Il dialogo tra letteratura e altri saperi nel "Bel Paese" di Antonio Stoppani

[Autom. eng. transl.] Il Bel Paese (1876), the most famous work of the abbot Antonio Stoppani (Lecco, 1824 - Milan, 1891), the best text of popularization of the late nineteenth century and one of the most widely read books of the period, aims to make known to the Italians the physical conformation of the country, in the belief that the geographical and geological knowledge of their land is a fundamental element to contribute to the formation of the national consciousness of the newborn Italian state. To these informative and patriotic purposes the moral and religious aims are added. To carry out such an ambitious program, which aims to train the younger generations in the most complete way, Stoppani uses a clever mix of tradition and novelty and manages to make science and literature cooperate. He is convinced that the two cultures, scientific knowledge and the humanistic, converge towards a single truth.