Mazzini

Founder of "Young Italy" and the intellectual standard-bearer of Italian unification.

Life

Carbonari

Mazzini was born in Genoa. As a young man he joined the secret society of the Carbonari; he was arrested in 1830 and the following year went into exile in Marseille, France.

Young Italy

In 1831 he founded "Young Italy," calling on the people to rise up and create a united, independent and republican Italy, but the many uprisings he organized all failed. When the Roman Republic was founded in 1849 he was one of its three triumvirs; after French troops crushed the republic he went into exile in London again.

Roman Republic

Holding fast to his republican ideals, he was dissatisfied with the monarchy established in 1861. He died in 1872 while living under an assumed name in Pisa.

Legacy

Mazzini, together with Cavour and Garibaldi, is counted among the three great heroes of the Unification of Italy, and he was the intellectual leader of the unification movement.

Major works & achievements

• The Duties of Man

Did you know? While in exile in London he also ran a free school for poor Italian children.

Key dates

• 1827Joins the Carbonari
• 1831Founds Young Italy
• 1849Triumvir of the Roman Republic
• 1861Kingdom of Italy proclaimed
• 1872Died