Independence day, on the 4th of July at Poggio a Caiano the restored marble bust and its commemorative plaque were inaugurated in honour of Filippo Mazzei.
The mayor, Marco Martini and the councilman for culture Angelo Formichella received numerous guests in the Carousel Room. Present, amongst the various personalities, was Warren Miller, President of the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Culture Abroad representing the United States Government and Mary Ellen Countrymann, the United States Consul in Florence. Also present was Doctor Giani a descendent of Filippo Mazzei.

In Obama’s inauguration speech a piece of our culture was mentioned. In one passage, the President cites, albeit indirectly, the Tuscan representative of the Enlightenment, Filippo Mazzei: “…the time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness”. The “pursuit of happiness” is one of the cardinal principles of the American Constitution and the bedrock of the American Dream. It was Filippo Mazzei, a close friend of Thomas Jefferson, to suggest the move towards this right to equality and liberty. And it is from this point, from the pursuit of happiness born from the Italin Enlightenment, that the ideal meeting point between the rebirth of Italian socialism – and European – and the new frontier of the American left. A challenge that looks to the future but has its roots firmly in the past.

The life of Filippo Mazzei (1730 - 1816) is to be made into a film, the emigrant from Prato defined by ex US president Ronald Reagan as a "patriot and colleague of Thomas Jefferson". He was brought to light in an article by Dom Serafini, a director and editor for VideoAge, a magazine for the international professional television sector which has offices in New York, Los Angeles and Milan. The idea was that of the producer Roberto Bessi and Francesco Fulcini, screen writer and professor of social and economic history at the University of Verona. The screenplay is still in its early stages, but already it is obvious that the film will recount Mazzei's tortuous private life just as much as his political activity, which although not very well known either in Italy or America, was extremely important.

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(ANSA) - RIO DE JANEIRO 14 MAY - Work could already be underway for some Hollywood studios on a film on Filippo Mazzei, the Tuscan who was a friend of Thomas Jefferson's. Some passages in the United States Declaration of Independence are attributed to Mazzei. Amongst which he inspired the phrase "all men are created equal" one of the most famous phrases in the document. The idea for the film was Francesco Fulcini's, professor of social and economic history at the University of Verona.

This month we're bringing back to life the memory of an Italian politician who made history in the U.S.: Filippo Mazzei, or, as they called him here, Philip. He's not our contemporary. Indeed, he was born near Florence, Italy, in 1730, but his "All men are created equal" legacy is still with us.
The opportunity to review MazzeiÕs legacy came from Francesco Fulcini - a professor of the history of economics at the Verona University - who, together with Italian producer Roberto Bessi, were on hand at the recently concluded MIP-TV market in Cannes, France, to promote their newest project, a theatrical movie based on MazzeiÕs life and accomplishments.

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