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Prof. Gaetano Salvemini
GAETANO SALVEMINI (September 8, 1873 - September 6, 1957) was an Italian anti-fascist politician, historian and writer. His historical studies on medieval Florence, the French Revolution and Giusep...view moreGAETANO SALVEMINI (September 8, 1873 - September 6, 1957) was an Italian anti-fascist politician, historian and writer. His historical studies on medieval Florence, the French Revolution and Giuseppe Mazzini established him as an acclaimed historian both in Italy and abroad, in particular in the U.S., after he was forced into exile by Mussolini’s Fascist regime.
Born into a family of modest means in Apulia, south of Italy, he completed his studies at the University of Florence in 1894. In 1901, after years of teaching in secondary schools, he was appointed as a professor in medieval and modern history at the University of Messina. He went on to teach history at the University of Pisa and in 1916 was appointed Professor of Modern History at the University of Florence.
Initially engaging with the Italian Socialist Party, Prof. Salvemini later adhered to an independent humanitarian socialism, while maintaining a commitment to radical political and social reform throughout his life. He offered significant leadership to political refugees in the United States, where he lived in exile for 20 years after he was dismissed from the University of Florence and his Italian citizenship was revoked in 1926. In 1934, he accepted to teach Italian civilization at Harvard University, where he remained until 1948. He then returned to Italy and was reinstated to his old post as Professor of Modern History at the University of Florence. He died in Sorrento, Italy, in 1957, aged 83.
I. M. RAWSON (born Ivy Marion Enthoven) came from a family with Italian connections. During the 1920s-1930s she was part of the anti-Fascist community working in England, including Gaetano Salvemini, Don Luigi Sturzo, Raffaele Rossetti and members of the Rosselli family, and carried out much of the organisational work of the Italian Refugees’ Relief Committee. She translated many anti-Fascist and other works into English, including those of Salvemini and Lussu.view less