On March 10, 1872 in Pisa, at the home of Pellegrino Rosselli and his wife Janeth Nathan, under the pseudonym George Brown, Giuseppe Mazzini, a leading exponent of Risorgimento patriotism, passed away. The news of his passing drew a good number of followers to his bedside, including Silvestro Lega, one of the leading painters of 19th-century Italy.
In the presence of Mazzini's body, Lega made "The Last Moments of Giuseppe Mazzini," a painting of extraordinary intensity, as well as of absolute artistic significance, in which the Father of the Fatherland is portrayed in all his fragile and composed humanity.
The work, on loan from the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, USA, reaffirms the central role of painting in the process of transmitting historical memory.
On display are more than 60 objects - including sculptures, paintings, engravings, photographs, manuscripts and Mazzini memorabilia, such as the glasses, sword and shawl that belonged to Carlo Cattaneo - that give the public a faithful and compelling historical context, enabling them to better understand Mazzini, Lega and together the entire Risorgimento process.