The constitutional theatre 1797
I want stress the importance alone formal of an
episode that in occurred in Italy during the year 1797, the Cispadane Republic,
this is an absolutely false Republic, that has followed during that year in
north Italy, that enclosed the region of Emilia Romagna and some cities of this
region, and two cities of Tuscany; this essay want consider alone the
constitution that has ascertained the constitution, and above all consider the
fiction of the policy, that has, through Napoleon(1769-1821), has given the
image of liberty when the power was always in his hands. The first sign of this
lacking of liberty is in the write of this constitution, why? Simple because
the Cispadane Republic has had a constitution that has equal to the French
constitution. The first article of this constitution is very meaningful for
this opinion, in fact the French constitution of 1791, says: “The sake of every
politic association is the khe conservation of natural right. These rights are
the liberty, the propriety, the sureness and the resistance to oppression”;
certainly important declaration but that is almost specular to the first article
of Cispadane republic that says: “The rights of man, that lives in the society,
are the liberty, the equality, the sureness, the propriety”. A copy of the
French constitution, as above said, but we must also consider that in Italy,
the word constitution of rights were concept absolutely strange to the common
people, and after this constitution lasted strange; but the stratagem is to
give the image of the respect of rights and of the freedoms; but the copy
continues: “The French constitution says: “The liberty is in the to make
everything that isn’t harmful to other…”; the constitution of Cispadane
republic says: “The liberty is in the free action that isn’t harmful to other
rights…”; regard to the freedom about the think and expression is in this step
of French republic: “The free communication of the thinks and of the opinions
is one of man more important; every citizen can hence specks, write, print
freely…”; very modern principle, that is specular almost to the Cispadane
republic: “Nobody can’t be for his freedom about the think, write, and publish
also through the print his thinks, except the cases forgotten from the laws…”;
the article 12th has modified but is the same concept of French constitution: “The equality is in
this, that the law is same for everybody both when it protects and punish…”;
the difference is in the 17th article that is alone a formal
distinction, because the concept is equal: “The propriety is a holy and
inviolable right, nobody can be deprived, except when the public necessity
demands it…”, and the Cispadane constitution says: “The propriety is the right
of to joy, and to manage owner goods…”. I wanted represent that these concept
are absolutely new for that time, but it were already both in France and in
Italy, but the innovative change is that they aren’t alone in the customs, but
also in the supreme law, this is the constitution, that the Cispadane republic
has borrow from the French constitution, I repeat, it was also necessary
because the rights in Italy didn’t know, because the rights were alone tied to
the habits. We must also consider that the power was always French, and form
their hands never was given to the Italian. A historical gift of this republic has been the Italian flag, that is created on the French model, alone the firts color, red instead blue.
Alessandro Lusana
