ABSTRACT
The Casati Law of 1859, the magna charta of the Italian educational system, represented a virtual earthquake for the university systems of Italy's preunification states. This law extended rules designed for the small Kingdom of Sardinia to nineteen other universities, imposing the Piedmontese model on the entire system. In the minds of students, the first post-unification decade was still largely a continuation of the Risorgimento. In the decades after Italy's unification, the style of student protests changed. The more traditional manifestations inspired by the usual animal spirits and a playful desire to transgress, such as making commotion, playing practical jokes, rioting, and duelling, gradually disappeared. The most interesting characteristic of this new student activism was its continuity with the 'Risorgimento' spirit and patriotism. In the 1860s and 1870s, the Jesuit publication Civilta cattolica began to focus much of its attention on rising secularism and anti-clericalism among students.
