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What did Giuseppe Mazzini mean by the phrase “God and the people”?

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Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Mazzini — Giuseppe Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini, detail of an oil painting by Luigi Zuccoli, 1865; in the Museo del Risorgimento, Milan.

For Giuseppe Mazzini, the phrase “God and the people” served as the moral and spiritual foundation for his political vision of a unified, republican Italy.

Mazzini believed that the liberation and unification of Italy were not merely political goals but divine mandates. He argued that all individuals are called by the “law of God and Humanity” to be free and equal brothers, a principle that he maintained could only be fully realized under a republican government.1

By linking the authority of God with the collective will of the people, Mazzini sought to inspire a moral and spiritual revival that would empower Italians to take an active role in their own political destiny. This belief system distinguished his movement, Young Italy, from other revolutionary groups, as he emphasized the necessity of educating the public and fostering a national consciousness rooted in duty and equality rather than relying solely on clandestine conspiracies or foreign support.12