Sympathies
for the Armenian plight and cause were not a rare issue in Europe,
frequently born from humanitarian concerns. One of those cases was that
of Italian diplomat and historian Giacomo Gorrini.
Gorrini
was born in Molino dei Torti, near Alessandria, on November 12, 1859.
He graduated from the Scientific-Literary Academy of Milan in 1882 with a
degree in literature and philosophy, and, after a competition, he
entered the two-year advanced course at the Institute of Higher Studies
in Florence. In 1884 he published his dissertation,
Il comune astigiano e la sua storiografia. Saggio storico-critico
(The Commune of Asti and Its Historiography: Historical-Critical Study).
After
studying for a year at Berlin University, in 1886 he won the concourse
for the position of director of the Archives of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.
For
more than twenty years, Gorrini worked in the organization of the
archives and published several collections of documents, as well as
books and articles of his own derived from his work as a historical
consultant. His initial interest in Armenians was reflected in a short
study entitled Antichi diritti di casa Savoja sopra l'Armenia (Ancient
Rights of the Savoia House over Armenia, 1895), where he outlined the
relations between Armenia and the Italian ruling dynasty, and also made
reference to Rome and Venice as “remarkable centers of Armenian culture
and civilization.” His academic workload did not prevent him from
continuing his studies. He obtained a second degree in law from the
University of Napoli (1892) and a habilitation to teach modern history
from the Institute of Higher Studies in Florence (1894) and the
University of Rome (1900). In 1897 he became member of the Higher
Council of the State and Kingdom Archives, where he would remain for
almost forty years.
In
November 1909 Gorrini was designated Italian consul in Trebizonda, but
took his new position in September 1910. For the next five years—except
for a hiatus due to the Italian-Turkish war of 1911-1912—he was actively
involved in the promotion and teaching of the Italian language and the
development of commercial initiatives. His reports followed the
situation in the region, and also made reference to Armenians and Kurds,
and their relations with the central government in Constantinople.
Italy
was neutral at the beginning of World War I, but the worsening of
relations between Italy and Turkey forced Gorrini to leave his post on
July 23, 1915. He would reach Rome on August 19, two days before Italy
declared war to the Ottoman Empire. The influential daily
Il Messaggero
published
an interview with the former Italian consul on August 25, 1915, which
was published in an English translation in Viscount James Bryce’s and
Arnold Toynbee’s Blue Book in 1916. Gorrini was among the first
witnesses to give a first-hand account of the massacres and deportations
already carried out by the Ottoman government. The interview, revealed
his horror and compassion for the victims. He returned to the Foreign
Service, where he executed diverse and delicate administrative tasks
until 1919.
He
reached the rank of general consul in November 1919 and departed to
Trebizond for a short mission in April 1920 to close his consular
activities, which had been cut short five years before. Upon his return,
he was informed of his new destination as Italian representative in
Yerevan, the capital of the Republic of Armenia. However, due to the
political situation, he only reached Yerevan in April 1921, when the
Soviet regime had already been installed. In June 1921 he obtained some
railway and mineral concessions from the Soviet Armenian government and
returned to Italy for consultations. However, he was ill with malaria
and remained in Rome, where he still worked for two more years, until
his retirement in January 1923.
He
nevertheless continued his archival and academic work, and he also
contributed scholarly articles and commentaries to newspapers and
journals. He also continued supporting the Armenian Cause. In 1940, at
the age of eighty, he published the book
Armenia. Testimonianze
(Armenia:
Testimonies) on the anniversary of the first Armenian independence. He
supported the right of the Armenians to an independent homeland, which
was inscribed within a future redrawing of the Mediterranean territories
according to the imperial goals of Benito Mussolini’s Italy.
Giacomo
Gorrini passed away in Rome on October 31, 1950, at the age of
ninety-one. Soil from his tomb was deposited in the “Memory Wall” of the
memorial complex of Dzidznergapert, in Yerevan, on May 25, 2001.
