Pierre Milza (16 April 193228 February 2018) was a French historian. His work focused mainly on the history of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, the history of Italian immigration to France and the history of
fascism
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
, of which he was a recognized specialist.
He was professor emeritus at the
Paris Institute of Political Studies
, motto_lang = fr
, mottoeng = Roots of the Future
, type = Public research university''Grande école''
, established =
, founder = Émile Boutmy
, accreditation ...
(Sciences Po), where he taught contemporary history.
Pierre Milza is notably the author of ''Voyage en Italie'', or "History of Italy", as well as of biographies of
Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
,
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
and
Garibaldi
Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...
.
Early life
Milza was a second-generation Italian immigrant, born in
Paris, France
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
to Italian parents. His father, Olivier Milza, was born near Parma in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. His status as an immigrant motivated his studies in Italian history and Italian-French immigration. Milza first visited Italy at 16, learned Italian and began to study history.
Distinctions
* Knight of the
Order of Arts and Letters
The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...
* 1994: Grand Officer of the
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi.
The highest-ranking ...
* 2008: Commander of the
National Order of Merit
* 2013: Commander of the
National Order of the Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...
(named Officer in 2000)
Milza was a member of the
François Mitterrand
François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...
Institute.
Publications
Throughout his career, Milza wrote many books about fascism and the history of Italy. In addition to these publications, Milza devoted time to writing biographies for different figures including
Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
,
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
,
Garibaldi
Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...
and
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
.
Independently
*
*
*
*
** Volume I: De 1945 à 1973
** Volume II: De 1871 à 1914
* ''Conversations Hitler-Mussolini''
*
* (2 volumes)
*
*
*
*
* ''Mussolini''
*
*
*
*
* ''Voltaire''
*
** Volume I:
** Volume II:
*
*
* ''Garibaldi''
*
With Serge Berstein
Milza collaborated with fellow historian
Serge Berstein
Serge Berstein (born in 1934) is a French historian, well known as a specialist of the French Third Republic.
He is a teacher at Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris
, motto_lang = fr
, mottoeng = Roots of the F ...
to produce academic works and textbooks.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* (5 volume series)
*
*
*
*
*
Other collaborations
* (with Marianne Amar)
* (with Marie-Claude Blanc-Chaléard)
* (with Marianne Benteli)
* (with Antoine Marès)
References
External links
*
1932 births
2018 deaths
20th-century French historians
Historians of fascism
French people of Italian descent
Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
Commanders of the Ordre national du Mérite
French male writers
Historians of Italy
Sciences Po faculty
Historians of World War II
Historians of France
Writers from Paris
{{France-historian-stub