned from his post as deputy.[12] The failure of Vespers led to the expulsion of the last pro-Italian intellectuals from Nice, such as Luciano Mereu or Giuseppe Bres, who were expelled or deported.
The pro-Italian irredentist movement persisted throughout the period 1860-1914, despite the repression carried out since the annexation. The French government implemented a policy ofFrancization of society, language and culture.[13] The toponyms of the communes of the ancient County have been francized, with the obligation to use French in Nice,[14] as well as certain surnames (for example the Italian surname "Bianchi" was francized into "Leblanc", and the Italian surname "Del Ponte" was francized into "Dupont").[15] This led to the beginning of the disappearance of the Niçard Italians. Many intellectuals from Nice took refuge in Italy, such as Giovan Battista Bottero who took over the direction of the newspaperLa Gazzetta del Popolo in Turin. In 1874, it was the second Italian newspaper by circulation, afterIl Secolo in Milan.
Italian-language newspapers in Nice were banned. In 1861,La Voce di Nizza was closed (temporarily reopened during the Niçard Vespers), followed byIl Diritto di Nizza, closed in 1871.[12] In 1895 it was the turn ofIl Pensiero di Nizza, accused of irredentism. Many journalists and writers from Nice wrote in these newspapers in Italian. Among these are Enrico Sappia, Giuseppe André, Giuseppe Bres, Eugenio Cais di Pierlas and others.
Another Niçard Italian, Garibaldian Luciano Mereu, was exiled from Nice in November 1870, together with the Garibaldians Adriano Gilli, Carlo Perino and Alberto Cougnet.[16] In 1871, Luciano Mereu was elected City Councilor in Nice during the term of Mayor of Augusto Raynaud (1871–1876) and was a member of the Garibaldi Commission of Nice, whose president was Donato Rasteu. Rasteu remained in office until 1885.[17]
Giuseppe Bres tried to counter the French claim that the Niçard dialect was Occitan and not Italian, publishing hisConsiderations on Niçard dialect in 1906 in Italy.[18]
During theItalian occupation of Nice in 1942–43, the newspaper of the irredentists from Nice was restored,Il Nizzardo ("The Niçard"). It was directed byEzio Garibaldi [it], grandson of Giuseppe Garibaldi. In those years, the periodicalFert was also renowned, the main voice of the Nice refugees in Italy after the annexation of Nice to France in 1861.[19] Until the 1930s, the centre of Nice was still mostly Italian. Today, Italian characters survive in uses, customs and culture mainly along the border areas with Italy.[20]
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