Vito Volterra and the Italian Academies during the Great War
When Austria-Hungary and Germany found themselves at war with Britain, France and Russia in July 1914, Italy proclaimed its neutrality. Italian neutrality reflected an ambiguous attitude of the Italian government and ruling elite. On one hand, the national mood was hostile to Austria-Hungary, the long-time enemy of Italy’s "Risorgimento”; on the other hand. Italian intellectuals were attracted to German philosophical and scientific culture, and institutional models in education and research, not to mention the influential presence of German finance in the Italian economy.