Cultural, social and personal ways of experiencing love – an analysis of the perception of subjectivity

This article is based on analysis of 4 couple’s personal and public documents, in order to integrate personal choices, values and ideas with cultural representations and social attitudes. Moreover, being based on Italian sources from the nineteenth century, the study offers an historical insight on the Italian nation-building process and its political and social foundations. This study is based on archival and printed primary sources from: Gianna Maffei and Ercole Trotti Mosti (Museo Centrale del Risorgimento – Roma – MCRR); Augusto Pierantoni and Grazia Mancini (Museo Centrale del Risorgimento – Roma); Luigi Majno and Ersilia Bronzini (Archivio Unione Femminile Nazionale – Milano); Angiolo Orvieto and Laura Cantoni (Archivio Contemporaneo Bonsanti del Gabinetto Vieuesseux – Firenze – ACGV). This study reflects on love as a political and moral issue, by linking the personal sphere of subjectivity to the public dimension of the political community. An extensive understanding of the role played by the perception and the expression of sentiments can be considered as the central issue of this analysis.