While we like to say that things never change in Tuscany, going back to the places of your youth is always a mixed bag. You'd like for everything to stay just the same as you remember it but, sometimes, you're up for a pleasant surprise. Last time I was in Pisa I went back to one of the places I loved the most when I was in university, an old coffee house that reeked of history. We didn't go there because the coffee was great, but because we wanted to be part of that great tradition. That coffee house, the third oldest in Italy, had been the go-to place for university students, artists, writers, scholars for almost 250 years. It was so relevant also because it was the birthplace of a curious phenomenon; a volunteer regiment made exclusively from university students and professors that fought in the First War of Italian Independence. That's why, to celebrate the 175th anniversary of that battle, What's Up Tuscany will bring you back to Pisa to tell you everything there is to know about the amazing Caffè dell'Ussero, my favourite coffee house. If you listen to the entire episode you will learn the origin of the weird palace that hosts it, how it became the cultural cornerstone of liberal politics and how on its back the first Italian cinema was founded in 1905. I will also tell you how this rich cultural heritage made it the place where liberty-minded speakers roused the crowds cheering for Italian unification. It was thanks to them that in 1848 two thirds of Pisa University students enrolled as volunteers in the University Guard, a regiment that fought with the army of Sardinia-Piedmont against the Austrian Empire. You'll learn how many of them were very young and had absolutely no idea of what they were going to go through. Despite being very green, their courage and sacrifice allowed the Italian army to escape encirclement and escape from an Austrian trap. Without the student warriors of the Ussero, Italy might have been very different. In the last chapter I'll also tell you about how the new owners plan to make the Ussero great again, transforming it into a place where people are in no rush to leave. Next time you come to Pisa, spend some time there. Even without any of my memories, this historic coffee house will find its way into your heart. Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/larno.it Twitter: @arno_it / @WhatsupTuscany LINKS TO SOURCES (ITALIAN ONLY) https://localistorici.it/rinasce-lo-storico-caffe-dellussero-la-scommessa-di-jacopo-e-lorenzo/ https://blog.agenziareaimmobiliare.it/palazzo-agostini-caffe-dellussero/ https://libri.icrewplay.com/caffe-letterari-il-caffe-dellussero-a-pisa/ https://www.homolaicus.com/letteratura/ussero.htm https://www.corriere.it/cultura/speciali/2010/visioni-d-italia/notizie/4curtatone-e-montanara-Gli-universitari-e-il-battaglione-scomparso_71006f58-550e-11df-a414-00144f02aabe.shtml BACKGROUND MUSIC Pipe Choir - Bom Bom Breakthrough (Instrumental) Pipe Choir - A dark blue arc (Instrumental) The Passion HiFi - Buried Pipe Choir - A slave to nothing (Instrumental) Pipe Choir - Followers (Instrumental) Pipe Choir - Mapping the stars (Instrumental) Jinxspr0 - Generation Bounce Wayne John Bradley - Blues Rock Original Instrumental All released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License https://soundcloud.com/pipe-choir-2/pipe-choir-bom-bom-breakthrough-creative-commons-instrumental https://soundcloud.com/pipe-choir-2/pc-one-a-dark-blue-arc-creative-commons-instrumental https://soundcloud.com/freehiphopbeatsforyou/free-the-passion-hifi-buried https://soundcloud.com/pipe-choir-2/pipe-choir-a-slave-to-nothing-instrumental https://soundcloud.com/pipe-choir-2/pipechoir-followers-instrumental https://soundcloud.com/pipe-choir-2/pipe-choir-mapping-the-stars-instrumentalbr...