14. The Anomaly
Date Written: February 3, 2019
Date Posted: June 8, 2019
Characters: Veneziano, Romano
Summary: A little discussion on how Italy as a whole is different from other Nations.
Notes: Contains references to the Risorgimento and Italian Wars. Artistic license was employed; I am not that well versed in Italian History.
Italy, not the Nation's representatives (they were just as strange, nonetheless), but the country itself, was quite an anomaly. There were too many divides, too many variations of the standard "Italian". Even the food and traditions differed from region to region. There was no unity back when city states had ruled supreme and sadly, there was no sense of unity today. How could such a beautiful country with a rich culture and proud history fall into disarray—a factor that still plagued the country today?
So, it was no surprise when it had been announced that in the Republic of Italy, two representations were at the helm.
One for the North and one for the South.
Of course, there were precedents for this; Italy wasn't the first Nation to have been governed by several parts of one greater whole. In fact, all countries weren't countries—not at first. A long time ago, they were wisps of ideas birthed from the maelstrom of ideals and the traditions of a like-minded people. Soon, these people evolved to form tribes, to become cities, to become more, more, more.
But a person to tribe to great Nation did not evolve seamlessly—or without great bloodshed.
Simply put, siblings of Nations never lasted long.
To become united and become something more, siblings battled, bartered, or simply lost their lives to their more dominant counterparts. It was rare for brothers and sisters to escape unscathed, to hold onto whether scraps of their own citizens (their children) and power as the other sibling still maintained their own power.
That never—almost, but not quite—happened with Italia Veneziano and Italia Romano.
Both had garnered the power and the children of the siblings in their respective regions.
Both, after the series of Italian Wars, had stood tall, equal.
There was never a successful precedent for two peaceful representatives to help share the burdens of a Nation. Germany had come about as a culmination of his vassals, America had warred with his southern half and won, and even in the Philippines, the northernmost island held the seat of power. But, the Italian brothers had decided, right after Venice had been annexed and the Northern brother, all alone in his region and not wanting to disappear (not yet, not now, not ever), he struck an accord with his elder brother.
And perhaps war had denied Italia Romano of his faculties, or perhaps he was just tired. Maybe he already knew that tiny little Venice had outgrown his lagoons. Regardless, South Italy had decided to share the birthright with his sibling. (And maybe, Romano didn't want to be alone with the Papacy and a few tiny states with little political power for company—but why? He was just as anomalous as his brother ).
The other European Nations, thirsty with the sense of impulsiveness, had watched with bated breath at the Italian Risorgimento. Would the offspring of the late Roman Empire finally fall? Would the regions within Italy fragment and split back to the small city states?
But just as Europe watched Italy, Italy watched back as well.
And Italy, weak, disoriented, but newly reformed, still had pride.
They built themselves up. From the rushed alliance of the first Great War to the subsequent repercussion of the next one, Italy was battered and bruised. Their people were angry. Their people fought for what they believed in. And in the end, with healing scars and with hardened resolve, they marched into the twenty-first century as one.
They were brothers.
They were an anomaly.
They were Italy.