Fortunato Mizzi (5 July 1844 – 18 May 1905) was a Maltese lawyer and politician.

Biography

Born of Francesco Mizzi Marianna Galea, Fortunato Mizzi was descendant of an old Italian-Maltese family, whose ancestor Pietro Mizzi emigrated to Gozo from Italy in 1655. Mizzi was a member of the Pro-Italian Maltese community and showed in his political activity strong support toward

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

and in defence of the official use of the

Italian language Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about ...

and of Italian culture in Malta. Mizzi founded the ''Partito Anti-Riformista'' in 1880 and, later, the ''Partito Nazionale'' (today's Nationalist Party). he would campaign for a new constitution from the one that was made back in 1849. Mizzi was instrumental to obtain liberal and progressive constitutional changes for the country during the colonial period, and is credited with starting the process which eventually led to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

's independence. In 1871 Fortunato Mizzi married Maria Sofia (Marie Sophie) Folliero de Luna ( Marseilles 17-II-1847 -

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...

5-VIII-1903), daughter of Giuseppe, vice-consul of

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

.Gen Mare Nostrum
/ref> They had a son in 1885 by the name of

Enrico Enrico is both an Italian masculine given name and a surname, Enrico means homeowner, or king, derived from ''Heinrich'' of Germanic origin. It is also a given name in Ladino. Equivalents in other languages are Henry ( English), Henri ( French), ...

(''Nerik'') who in 1950 became

Prime Minister of Malta The prime minister of Malta ( mt, Prim Ministru ta' Malta) is the head of government, which is the highest official of Malta. The Prime Minister chairs Cabinet meetings, and selects its ministers to serve in their respective portfolios. The P ...

shortly before dying.

Memory

A ''lapide'' (plaque) with an epitaph to the memory of Fortunato Mizzi was placed at Mizzi’s former house at 15 Old Mint Street, Valletta, in 1922. The plaque was inaugurated in 1922 by then-Prime Minister Joseph Howard in the presence of Sir Filippo Sciberras, other members of the National Assembly and a very large crowd of supporters. The epitaph, in Italian, mentioned Fortunato Mizzi having lived and died in that house and exalted his many virtues and his dedication towards the national cause. It carried a bronze effigy of Mizzi in a roundel made by the Russian émigré sculptor Boris Edwards. A bust of Fortunato Mizzi, inaugurated in 1940, can be seen in the

Pincio The Pincian Hill (; it, Pincio ; la, Mons Pincius) is a hill in the northeast quadrant of the historical centre of Rome. The hill lies to the north of the Quirinal Hill, Quirinal, overlooking the Campus Martius. It was outside the original bo ...

gardens in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

alongside the one of

Pasquale Paoli Filippo Antonio Pasquale de' Paoli (; french: link=no, Pascal Paoli; 6 April 1725 – 5 February 1807) was a Corsican patriot, statesman, and military leader who was at the forefront of resistance movements against the Genoese and later ...

. On 8 June 1940 an anti-Italian protest, stirred by the unveiling of the bust of Fortunato Mizzi at the

gardens in

the day before, destroyed the plaque in Valletta. A new ''lapide'' to Fortunato Mizzi was prepared in Italy, sculpted by Orlando Paladini Orlandini, made from white travertine marble, measuring 2 x 1.27 metres per 400 kg wight. It carried an identical replica of the epitaph, flanked by two massive fasces, surmounted by a bronze bust of Mizzi. The replica lapide was meant to be placed at the same place in Valletta once the island fell to Italian forces. Italy declared war on

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

two days after the protests in Valletta. In 1941 the lapide was moved to the Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence for display amongst the memorials of Italy’s great and mighty. It was moved to storage in 1943 and remained there till 2019, when it was gifted to Malta by the Opera di Santa Croce . It is on display at the Malta at War Museum in

Birgu Birgu ( mt, Il-Birgu , it, Vittoriosa), also known by its title Città Vittoriosa ("''Victorious City''"), is an old fortified city on the south side of the Grand Harbour in the South Eastern Region of Malta. The city occupies a promontory of ...

.Newsbook In the 1950s a third plaque was made to Fortunato Mizzi to replace the one vandalised in 1940 and this remains until today in Old Mint Street, Valletta.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mizzi, Fortunato 1844 births 1905 deaths Leaders of political parties in Malta Maltese independence activists Political party founders 19th-century Maltese lawyers 19th-century Maltese politicians mt:Enrico Mizzi

Biography

Memory

See also

References