20 - The Beating Heart of Italy

The stars of the show are about to come on stage. There are three of them, Giuseppe Mazzini, Giuseppe Garibaldi, and Count Cavour. They are larger than life in many ways. These three men were critical in defining what it means to be Italian. Each of them is so much more important to the story than simply a list of their actions. Their beliefs and values helped to shape a nation. Mazzini, sometimes called the beating heart of Italy, was the oldest of the three, and the first to become important to our story. This episode is the first of two specifically about Mazzini, as I can't fit it all into a single episode.