Print by Giacomo Mantegazza. Giuseppe Mazzini (1805 – 1872) founded the Young Europe association in Bern, Switzerland, in 1834. He was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the Unification of Italy into a single state, which occurred in 1861. He was born in Genoa, Gênes department, First French Empire, which is now in Liguria region, Italy.