In the historic centre of Padua, in the same building as one of the oldest cafés in Italy, you will find the Museo del Risorgimento.
The museum, located next to the main floor of the historic Caffè Pedrocchi, was inaugurated on 8th February 2004 and is particularly significant because on 8th February 1848, right inside the Pedrocchi factory, a university student was wounded by Austrian soldiers. The episode gave rise to some of the riots characteristic of the Italian Risorgimento, still remembered today in the official anthem of the University of Padua, entitled “Di canti di gioia.”
On the wall, at the site of the accident, there is a metal plaque commemorating the historic event that was the prelude to the First War of Independence. A visit to the museum is a journey to discover a century and a half of Paduan and Italian history, a journey through time between documents, war material, works of art, medals and images that span a period of time from the fall of the Serenissima to the entry into force of the Italian Constitution.
In a room of the museum you can watch films, taken from period newsreels, of Mussolini’s visit to Padua in 1938 and other historical events in the city, an original red jacket and a copy of the telegram of the famous “obbedisco” (I obey!) sent in 1866 by Giuseppe Garibaldi to Padua, where he was the General Command of the Kingdom of Italy during the Third War of Independence.