Emilio Pettini

Italian mathematician and anarchist who fused science with radical social reform

Emilio Pettini (1848–1922), a lesser-known figure of Italy's Risorgimento, merged mathematical genius with anarcho-syndicalism. A professor at the University of Pisa, he published 《Trattato di Calcolo》 (1887), advocating for math education accessible to workers. His belief that 'equations can model equality' led him to organize night schools for factory laborers—a radical act in class-bound 19th-century Europe.

Pettini co-founded the Anti-Authoritarian International in 1881, promoting stateless societies through grassroots networks. He devised ‘Pettini Diagrams’ to visualize wealth redistribution, influencing later economists like Pareto. When Mussolini rose, his students preserved his manuscripts, smuggled to Switzerland as 'knowledge against fascism.'

Despite exile and imprisonment, Pettini pioneered ethnomathematics, studying Sardinian shepherds' geometric knot systems. His 1893 essay 《Geometry of Mutual Aid》 inspired Kropotkin’s theories. Forgotten in mainstream history, he remains a cult figure among European anarchists and educators advocating participatory learning.