in italiano

Antonio Meucci

Antonio Meucci

Antonio Meucci was born in Florence, in 1808, to a working class family. A situation which, obviously, did not give him much of an opportunity to advance very much in his studies. Consequently, he was forced to go and work many jobs, demonstrating a particular preference for the car and electricity industries.

Like many young people of this time, he unwillingly became involved in the many revolutions of 1831 which involved many European countries. As a result of the failure of such revolutions, Meucci was forced to pack his suitcases and emigrate towards North America where, forced into the depths of poverty, he had to carry out the most desperate things in order to feed himself and his family. However, in 1845 he moved to the United States in search of a better life. He based himself in Clifton where he worked manufacturing of candles, continuing a job which has long been a tradition of Florence.

Over the years there were many revolutionary movements in Europe, particularly in Italy, all of which were bloody and repressed. Following the fall of the Roman Republic and its military defeat, in 1850 Giuseppe Garibaldi arrived in New York in a boat which went by the significant name of Waterloo. Only a few months before, chased by the Austrian soldiers, his beloved wife, Anita, had died in his arms. A profoundly demoralised man, Garibaldi, hoped to obtain American citizenship. However, even though they appreciate his talents, the United States will never grant him this request.

Even though he would have been much more at ease on the battlefields, Garibaldi began working in the little Florentine store, which belonged to Meucci, producing candles. Meucci became a great friend of Garibaldi, during their time working together, whom he would write about in years to come.

A few years went by and Garibaldi returned to Italy in order to fight the battles which contributed greatly to the birth of the Italian state. However, Meucci, this time, did not follow because he was very busy with an invention of his, the telephone. An instrument that, for the first time, would permit the transmission of a human voice at a distance. By 1857 Meucci had created the first telephone line in the world, a connection between his candle factory and his home.

However, this did not make him a fortune as you would expect. It took him many years to obtain the licence for the invention, which he did not receive until 1871. Therefore, as he had no way of financing himself in the meantime and he and his family were forced to live in poverty.

Ironically, in 1876 another two requests for telephone licenses were presented (one by Graham Bell and the other by Elisha Gray). Consequently, Graham Bell won the race to obtain this license and his society (the Bell Company) became a very important agency. However, we need to be remember that, despite the first five years being very obscure ones, the brilliant Florentine, Antonio Meucci, had already presented his licence for the same invention. Years of legal battles went by, but without any success forMeucci at all, who died in 1889 in New York, still as poor as ever and full of bitterness. A century later he was officially recognised as the inventor of the telephone, but by then it was too late.

Montagnana Val di Pesa 14 Weekly Price: Min. € 450,00 Max. € 4.759,00 Number of Beds: 21

Lucignano 1341 Weekly Price: Min. € 400,00 Max. € 600,00 Number of Beds: 12

Castelfiorentino 1658 Weekly Price: Min. € 200,00 Max. € 550,00 Number of Beds: 13

Greve in Chianti 703 Weekly Price: Min. € 590,00 Max. € 1.200,00 Number of Beds: 20