Via della Madonna n. 40
Memorial Tablet for GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI

GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI (Nizza, 1807 - Caprera, 1882).
The memorial tablet celebrates Giuseppe Garibaldi's visit to Pistoia on the 14th of July 1867. On that occasion the hero was hosted in the lawyer Giuseppe Gargini's house. Gargini and his wife Marietta welcomed Garibaldi warmly with a celebratory lunch. As the inscription says, the hero spoke to the crowd from the window of Gargini's house. The morning after, Garibaldi left by train with a group of his followers towards Gavinana, where he wanted to pay homage to the grave of Francesco Ferrucci. Apparently during his trip back his beloved poncho, a reminder of his South American adventures, was stolen. The legend says that he had been so strongly attached to it because he had used it to wrap his newborn baby and his dying wife. Garibaldi's visit to Pistoia was an event that people had been waiting for, for a very long time. It had been supposed to happen in 1862, on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the shooting range, but Garibaldi had had to delay because of the events in Aspromonte. This left a deep bitterness in all those who had aspired to meet him. Amongst them the poetess Louisa Grace who was the wife of the engineer Francesco Bartolini. For the occasion she had specially composed 'un Inno a Garibaldi' (A hymn to Garibaldi) which would then have been set to music to celebrate the arrival of Garibaldi in Pistoia. However, Louisa Grace died prematurely in 1865, and unfortunately never had the chance to meet him. The tablet was posed on the 2nd of July 1882, on the occasion of the solemn celebrations for the thirtieth day after the death of Giuseppe Garibaldi. At that time, the small square in front of Teatro Manzoni (Manzoni Theatre) was named after Giuseppe Civinini, son of the Doctor Filippo Civinini and personal secretary of Garibaldi.

Via della Madonna n. 46
Memorial tablet for FILIPPO CIVININI

FILIPPO CIVININI (Pistoia 1805 - Pisa 1844).
The memorial tablet indicates the house where the famous doctor and anatomist Filippo Civinini was born. After his studies in Pistoia he went to the University of Pisa where he became Professor of Anatomy and Surgery. His research made a substantial contribution to the study of human bones and he also substantially improved and increased the collection of the Anatomic Museum of Pisa. Some of the most important doctors of his time worked with him, amongst whom Atto Tigri (1813-1875) and Filippo Pacini (1812-1883), were both from Pistoia. He died in Pisa when he was only thirty nine years old, leaving two children, Filippo and Giulia, who moved back to Pistoia with their mother. They both left a mark on the history of Pistoia. Filippo took a significant part in the events linked to the story of the unification of Italy, first committing to the Giovine Italia (young Italy) of Mazzini and then becoming friend and secretary of Garibaldi. He was side by side with Garibaldi during all of his most glorious battles, but also during his captivity at the Varignano and in his exile in Caprera. Filippo Civinini was also a journalist, and for a long time, the director of 'Il Diritto' (The Law) and 'La Nazione' (The Nation). He then went on to become a senator, first elected on the left, then on the right. The small piazza in front of the 'Teatro Manzoni', (Manzoni Theatre) is named after him. Giulia Civinini, who married Arrighi, was a poetess and very well regarded school master. The primary school near Via Verdi is named after her.

Via della Madonna n. 41
Memorial tablet for GIOVANNI MARRADI

Giovanni MARRADI (Livorno 1852 - Livorno 1922).
The memorial tablet celebrates the poet and man of letters Giovanni Marradi. The son of simple merchants, Marradi became passionate about poetry very early in his life and, supported by his uncle Michele Marradi, moved to Pistoia in 1869 where he quickly joined the cultural circle of Louisa Grace Bartolini. In Pistoia the young man met Giovanni Procacci, poet and scholar himself who invited him to attend the 'Liceo Forteguerri' in 1870. He completed his classical studies at the Liceum in Livorno and subsequently, he attended both the University of Pisa and the University of Florence, without ever actually completing his degree. Like many other Italian poets at the end of the 19th century, Giovanni Marradi was heavily influenced by Giosuè Carducci. He was certainly his reference point both for his themes when considering his tendency to discuss moral and political battles, and for his classical style. Even if he was more famous for his patrioctic compositions, like the 'Rapsodie Garibaldine' (Garibaldine Rapsodies), which he wrote on the occasion of the centenary of Garibaldi's birth. Marradi was certainly more inspired in his poetry when writng dedications to Tuscan landscapes and love sonnets like Canzoni Moderne (Modern Songs) and Fantasie Marine (Marine Fantasies), both of which have been collected and printed in various editions.