Odessa – The Russian Portal to the Black Sea in the pre-revolutionary period Aldo Ferrari and Giulia Lami The studies concerning Odessa published in the last years, above all Patricia Herlihy’s book Odessa. A History 1794-1914, offer an image of the city and the port focusing on many of its peculiarities, Starting from the interest cultivated by Aldo Ferrari for the Black Sea area from the antiquity to the present day and from the attention I dedicated in the last ten years to Ukrainian history in the context of interaction between the Polish-Ukrainian space and the Russian one, we agreed that Odessa, its origin, its meaning within a developing Russian Empire, its physiognomy so peculiar if compared with that of other Russian cities was an important subject of research. One can ask whether Odessa is a Russian city in the real meaning of the word or an intermediary between Russia and the larger world, making of it a privileged portal and a reality per se in the general map. Hence, Ferrari and I, decided to focus our attention on the question of the multicultural and multi-ethnic character of the city and the port of Odessa, starting from its foundation and from the role played in its earlier development by Italians. Odessa: an Italian colony? The premise is well known. The Russian conquest of the territories of contemporary southern Ukraine took place in the second half of the Seventeen hundreds, at the end of long lasting wars with the Turkish Empire and its vassals, the Khans of Crimea. The Khanship of Crimea was annexed in 17831, while at the end of the 1787-1791 war with the Turkish Empire Russia obtained control over the entire northern coast of the Black Sea. Since 1764, these territories were administratively organised in the government of New Russia. In this manner, the process of nearing the sea, which had seen the consolidation of Russia’s position on the Baltic Sea, with the founding in 1703 of Saint Petersburg, was now coming to completion. New Russia, which relatively speaking was not densely inhabited at the time of the conquest, was rapidly colonised thanks to a privilege-based policy specifically created to attract immigrants belonging to many different populations such as Serbians, Germans, Russians, Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Greeks, Armenians, Romanians, and even Italians as we will see. Each of these immigrant populations actively contributed in their own way to the development of New Russia. As a result, this area represented a noteworthy example of the multi- cultural and multi-ethnic structure of the Russian Empire, which has so far been underestimated and which represents one of the most interesting research topics of current historiography2. In the following decades New Russia became increasingly important due to its fertile soil and its coastal position. The position on the Black Sea was of fundamental importance for the Empire’s economy, especially as far as grain export towards Europe was concerned. A decisive role was played by the city of Odessa, founded in 1794. Its founding was strictly related to the Empire’s southward expansion planned by Catherine II. Similarly to Saint Petersburg, also Odessa was meant to be a “window on Europe”, and indeed it was, becoming one of the most active, lively and cosmopolitan cities in the Russian Empire. 1 Cfr. A. W. Fisher, The Russian Annexation of the Crimea, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1970. 2 For more, see my introduction to the Italian edition to Kappeler’s study La Russia. Storia di un impero multietnico, tr. it. Edizioni Lavoro, Roma 2006, pp. IX-XXI. By considering its establishment, one may wonder whether Odessa was an “Italian” colony. Certainly, the role of Italians is an interesting page in Odessa’s history and is in a way unknown3 in the relations between our country and Russia. The founding itself was very likely suggested by the Genoese Stefano de Rivarola, who carried out an important diplomatic mission between 1783 and 1785, generating Catherine II’s interest. Catherine thus appointed him to visit New Russia and report back detailed information about the place4. Moreover, the founder of the city, José/Giuseppe de Ribas, can be considered at least partially Italian, as he was born in Naples in 1749 and was the son of a noble Spanish man at the service of the House of Bourbon.5 All of his four sons, Giuseppe, Emanuele, Andrea, and Felice joined the Russian army. Giuseppe fought several times against the Ottomans, advancing considerably in his career and finally becoming first governor of Odessa. Moreover, the city had been founded in an area suggested by Giuseppe himself.6 He was in charge until 1797 and during this time he created Odessa’s foundations and a fleet; he managed commerce and immigrants making Odessa an important port not just on the Black Sea, but on the entire Mediterranean. Also due to his origin, De Ribas called over a great deal of Italian engineers, architects, merchants, and artisans who constituted an important group in Odessa. One of the city’s roads started being called Itali’janskaja, that is “the Italians’ street”, renamed Pushkin Street in 18807. Overall Giuseppe De Ribas was very important in the city’s history, as was his younger brother Felice. Felice was born in Naples around 1770. Like his brother he had a brilliant career in the Russian army and then settled in Tuzla, near Odessa, where he actively participated in the city’s commercial and industrial life. He was active especially during the government of the Duke of Richelieu, 1803-1814. The De Ribas dynasty continued with Michele (1808-1882), son of Felice. Michele had an important role in the city’s cultural life, and was among other things editor in chief of the Journal d’Odessa, published in Russian and French (and some articles in Italian). No wonder then, if the city’s main street still carries the family’s name (Deribasovskaja). The three De Ribas generations, can thus be considered as a symbol of Odessa’s multi-ethnic character and an example of the Italian-Russian relations, which characterised this first phase of the city’s life. As many of Odessa’s monuments demonstrate, the role of Italians8 was relevant in building the city, once again similar to Saint Petersburg. Indeed in this period, Italy’s architectural, musical and artistic contributions to Russia and Europe were conspicuous. This overall European look that characterises Odessa, which attracted the young Pushkin, owes much to the work of Italian artists such as Francesco Frapolli, Francesco Boffo, Giovanni Quarenghi, Giovanni Torricelli, Giovanni Dell’Acqua, Alessandro Digby, Alessandro Bernadazzi and the younger Frapolli brothers, especially Pietro, who became the city’s main architect in 1827. Not only is Odessa more European and Mediterranean than other Russian cities, but also more secular. In fact, its theatres, markets, and its port are much more prominent than its churches. Almost as relevant as the Italian stamp on architecture was the Italian stamp on painting. Painting, however, was less linked to governmental commissioning and more to private 3 In this respect a scholar has spoken about “A peculiar case of historical amnesia: the forgotten Italians”: A. Makolkin, A History of Odessa. The Last Italian Black Sea Colony, Edvin Mellen Press, Ontario 2004, p. 5. 4 Cfr. R. Sinigaglia, Genova e Russia. La missione Rivarola a Pietroburgo (1783-1785), Graphos, Genova 1994 e A. Makolkin, A History of Odessa. The Last Italian Black Sea Colony, cit., pp. 34-41. 5 On the origin of the De Ribas family: Michele De Ribas: Saggio sulla città di Odessa e altri documenti dell’Archivio di Stato di Napoli, Cassa di Risparmio di Genova, Genova 1988 and the recent article by Mi. Marzano, I de Ribas, una famiglia napoletana ad Odessa, in L. Mascilli Migliorini, M. Mafrici (edited by), Mediterraneo e/è Mar Nero: due mari tra età moderna e contemporanea, ESI, Napoli 2012, pp. 139-162. In the same volume (pp. 31- 54 and 203-233) the following articles can be found: M. Mafrici, La diplomazia in azione: rapporti commerciali tra la Russia e il regno di Napoli e M Sirago, Il consolato napoletano nel Mar Nero e lo sviluppo di Odessa tra la fine del Settecento e la prima metà dell’Ottocento. 6 Cfr. A. Makolkin, A History of Odessa. The Last Italian Black Sea Colony, cit., p. 5. 7 Ibidem, pp. 65-66. 8 About 3000 Italians lived in Odessa around 1850. commissioning. Some of the painters migrated to Odessa through Constantinople, and all of them were of high technical level. Among others worth remembering are Paolo Riccardi (1826-1873), Cesare Boldrini (1785-1849), Francesco Morandi (Cremona 1811 – 1894, Rome, but buried in Odessa) and most importantly Carlo Bossoli (born in Soragno, Switzerland in 1815, died in Turin 1884). Another characterising feature of the Italian-Russian relations is music, at the time an expansive area of Italian culture. Specifically, Giovanni Mantovani and Giuseppe Zamboni had a fundamental role in the making of Odessa’s Opera. Musical liveliness in the city was strictly linked to its Italian component throughout the entire nineteenth century, having a great deal of Italian musicians, singers and producers active in this period.9 The role of Italians was relevant also in the development of Odessa’s drama as the presence of troupes coming from our country was frequent. These relations ensured Italian as a lingua franca in Odessa, a principal vehicle of the city’s economic activity, especially maritime. Signposts, for instance, were not only written in Russian but also in Italian. Moreover, Italian was used for passports, grain price lists, and reports on shows and theatrical matter.