Manzoni e gli antifascisti. Con un inedito di Carlo Muscetta

Manzoni and the Anti-fascists. With an unpublished text by Carlo Muscetta. The essay explores the reception of The Betrothed in the twentieth century, focusing on the years of the civil war and the Resistance, through letters, notes, and critical interventions by antifascist intellectuals such as Piero Calamandrei and Pietro Pancrazi. It also provides the transcription of a notebook, held at the Archivio Storico Capitolino in Rome, containing the notes Carlo Muscetta prepared for lessons on the novel, organized at the Regina Coeli prison on the initiative of Leone Ginzburg in March 1944. The sources show how Manzoni’s novel functioned as a tool for moral and civic reflection, guiding judgment and sustaining readers’ conscience in contexts of conflict and clandestinity. The examination of these materials highlights the concrete role of The Betrothed in the intellectual experience of antifascists, who found in it support for their dissenting and resistance activities.