In 1920, a group of young people, among which Carlo and Nello Rosselli, Ernesto Rossi, Piero Calamandrei, under the supervision of Gaetano Salvemini, gave birth to the Circolo di Cultura, free ground for open and democratic debate.
Following the assassination of Giacomo Matteotti (June 1924), a group of Circolo di Cultura members, with Carlo Rosselli and Gaetano Salvemini, entered the PSU, the Socialist Party, Matteotti was the Secretary of. A smaller group, with Nello Rosselli, entered the Giovanni Amendola’s Unione Democratica.
In the New Year’s Eve 1924, the Circolo di Cultura, located in Borgo SS. Apostoli, was attacked by fascist corps and destroyed. Furnishings were burnt in the close Piazza Santa Trinita. Shortly after, Circolo di Cultura was closed by authority.
Rosselli Brothers were killed June 9, 1937 in Bagnoles de l’Orne, in lower Normandy, by the Cagoule (a fascist French organization) on behalf of the Italian Fascist government.
Immediately after the Liberation of Florence, in September 1944, by initiative of the Florentine Partito d’Azione, the Circolo di Cultura was rebuilt by survivor members and entitled to Rosselli Brothers: Circolo di Cultura Politica Fratelli Rosselli. The first conference was introduced by Piero Calamandrei.
Since then, the Circolo has been continuously active. In 1990, Circolo Fratelli Rosselli Foundation was established, with the elevation to Moral Institution by the Italian President of the Republic on July 28, 1990.
The Foundation provided itself of a quarterly journal, “Quaderni del Circolo Rosselli”, which publishes its conference and events proceedings, currently published by Pacini (Pisa).
