In 1831, the Carbonari's failed revolution in central Italy convinced Mazzini that a new organization was needed — one with a clearer vision, a younger membership, a more radical program. He called it Giovine Italia, Young Italy.
Its motto was "God and the People." Its goal was a unified Italian republic, achieved through popular uprising, not elite conspiracy. Its membership was to be restricted to those under forty — hence "Young Italy."
Jacopo became director of the Genoese section, the most important in the organization. He was the engine that kept Mazzini's visions grounded in reality. When Giuseppe soared into rhetoric, Jacopo brought him back to practicalities. When Giuseppe despaired, Jacopo reminded him of what they fought for.
They published a journal, smuggled into Italy from Marseille. They recruited hundreds, then thousands. They planned an uprising that would begin in Genoa and spread throughout the peninsula.
But they were betrayed. Informers had infiltrated their ranks. The police knew everything — the membership, the plans, the locations. In the spring of 1833, the arrests began.
One by one, Jacopo's friends were taken. He watched the net close. He could have fled, as Giuseppe did. He could have gone into exile, to fight another day.
But Jacopo stayed. Someone had to destroy the documents, warn the others, maintain the pretense that all was normal while the organization evacuated. He was the last director standing. He would hold the ground until there was no ground left to hold.