and David Souter? Justices Breyer andrnGinsburg we can blame on Bill Clintonrn—although it was that staunch prolifernRepublican, Orrin Hatch, who wentrnto bat for the latter in the Senate. I’hernrest are Republicans. Justice Stevens is arnFord appointee; Justice O’Connor is arnReagan pick; and that “confirmed bachelor,”rnJustice Souter we owe to CeorgernBush (although he had been vetted byrnReagan’s staff). The Republicans not on-rnIv saddled us with Justices O’Connor,rnSouter, and Stevens (to say nothing ofrnthat limp rag, Jushce Kennedy), but the-rnrefused to take a principled stand againstrnClinton’s disgraceful appointees. Let usrnremember this the next time our Republicanrnfriends argue that we ha’e to electrnGeorge W. Bush president to make surernthat “conservatives” are appointed to thernSupreme Court. There are dozens ofrnreasons to prefer George W. Bush to AlrnGore, but the opportimity to pack thernSupreme Court with pro-life strict constructionistsrnis not one of them.rnThomas Fleming is the editor ofrnChronicles.rnHISTORYrnThe ItalianrnCounterrevolutionsrnof 1799rnby Alberto CarosarnWho says that conservative historiansrnhave to be old, hoary-headedrnmen unable to produce anything innovative?rnA young Italian scholar namedrnMassimo Viglione is proving the contrar)’rnwith his two latest books, Rivolte dimenticatern{Forgotten Revolts) and l^e Insorgenzern— Rivoluzione e controrivoluzione inrnItalia, 1792-1815 {Uprisings-Revolutionrnand Counterrevolution in Italy). Viglionernis a Catholic researcher in the Universit}’rnof Cassino’s Department of Modern History,rnspecializing in the French Revolutionrnand its profound impact on the Italianrnpeninsula between the late 18th andrnearly 19th centuries.rnHis two books do not come out of thernblue: They are an expansion of his firstrnwork on the subject. The Italian Vendee,rnpublished in 1995. Since then, Viglionernhas collected an impressive number ofrndocuments to describe one of the leastrnknown yet most dramatic periods in Italianrnhistory, following the invasion of thernFrench revolutionarv armies in Italy,rnbent on “liberating” the “oppressed” Italianrnmasses at gunpoint.rnThe publication of Viglione’s books isrnone of an increasing number of eventsrnwhich celebrate the tens of thousands ofrnvichms of this “liberation.” events in oppositionrnto the 15 billion lire of publicrnmoney spent to extol a handful of Italianrn”martyrs of freedom” who supported thernFrench invaders and their ideas. Thernconfrontation between the two sidesrnreached its peak in earlv 1999, when thernSan Carlo Opera House in Naplesrnopened its season with Eleonora, anrnopera starring Vanessa Redgrave as thernmain female protagonist of the 1799rnF’rench-backed revolution in Naplesrnagainst the Bourbons. The premiere, attendedrnby then-Prime Minister MassimornD’Alema and a number of political andrncultural celebrities, was marred by arnflood of protest leaflets and shouts of “Jacobinrnassassins.” The short-lived revolutionrncelebrated in the opera temporarilyrnoverthrew the Bourbon king of Naplesrnand established the so-called RepubblicarnPartenopea; it was subsequently putrndown by the counterreolutionar’ forcesrnof Cardinal Fabrizio Ruffo, aided byrnLord Nelson-but not before 80,000 citizensrnof Naples were slaughtered. CardinalrnRuffo’s victory remains one of thernmost significant events in the series ofrnpopular uprisings against the French invadersrnand their Italian accomplices.rnViglione points out that anti-Frenchrnrevolts broke out spontaneously and concurrentlyrnthroughout the Italian peninsula,rnfrom Savoy to Calabria, from Puglia tornTyrol and Tuscany. For 18 years, at leastrn300,000 Italians from all walks of life rosernup in arms, and more than 100,000, includingrnwomen and children, werernslaughtered in massacres which vie withrnthose that quelled the counterreolutionrnin Vendee. (The onl- major difference isrnthat the Italians managed to chase the invadersrnout.) The French also robbedrnItaly of countless masterpieces of art, includingrnthe world-famous VenetianrnHorses of Saint Mark, and robbed andrnabused rich and poor alike. Even hospitals,rnchurches, and charities were systematicallyrnlooted in the name oi “liberie,rnegalite, fratemite.”rn”To what extent can jthe patrioHc Italian]rninsurgents be described as ‘brigands’rnor ‘criminals’ and the Italian Jacobins asrn•patriots,’ when the latter were servingrnunder the French revolutionary banner,rnhelping the Napoleonic forces to kill,rnplunder, and desecrate?” Viglione wonders.rn”This is one of the main issues addressedrnin my books. We must bear inrnmind that ordinary people died by therntens of thousands in order to defend theirrntraditions, religion, legitimate rulers andrnmonarchs, and ultimately their familiesrnand assets.” Even the French GeneralrnThiebault, in his memoirs, describes hisrnarrival in Naples this way:rnNaples was nothing but an immensernfield of massacres, arsons,rnfear and death . . . Not even onernNeapolitan survived on our way in.rnNever have I seen so many dying atrnthe same time. I would have neverrnimagined that in such a short timernso many people could have beenrnexterminated: I do not dare to calculaterntheir number.rnThis was the result of the general’s ownrnorders. Most of the dead were lazzari,rnNeapolitan peasants, whose only faultrnwas remaining loyal to their Church andrn’ ‘ ‘ ” § •rn”These exceptionally far-reachingrnevents were willfully and carefully removedrnfrom our official national histor}’,rnour mainstream literature, and even ourrntextbooks at school,” Viglione argues.rn”When, at times, the are dealt with, anrnanti-insurgent bias is the general norm.rnBut despite this, the whole issue is increasinglyrnsurfacing more or less in thernright terms, thus def^’ing the ‘politicallyrncorrect.'”rnTo date, Viglione’s books have beenrnreviewed in many important nationalrnand regional papers (including La Stampa,rnII Giomale, II Sole 24 Ore, Avvenire,rnSecolo d’ltalia, and il Roma) and havernbeen the subject of a television debate.rnMoreover, Viglione has held numerousrnconferences and talks in a number of Italianrncities, including one at the Senate inrnRome. iAfter a conference in Milan, thernnewspaper 11 Giomale published a fullpagernreport, with an impressive map ofrnItaly pinpointing some hundred flashpointsrnof the uprisings. Not surprisingly,rnmany of the anti-revolutionary revoltsrnwere led by priests and religious laymen,rnsince the Catholic faith was also under attack.rnTrue to her radical past, Vanessa Red-rn48/CHRONlCLESrnrnrn