Michele Amari (July 7, 1806, Palermo – July 16, 1889, Florence) was an Italian patriot, born at Palermo, devoted a great part of his life to the history of Sicily, and took part in its emancipation; was an Orientalist as well; he is famous for throwing light on the true character of the Sicilian Vespers; and served as the Kingdom of Italy's first minister of public education.

Amari became an important figure during the Risorgimento. He was a link between Prime Minister Camillo Benso di Cavour and influential Sicilians, helping to convince them to support Italian unification. Amari did so expecting Cavour to grant Sicily some regional autonomy after unification. After the Kingdom of Italy was formed, however, Cavour failed to support ideas of Sicilan autonomy, enabling northern Italian politicians to block efforts to secure it. Many Sicilians saw this as a betrayal, adding fuel to the longstanding mistrust and tension between northern and southern Italy. This rivalry between North and South continues to play a major role in Italian society, evidenced by organizations such as the Lega Nord.

Amari's historical works focus on Medieval Sicilian history, including extensive works on the period of Muslim control. His efforts have earned him acknowledgment as one of 19th century Europe's premier translators of Medieval Arabic writings. His Storia dei Musulmani di Sicilia (History of the Muslims of Sicily) (1854) is perhaps his greatest work. It has been translated into many languages, including Arabic by a group of Egyptian scholars in 2004.

[edit] References

• Carteggio di Michele Amari by Michele Amari (Roux Frassati, 1896)
• Cavour and Garibaldi, 1860: A Study in Political Conflict by Denis Mack Smith (Cambridge University Press, 1954)
• Diari e appunti autobiografici inediti by Michele Amari (Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, 1981)
• "Le idee politici di Michele Amari" by Bianca Marcolongo in Documenti per servire alla storia di Sicilia, ed. Andrea Borruso, Rosa D'Angelo, and Rosa Scaglione Guccione (Societa Siciliana per la Storia Patria, 1991)
• Modern Italy: A Political History by Denis Mack Smith (Yale University, 1997)

[edit] External links

• (Italian) A short biography

Persondata
NAME	Amari, Michele
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	sicilian historian and orientalist
DATE OF BIRTH	July 7, 1806
PLACE OF BIRTH	Palermo
DATE OF DEATH	July 16, 1889
PLACE OF DEATH	Firenze

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