 Margaret Fuller’s time in Italy proved politically climactic. She embraced simultaneously the Italian language, in which she became fluent, and the revolutionary struggle for Italian unity and democracy. Now back in touch with Giuseppe Mazzini on his home turf, she eagerly supported his cause: transforming Rome into a democratic republic. When the new Pope Pius IX temporarily seemed supportive, she approved but (perceptively) remained cautious. When forced to choose, the Pope disavowed Mazzini, and Fuller denounced the Pope. As revolutionary movements spread around Europe in 1848, Fuller was consistently enthusiastic. She kept her American audience informed about the European revolutions, explaining that America should no longer imagine itself to be the model Europe should imitate. She had become impatient with middle-class moderates and endorsed socialism. By now she was even further to the Left than Mazzini. Meanwhile, Fuller’s time in Italy was proving climactic personally as well as politically. She met the younger Giovanni Angelo Ossoli. Together they had a child and their probable marriage is a point of discussion in the literature. 