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From 1861 to 1870, more than 7,000 men carne from all over Europe and even from beyond the Atlantic to voluntarily join the Papal army and defend the Holy See against the threat of Italian nationalism. Who were these men and what drove them to abandon their ordinary lives to take up arms in the defense of the Pope? Were they mercenaries in the service of a lost cause or idealistic and heroic combatants ready to sacrifice themselves for the Church, as their contemporaries saw them in contradictory views? Based on letters, journals, memoirs and various archival sources, this paper investigates the motivations and the experience of the Pontifical Zouaves. From 1861 to 1870, more than 7,000 men carne from all over Europe and even from beyond the Atlantic to voluntarily join the Papal army and defend the Holy See against the threat of Italian nationalism. Who were these men and what drove them to abandon their ordinary lives to take up arms in the defense of the Pope? Were they mercenaries in the service of a lost cause or idealistic and heroic combatants ready to sacrifice themselves for the Church, as their contemporaries saw them in contradictory views? Based on letters, journals, memoirs and various archival sources, this paper investigates the motivations and the experience of the Pontifical Zouaves. Desde 1861 a 1870 más de 7.000 hombres llegaron procedentes de toda Europa, incluso de más alió del Atlántico, para unirse voluntariamente al ejército papal y defender la Santo Sede contra la amenaza del nacionalismo italiano. ¿Quiénes fueron estos hombres y que les empujó o abandonar sus vidas cotidianas para tomar los armas en defensa del Popa?, ¿fueron mercenarios al servicio de una causo perdida o combatientes idealistas y heroicos listos para sacrificarse por lo Iglesia, tal y como los vieron sus contemporáneos en visiones contradictorias? A partir de cartas, diarios, memorias y diferentes fuentes de archivo, este artículo analizo las motivaciones y la experiencia de los zuavos pontificios.

Si, com ha demostrat des de fa molts anys el treball deis historiadors, una reflexió sobre les nacions o de la nació precedeix en bona mesura !'entrada a l'escena deis estats moderns, quina condició s'assigna, en la cultura del primer humanisme, a la identitat comuna de pobles italians? L'article analitza les tensions existents entre la comunitat cultural, eènica i política que són perceptibles en certs escrits humanistes deis segles XIV i XV. En aquest període de profund canvi polític, la cultura humanista dibuixa, després de Petrarca, els contorns canviants d'una dignitat particular deis pobles italians, els seus models històrics i els seus usos polítics. La nostra contribució intentara anar més enlla deis debats, apareguts al segle XX, al voltant de l'humanisme com a moviment nacional:perquè si la consciència d'una identitat comuna es manifesta en aquest moment en la cultura academica, sorgeix d'un horitzó plural on la definició del comú és un repte eminentment polític. Recent research conducted by historians has shown that a reflexion on nations or nation appeared long befare the emergence of modern States. What status is given to the conception of ltalian common identity in early humanist culture? This article examines the tensions between cultural, ethnical and political comunity in humanist writing of the 14th and the 15th century. During this period of profound political mutations, humanist culture traces, in Petrarch 's wake, the changing limits of a particular dignity of ltalian people, of their historical models and política! uses. Our reflection will attempt to go beyond the debates on humanism as a «national» movement - a concept that appeared in 20th century scholarship. lf the consciousness of a common identity undoubteldy takes shape in learned culture al that time, it stems from a plurality of visions in which the definition of what is common represents a highly political question. Si, comme le démontrent depuis plusieurs années les travaux des historiens, une pensée des nations ou de la nation précède largement I' entrée en scene des États modernes, quel statut est accordé, dans la culture du premier humanisme, a l' identité commune des peuples italiens? L'article examine les tensions entre communauté culturelle, ethnique et politique perceptibles dans certains écrits humanistes du XIVe et du XVe siècle. Dans cette période de mutations politiques profondes, la culture humaniste dessine, dans le sillage de Pétrarque, les contours mouvants d'une dignité particulière des peuples italiens, de ses modèles historiques et de ses usages politiques. Notre contribution tentera d' aller audelà des débats, apparus au XXe siècle, autour de l'humanisme comme mouvement national: car si la conscience d'une identité commune s'affirme a cette époque dans la culture savante, elle surgit d'un horizon pluriel, où la définition du commun constitue un enjeu éminemment politique.