One hundred and ten years ago, the Sarajevo assassination lit the fuse that sparked the First World War in the heart of Europe, one of the bloodiest conflicts humanity has ever witnessed, bringing an end to that era of optimism and blind faith in progress known as the Belle Époque.

On June 28, 1914, the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated along with his wife by the Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip.

A month later, on July 28, 1914, Austria declared war on Serbia. In the following months, the conflict expanded, involving the world’s major powers and their colonies.

The First World War lasted precisely 4 years, 3 months, and 14 days (the armistice was signed on November 11, 1918). According to estimates reported by Britannica, approximately 8.5 million soldiers died, and even more numerous were the civilian casualties.

I will return to talk about this war and its cultural, social, and human impacts in several posts on my blog.

Image: the Sarajevo assassination illustrated in the Italian newspaper "La Domenica del Corriere" by Achille Beltrame