Aurelio Saffi

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Aurelio Saffi

Aurelio Saffi (born August 13, 1819 in Forlì ; † April 10, 1890 ibid) was an Italian politician during the Risorgimentos in the radical, republican wing, embodied by Giuseppe Mazzini .

He graduated from the University of Ferrara with a law degree , but began his political career in his hometown. There he took a stand against the poorly governed government led by the church legates. Like Bologna and the whole of Romagna at that time, Forlì was part of the Papal States . Saffi was councilor and secretary of the province from 1844–45. He quickly moved towards Giuseppe Mazzini's line of thought , so that he took part in the most important political action that Mazzini had organized: the establishment of the Roman Republic . In the capital, the power of the then Pope Pius IX. restricted and republic-like institutions established. These newly created institutions should approximate the democratic institutions then created by the United States .

He participated in the Roman events first as a member of Forlì in the constituent assembly, then as a minister, and finally as a member of the triumvirate that presided over the new form of government, together with Armellini and Mazzini himself. However, this political experience was short-lived, for the new republic fell in July 1849. After living in exile in Liguria , he reached Mazzini again in Switzerland and later moved with him to London .

Saffi only returned to his homeland in 1853 and tried to organize a series of uprisings that should have taken place in Milan. As a result of the failure of this project, he was sentenced to twenty years in prison. In prison in 1857 he married Giorgina Janet Craufurd, later known as Giorgina Saffi , a militant advocate of the Mazzini movement and emerging Italian feminism. They had four sons.

In 1860 Saffi was released from prison and went to Naples , where he met Mazzini again. In 1861 he was elected a member of the new Kingdom of Italy . After a few years he moved back to London, where he stayed until 1867, before finally settling in his country house in San Varano (a town in Forlì). He then began his career as a professor at the University of Bologna. In the meantime he also dealt with the historical significance of his friend Mazzini, who had already died, by taking care of his writings and their publication. He died at the age of 70 in his country house, Villa Saffi , which is now a museum.

Piazza Saffi in Forlì

The main square ( Piazza Saffi ) of Forlì, where the town hall is located, is now dedicated to Aurelio Saffi . In the middle of the square there is a memorial with a statue of the politician, which was erected shortly after his death. Today's monument, however, is the reconstruction of the destroyed version from the fascist era .

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personal data
SURNAME Saffi, Aurelio
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian politician, member of the Camera dei deputati
DATE OF BIRTH August 13, 1819
PLACE OF BIRTH Forlì
DATE OF DEATH April 10, 1890
Place of death Forlì