Michele Amari

Michele Amari (1806-1889) was an Italian patriot, born at Palermo, devoted a great part of his life to the history of Sicily, and took part in its emancipation; was an Orientalist as well; he is famous for throwing light on the true character of the Sicilian Vespers; and served as the Kingdom of Italy's first minister of education.

Amari became an important figure during the Risorgimento. He was a link between Prime Minister Camillo Benso di Cavour and influential Sicilians, helping to convince them to support Italian unification. Amari did so expecting Cavour to grant Sicily some regional autonomy after unification. After the the Kingdom of Italy was formed, however, Cavour failed to support ideas of Sicilan autonomy, enabling northern Italian politicians to block efforts to secure it. Many Sicilians saw this as a betrayal, adding fuel to the longstanding mistrust and tension between northern and southern Italy. This rivalry between North and South continues to play a major role in Italian society, evidenced by organizations such as the Lega Nord.

Amari's historical works focus on Medieval Sicilian history, including extensive works on the period of Muslim control. His efforts have earned him acknowledgemnt as one of the 19th century Europe's premier translators of Medieval Arabic writings. His Storia dei Musulmani Siciliani (History of the Sicilian Muslims) is perhaps his greatest work. It has been translated into many languages (including Arabic by a group of Egyptian scholars in 2004).