Anniversary of the Battle of Curtatone and Montanara

Every year, the University of Pisa celebrates the anniversary of the Battle of Curtatone and Montanara that was fought on 29 May 1848. With the ceremony dedicated to one of the most symbolic episodes of the Risorgimento, the University commemorates the courage of the members of the Tuscan University Battalion.

Among those who left to fight in the Lombard camps, were 384 students and 30 lecturers from the University of Pisa. On 22 March 1848, in the Aula Magna della Sapienza, which subsequently became known as ‘historic’ due to this event, the decision was made to provide support for the Piedmontese troops engaged against the Austrian army.

The fighters were led by Ottaviano Fabrizio Mossotti, a professor of Mathematical physics and Celestial mechanics, and the sacrifice of many of them, some of whom were not yet twenty years old, impressed the public opinion of the time. Their example immediately became one of the symbols of the moral and civil renewal of the country.

Celebrations over the years

2022 – 174th anniversary

• A delegation from the University of Pisa in Curtatone and Montanara
• 174th Anniversary of the Battle of Curtatone and Montanara – Ceremony and Conference: The Programme

2021 – 173rd anniversary 

• Commemoration of the 173rd anniversary of the battle
• Presentation of the heraldic emblem of the Istituto del Nastro Azzurro

2020 – 172nd anniversary

• From the battlefields to the classrooms: Scientists and lecturers from Pisa to Curtatone – online ceremony

2019 – 171st anniversary

• A delegation from the University to Curtatone for the 171st anniversary of the battle
• The Battle of Curtatone and Montanara 171 years later: The celebrations of 29 May

2018 – 170th anniversary

• The University commemorates the 170th anniversary of the Battle of Curtatone and Montanara
• Pisa–Pavia University Regatta
• Pisan students in Curtatone – Show for the 170th anniversary of the battle of Curtatone and Montanara
• Show “Addio mia bella addio”. The University of Pisa and the Memory of Curtatone and Montanara
• “Curtatone and Montanara: University, Volunteering, Homeland” – A seminar with Francesco Paolo Tronca
• The 1848 of Professors: Birth of a Nation and Rebirth of a University – A seminar with Paolo Rossi
• “Io vorrei che a Metternicche” closes the celebrations devoted to the Battle of Curtatone and Montanara
• The Battle of Curtatone and Montanara and the myth surrounding it at a conference held at La Sapienza
• Celebrations for the 170th anniversary of the Battle of Curtatone and Montanara

2017 – 169th anniversary

• A delegation from the University of Pisa to the Curtatone and Montanara battlefields

2016 – 168th anniversary

• Pisa–Pavia University Regatta: Appointment in Pisa on 14 May

2014 – 166th anniversary

• The 52nd edition of the Pisa–Pavia University Regatta on the Arno river

2013 – 165th anniversary

• History: Identity and Memory – Round Table

2012 – 164th anniversary

• Anniversary of the Battle of Curtatone and Montanara – Ceremony at La Sapienza
• CUS Pisa wins the Trophy ‘Curtatone e Montanara’