Good morning everyone.
I wish to greet and thank President [of the Committee for the Senate Library and Historical Archives] Pera for promoting and organising today’s conference and I thank him for bringing together some of Italy’s most authoritative historians, political scientists and jurists to discuss two ideas that are particularly close to my heart: the concepts of ‘nation’ and ‘homeland’. These are fundamental concepts in political philosophy and the history of ideas that have produced endless literature and on which there is a lot to be said. I certainly do not wish to, and cannot, compete with the academics who have accepted this invitation from another great intellectual, President Pera; however, I do not want to miss the opportunity to provide some food for thought. 

The first element may seem almost trivial, but in my view it is not. It is not to be taken for granted that today, in the Senate Library, the concepts of ‘nation’ and ‘homeland’ are being discussed. It is by no means insignificant that these ideas have today become central in political, historical, philosophical and legal debate, emerging from the marginal position they had been relegated to for centuries, because they were (wrongly) considered retrograde, reactionary, obsolete and even dangerous at times. I, on the other hand, have always thought that both the nation and the homeland are natural societies, i.e., something that naturally lies in the hearts of individuals and of peoples, regardless of any convention. Just as the family is a natural society; it is no wonder that one of the fathers of the Risorgimento, Mazzini, called family the “homeland of the heart”. Likewise, it is also significant that, if someone defines themselves as a patriot today, this is no longer considered a derogatory or in any case an obsolete term, but rather an element that practically all political parties share and lay claim to, including those that, in the past, considered it almost an infamy. This is a great victory and I am proud of the contribution that we have also made in this direction, because my dream is to live in an Italy where, despite having differences, everyone can define themselves and act as patriots, in other words as people who put the interest of the nation before partisan or political party interests.

I never believed the ‘death of the homeland’ theory. Of course, it is without doubt that the idea of the ‘homeland’ has been in crisis for years, pushed into the shadows of history, but it is not true that this idea had disappeared; it never has and has instead continued to flow into people’s awareness, also unknowingly, and has now resurfaced with full force, returning to the light of day. It is up to us, however, to nurture that awareness, and to somehow be a source of its enhancement.

This brings me to the second point for reflection I would like to share with you. As you know, I am very fond of Ernest Renan’s wonderful definition of ‘nation’. He said that a nation is “a great solidarity, constituted by the sentiment of the sacrifices that its citizens have made, and of those that they feel prepared to make once more. It implies a past; but it is summed up in the present by a tangible fact - consent, the clearly expressed desire to live a common life. A nation’s existence – said Renan - is a daily plebiscite”. 
Renan believed that the political community, i.e., the set of values that unite a people, was fundamental, but it is equally as fundamental that those values are continually renewed, as a choice; they must be wanted. It is not enough to recognise what keeps us united; that sense of belonging to a common destiny needs to be nurtured every day, to be tested in facts and proven in the choices that each of us make in our day-to-day lives, because bonds are not chains and recognising that we are part of something bigger does not make us weaker. In actual fact, the exact opposite is true: those bonds make us stronger, they make us more supportive and cohesive, they make us more open to each other. It is only with the strength of those bonds that a nation can remain alive and dynamic, can regenerate, can resist the deceptions of deracination, standardisation and dehumanisation.

It is only on the basis of such solid roots, and I shall come to a close, that a nation can draw the strength, the enthusiasm and the courage it needs to be a leading player of its time. We too often forget the contribution that Italy has made to the history of mankind. We never fully appreciate this, probably because we are, paradoxically, so used to the beauty and culture that surround us. When we go abroad (and this happens to me a lot, especially lately) our point of view immediately changes and we realise at once how much our nation is considered a beacon of civilisation; how being Italian is synonymous with the beautiful, the precious, the innovative and with genius; and how much demand there is for Italy. 

For years, perhaps decades, we had forgotten what we were capable of, what we are capable of; how Italy is able to amaze, to innovate, to be at the cutting edge, to teach; how much our identity, our nation, our homeland are admired and respected. However, we cannot make others fall in love with us if we do not first love ourselves, and if we do not rediscover what binds us and makes us a community of destiny.

Believing in what we are is the most powerful fuel we can put into the engine of our nation. It is the fuel we need to chart new courses and once again play a leading role, in Italy and the world. 

I therefore wish to thank you for your contribution to this discussion, thank you for giving depth to what we are trying to do every day. I wish you all the best with your work!

[Courtesy translation]