On the occasion of the 150th anniversary celebrations marking Italian unity, Pisa officials will transform Giuseppe Mazzini’s last home into a study centre on democracy. One of Italian Republic’s founding fathers, Mazzini lived the last days of his life in hiding in Pisa, dying there in March 10, 1872, under the alias Giorgio Brown.
Pisa’s mayor, Marco Filippeschi, had the idea for the centre, which was praised by former Italian minister and professor Giuliano Amato, also president of the committee to celebrate 150 years of Italian unity. The home, damaged in 1943 during a World War II bombing, was renovated in 1952 by publisher Luigi Einaudi but needs additional work before it can be re-opened.
‘We will give a new purpose to the dwelling…we will create a study centre where all issues concerning the modern democracy can be studied and discussed,’ Filippeschi says. The house, located in the centre of Pisa, between piazza Sant’Antonio and corso Italia, was transformed years ago into a museum, which conserves 40,000 historical texts; 87,000 documents, many of which rare; and a collection of items belonging to Mazzini.
