Patterns of flow: Italian Protestantism as a global phenomenon

As many of the contributions to these volumes demonstrate, Italian Protestantism has been-even prior to its beginnings proper-a 'border crossing' phenomenon. From the 'waldensianism(s)' of the medieval period, to inhabiting the borderlands of the Reformation, to the exiles and diasporas of heretics, dissenters, bible translators, 'bandits' and freemasons of the early modem period, Italian Protestants and their sympathizers entered the turbulent nineteenth century already well entrenched in transnational networks. As the nation states and so the 'inter-national' order emerged out of the titanic struggles of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic experiences, and into a period of turmoil, globalization and mass migration, Italians who either carried Protestant identities or were open to conversion, were ( even if overlooked or subjected to exclusion) to be found everywhere that italianità was being negotiated. This chapter looks over the long arc of some of the forces which shaped their role in negotiating the experience of dispersion, and how-out of the resources they took with them, and those they found along the way-they responded in authentic and sometimes surprising ways.