This controversial and groundbreaking study proposes a compelling reinterpretation of the political thought of one Italy's founding fathers, Giuseppe Mazzini (1805-1872), and in the process suggests a new approach to understanding the origins of fascist ideology.

Zusammenfassung
"Simon Levis Sullam has brilliantly recast the great nineteenth-century figure of Mazzini, emphasizing the authoritarian elements in his thinking and their connection to twentieth-century Italian fascism. His book illuminates the roots of fascist ideology while also offering us a compelling portrait of the man in his own times. Readers concerned with contemporary Italy's failure to develop a democratic civil religion and a viable sense of nationhood will also find much to ponder here." - Walter L. Adamson, Dobbs Professor of History, Emory University, USA

"This astute and carefully researched study offers a major contribution to our understanding not only of Mazzini's political ideas but also to the history of the Risorgimento and Italian national movement in general. By highlighting the authoritarian, religious, and illiberal elements in Mazzini's frequently inchoate thinking, Levis Sullam shows the powerful influence that the so-called 'prophet of unification' exerted posthumously on the political currents that fed the country's eventual slide into fascist totalitarianism." - Christopher Duggan, Professor of Modern Italian History, University of Reading, UK