Italiae ingenium et officium is a short Latin poem in elegiac couplets in which Sofia Alessio praises Italy’s predestined duty as a beacon of civilization, first as the seat of the Roman Empire and then of the Catholic Church. The poem reflects nationalist ideas about Italy’s civilizational supremacy which were widely popular in Fascist Italy, and which were also fuelled by the role of Rome as capital of the Catholic world (cf. Sacré 2009: 395).

The poem first appeared in the journal Alma Roma (Sofia Alessio 1936) and was recently republished by Sacré (2009: 395).

Bibliography

Latin texts

Sofia Alessio, Francesco. 1936. “Italiae ingenium et officium.” Alma Roma 23 (1): 4.

Secondary sources

Sacré, Dirk. 2009. “Francesco Sofia Alessio (1873-1943): Some Overlooked Poems.” Humanistica Lovaniensia 58: 375–400.

Nicolò Bettegazzi