The idea of erecting a statue of Giuseppe Mazzini came about fifteen years after his death and was presented to the Chamber of Deputies in 1887. It must be added that Mazzini as a supporter of the Republic, did not fit very well into the ethos of a monarchy, which Italy had ultimately become after 1861, but he was an important symbol of national unity. And although the idea of a kingdom did not appeal to him, he accepted it and ultimately supported King Victor Emmanuel II. In 1902 the completion of the statue was entrusted to a distinguished and popular sculptor Ettore Ferrari, who had previously completed another Roman statue, a true wedge issue for the Church and city authorities – the heavily protested Statue of Giordano Bruno.

Two years later in 1904, the artist showed his bozzetto (sketch), whose conception was deeply rooted in the style of Romanticism. And while the seated, lost in thought figure of the fearless revolutionary is exceptionally static, the high pedestal, on which he rests was enriched by figures emerging from the depths, or more appropriately allegorical groups, which in a solemn, almost heroic way, refer to Mazzini’s world of ideas.

There, we will see Young Italy Striving for Freedom, The Struggle Against Despotism, The Liberation of those Oppressed by Tyranny, Turmoil of Revolution and the Bringing Together of the Remains of Martyrs in the Struggle for Independence. As an explanation, it must be added, that these martyrs are the victims of the struggle for independence and against the pope, executed at the order of the bishop of Rome between the years 1849 and 1870. On the rear wall of the monument there are medallions depicting mainly Freemasons – the heroes of the struggle for Italian independence (Carlo Pisacane, Federico Campanella, Aurelio Saffi, Maurizio Quadrio, Goffredo Mameli, Alberto Mario, Jessie White, Rosolino Pilo, Adriano Lemmi).

Ultimately in 1914 a decision was made to place the statue at the foot of Aventine Hill, however it was not until eight years later that works on it commenced. This however, was not a bad time, both for Mazzini and for Ferrari. Both were declared masons, which did not arouse any great sympathy for the monument among Fascists, whom - as we know – for the next two decades ruled in Italy. Ferrari, who was persecuted by them died in 1929, but most of the work on the statue had already been finished and part of the monument was already in the sculptor’s garden. It was not until after the war that works on it were once again started. The bas-reliefs were reconstructed, the bronze statue recovered in a foundry in Naples. On 2 June, 1949 with the collaboration of the sculptor’s son, the statue was finally completed and unveiled on the one hundredth  anniversary of the proclamation of the Roman Republic. Thus, Mazzini finally achieved the republic he had dreamed of, looking on at the Circus Maximus from a high plinth situated on the road at the foot of Aventine Hill. The pristine white statue of the revolutionary looks exceptionally noble and is – next to the Altar of the Fatherland (Vittoriano) – one of the pompous structures which speaks to us with its grandeur, however not arousing great emotions, despite the fact that another work of Ettore Ferrari – the aforementioned statue dedicated to Giordano Bruno – is a testimony of the exceptional talent of the sculptor.