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Digital humanities have enjoyed significant progress over the past years, offering to historians new significant opportunities. Exploiting the tools that the Web puts at the researchers’ disposal, this forum aims at fostering new debates around little-explored themes, such as the memory of Fascist internment camps in its relationships with digital media. Scholars with different scientific and disciplinary back grounds participated in this forum, putting forward new interpretations.

La nascita del Regno d’Italia contribuì a cambiare notevolmente le relazioni politicoeconomiche all’interno dell’Europa del XIX secolo. Paesi come Gran Bretagna, Francia o Germania dovettero considerare la presenza del modesto stato meridionale, soprattutto nell’ottica di future espansioni nell’arco del Mediterraneo. Da parte sua, la Spagna – coinvolta in una grave e secolare decadenza politica – non poté far a meno che dirigere la sua attenzione verso il vicino e storico “cugino” linguistico. Nonostante un inizio difficoltoso, le relazioni tra i due paesi si trasformarono in un continuo interscambio di accordi, trattati e proposte culturali. L’avvicinamento della Spagna durante la prima metà del XX secolo, fu consolidata anche dall’inarrestabile ascesa del fascismo italiano che contribuirà – durante il conflitto civile spagnolo – alla nascita non solo di un “fascismo spagnolo” ma di un vero e proprio stato dittatoriale governato dall’«amico» Francisco Franco.

Se la Spagna rappresenta oggi uno dei principali fari europei di irradiazione della democrazia, non si può dire lo stesso rispetto al suo passato. Tra gli anni Venti e gli anni Settanta del XX secolo, quest’area fu sorretta da regimi dittatoriali che mantennero il potere – nella maggior parte dei casi – attraverso l’esercizio della forza. Nemmeno la breve parentesi repubblicana fu in grado di annichilire quell’ondata di odio, che fin dal periodo primorriversita si espanse tra la popolazione. Seguirono una guerra e quarant’anni di dittatura che adottarono la repressione e l’incarceramento, ai fini della propria ed esclusiva giustizia

Nel profondo sud della Spagna, ai limiti del continente europeo, esiste un confine che negli ultimi anni ha assunto un’importanza cruciale nelle relazioni tra il nord ed il sud del mondo. Eppure la linea che demarca quest’area si contraddistingue sempre più come una nuova cortina di ferro. Due identità, due culture (quella europea e quella nordafricana) stanno perdendo l’opportunità di dialogare, di stringere rapporti e di convivere in una delle terre più affascinanti ed allo stesso tempo controverse del Mediterraneo occidentale. La domanda sorge quindi spontanea: è forse questo il nuovo Muro di Berlino?

Abstract – Within the field of argumentative analysis, our purpose is to underline the function and the effectiveness of the axiological-emotional content of the change proposed by François Hollande in his speeches (2009-2012).On the basis of the emotional orientation, given in a dysphoric register towards the previous government and in a euphoric one towards the auspicious future, the argumentation of the change claimed by the “normal” president is based on values. To not change would mean to accept the current situation and therefore all its negative values.Putting the reader in a condition of emotional tension with the aim of energizing him to find a remedy, Hollande’s proposition becomes, thus, a call to action, an implicit request for social, politic and moral engagement, to change the course of history and to realize a better future. Keywords: Argumentation, political discourse, emotion, axiological, change. Résumé – Dans le cadre de l’analyse argumentative, cet article vise à souligner la fonction et l’efficacité de la charge axiologico-affective du changement proposé par François Hollande dans ses discours (2009-2012).Sur la base de l’orientation émotionnelle, donnée dans un registre dysphorique à l’égard du gouvernement passé et euphorique vers l’avenir prometteur, l’argumentation du changement invoqué par le président “normal” se fonde sur les valeurs. Ne pas changer signifierait accepter la situation actuelle et, par là, toutes ces valeurs négatives.Mettant le lecteur dans une condition de tension émotive pour le motiver à trouver un remède, la proposition de Hollande devient ainsi un appel à agir, une requête implicite d’engagement social, politique et moral pour changer le cours de l’histoire et réaliser un futur meilleur. Mots clés: argumentation, discours politique, émotion, axiologique, changement.

In the “second part of his life”, that is to say after his choice of abandoning the Republican front to support the 1936 pronunciamento, Ramón had become an enemy of his former allies and a friend of his former enemies. However as General Alfredo Kindelan said: «nobody shook hands with him nor wanted to have relations with him» among his old enemies. In the group of the newly formed allies there were also the Italian soldiers faithful to Mussolini, that the Spanish pilot wanted to kill only a few years earlier. This article first describes friends and enemies of the Caudillo de España’s brother, the takes into account some documents to give a clear indication of the bad relationships between Ramón Franco and the Italian armed forces, both in Spain and in occasion of his visits to Italy. Moreover, some reflections on the circumstances of the Spanish pilot’s death will be proposed.

The recent discovery of an unpublished document of the Spanish Civil War has been the occasion to reflect once more on this troubled period of the recent European history. The document at issue is a collection of lyrics which belonged to the Divisione Mista Frecce, a special Italo-Spanish detachment that took part in the conflict that shook the Iberian peninsula between 1936-1939. Thanks to a careful analysis and a historical contextualization of the document we have been allowed to make a short though exhaustive investigation into this little known page of the history. One of the major objectives is to provide the reader with an interpretation of this “find”, not only from the textual point of view, but from the musical and iconographic ones as well.

ENWithin the field of argumentative analysis, the aim of this article is to put into evidence how a locutor can pragmatically organize his political discourse, exploiting the semantic potentialities of the axiological adjective. In the specific, this study is focused on Zola’s J’Accuse, the text that changed the state of a judicial vicissitude already compromised, with national and supranational implications. We will examine how Zola managed to strategically use the axiological adjective in order to develop his personal process on two sides: the accusation against the people responsible for the affaire and the defense in favour of Dreyfus and the other victims of the case. In particular, the set of negative forms are exploited in order to characterize the “vrais coupables” and the affaire in general, in a pejorative way, using insult and even causing outrage. Zola exalts the qualities with positive adjectives, and favorably expresses support for the defendant and the other implied victims, included the President of the Republic. Within the most common semantic sphere, that is the moral, thus, in the J’Accuse, the axiological adjective constitutes a forceful political act within the whole and within Zola’s coherent design.Keywords: argumentation; axiological adjective; political discourse; accusation; defense.ITNell’ambito dell’analisi argomentativa, il presente articolo si propone l’obiettivo di mettere in evidenza come un locutore possa organizzare pragmaticamente il suo discorso politico, sfruttando le potenzialità semantiche dell’aggettivo assiologico. Nello specifico, vedremo come Zola nel J’Accuse, il testo che ha cambiato le sorti di una vicenda giudiziaria già pregiudicata con risvolti nazionali e sovranazionali, abbia saputo servirsi strategicamente dell’aggettivo assiologico per sviluppare il suo processo personale su due fronti: l’accusa contro i responsabili dell’affaire e la difesa in favore di Dreyfus e delle altre vittime del caso. In particolare, l’insieme delle forme negative sono sfruttate per qualificare in modo dispregiativo, sotto forma di insulto e persino di oltraggio, i “vrais coupables” e l’affaire in generale; con gli aggettivi positivi Zola esalta le qualità e si esprime favorevolmente per il condannato e le altre vittime implicate, compreso il Presidente della Repubblica. Nell’ambito semantico più sfruttato che è quello morale, l’aggettivo assiologico viene a costituire così, nel J’Accuse, un efficace atto politico all’interno del complessivo e coerente disegno zoliano.Parole chiave: argomentazione; aggettivo assiologico; discorso politico; accusa; difesa.

During the Civil War the Spanish Artistic Heritage was in danger. Unlike the rebels and aware of this situation, the Republican governments gave a quick and firm response. The international significance of this subject was considered a State problem and gave rise to a propagandistic struggle. On the other hand, the widespread diffusion of what Republicans had done to guarantee their protection let them improve their battered public image, as well as announce the preservation measures used in the conflict. These measures served as an example for European governments to protect public collections during the Second World War.

This article analyzes and typifies all production referring to the International Brigades and “Brigadistas” in the current context of recuperating the historical memory of the Spanish Civil War. This includes historical, literary, political, sociological, journalistic, film and museum outputs. We treat the historical sources with the same scientific rigor and objectivity as that of the experimental sciences, and we have come to diverse conclusions concerning the complexity of these sources such as the fact that the contents of the historical sources do not present any real difficulty in their internal coherence and relationships, despite the subjectivity that characterizes them. We propose another method of analysis that differs from the technical and systems analysis of other areas of knowledge such as psychology and mathematical statistics. We are constructing our own research methodology, designed specifically for historical sources. Our goal is to achieve complete accessibility for all sources through digital systems and the Web and thus guarantee research and teaching and, above all, ensure the recovery of the collective memory of the Spanish Civil War and its protagonists.

L’articolo narra l’esperienza vissuta da un brigatista austriaco unitosi ai rifugiati spagnoli in quei drammatici momenti antecedenti lo sbarco alleato, nell’estate del 1944. Nel luglio dello stesso anno, dopo l’attentato ad Adolf Hitler, tutti avevano sperato, invano, in una rapida conclusione della guerra. In agosto la Wehrmacht aveva già lasciato spazio alle truppe d’invasione alleate, mentre l’amministrazione della vita civile rimaneva ancora in mano agli occupanti tedeschi. Nel frattempo i ‘Maquis’ iniziavano ad uscire dai loro nascondigli. L’autore, che a quei tempi viveva con una famiglia di rifugiati spagnoli, ricorda in questo testo gli ultimi giorni delle SS e i primi della Liberazione, un evento che diede purtroppo il via a una serie di effetti secondari: da chi cercava di approfittarsi della situazione di confusione assumendo il controllo dei ruoli di potere, a chi perpetuava atti di vendetta e abusi, talora anche nei confronti di innocenti. L’autore ricorda come gli spagnoli della regione si riunirono per intraprendere il ritorno verso una patria, la Spagna repubblicana, che in quel momento sentivano ancora viva, e che credevano possibile recuperare. Gerhard Hoffmann, costantemente combattuto tra le sue due patrie, si vide obbligato a separarsi dagli spagnoli in attesa della liberazione dell’Austria, la sua terra.

On 17 and 18 March 1938 Barcelona was heavily bombed by the planes of the Legionary Air Force which took off from Palma de Mallorca. Ciano told the English ambassador that the order to bomb had come directly from Franco, but actually it was given by Mussolini to General Valle accidentally met at the Chamber where the Italian duce had gone to deliver a long-awaited speech on the Anschluss. Why was this order given? It has often been asserted that the reasons are to be searched in the will to wear down the civilians, according to the best teachings of Douhet’s air instructions, or in the reaction to the reopening of the French border to allow the aid for the republican faction. These reasons, though well-grounded, have been focused exclusively on the Spanish Civil War. In my article, according to a broader viewpoint considering the approach of the Second World War, I will try to analyze a further reason starting exactly from the annexation of Austria carried out by the Germans and from Mussolini’s explicit desire to increase his reputation in Hitler’s opinion in the hope of a future military alliance. The bombing of Barcelona on 17 and 18 March 1938, from this viewpoint, acquires a communicative dimension of constancy, unscrupulousness and military power that the duce, at least outwardly, catching the euphoric current wave set off by the Anschluss, wanted to transmit to the possible ally.

In the Spanish Civil War 5699 soldiers and more than 700 planes of the Italian Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) intervened. This military unit, in order not to put out Italian flags or badges, having regard to the secrecy of the military intervention in a foreign country, was named Legionary Air Force. In my article I will try to highlight the Italian anomalies of the political-strategic highest authorities who led to the decision of intervening in the Spanish conflict, since leaders that had no competent authority took part in the decision of the military intervention, while those who had full powers did not take part in it. Moreover, I will try to underline the heavy oddities related to the employment and the command of the aircraft which was often used according to the old legacy of the land force in order to substitute the artillery or the tanks. Finally, considering the Spanish conflict as a prelude to the Second World War, I will point up how the commitment in Spain led to false instructions in the military domain, maintained in the most challenging world conflict, as well as how the want of war material complained by the Italian duce in 1943 is to ascribe to the Italian limited far-sightedness in its commitment alongside Generalissimo Francisco Franco.

Spanish exile in France in 1939 was a phenomenon that deeply changed the social balances of the south west of France. In recent years, memories transmitted within families became the object of activities organized by several associations and of a strong investment by local political institutions. In 2009, year of the seventieth anniversary of the exile, there has been a great memorial mobilization. Refugees’ children, who work on memory, claim that this past is an essential identity-related resource and a legacy to be valued. In negotiating with the local political institutions the meanings of the historical experience, the descendants’ associations develop specific representations of the concept of Republic, war and revolution, charging some events with strong symbolic meanings.