The essay reinterprets the private and political affair of Franscesco Crispi in the light of the historiographic reflections that have occurred over time. Through a careful reading of numerous essays - even the most recent ones - the complex Crispi’s life is reconstructed the complex Crispina parabola is reconstructed through the eyes of the historians: from experience as a conspirator and exile to that as a statesman; from institutional reforms to foreign policy, retracing lights and shadows of a charismatic man and still today capable of stimulating stringent reflections of historiographical, political and cultural nature.
Keywords: Crispi, historiography, institution, Nation, State