A walk through Bucharest is not only an exploration of architectural styles and aesthetics born from different eras and political regimes, but also a journey through the city’s history — an unwritten lesson about the people, events, and places that shaped today’s capital. Every street bears a name that opens a story. A curious eye reads the signs and imagines scenes of war, parades, festivities, or moments of past glory. This is also the case with the Cazzavillan Square and Fountain, which, beyond their beauty, hide an impressive story about a man who forever changed Romanian journalism and left his mark on the city.

An Italian in love with Romania

Luigi Cazzavillan, an Italian, is one of those almost mythical figures who passed through the history of modern Romania — a foreigner who, through his deeds and passion, became a more authentic Romanian than many of his contemporaries. Although relatively little is known about his life, what remains tells of a courageous, innovative spirit deeply involved in the development of Romanian society at the end of the 19th century. 

Luigi Cazzavillan was born in Italy, during a time of profound transformation, when his country dreamed of unity and freedom. In his youth, he fought as a volunteer in the army of Giuseppe Garibaldi — the hero of Italian unification — where he also worked as a war correspondent. 

His adventurous spirit and vocation for journalism led him, a few years later, to Wallachia. He came here amid the 19th-century wave of Italian migration, drawn by the economic opportunities and the cultural effervescence of a nation in the process of modernizing.

Sensitive to the Romanian ideals of freedom and independence, Cazzavillan became actively involved in the War of Independence of 1877, this time as a war reporter. He documented the battles, wrote about the courage of Romanian soldiers, and conveyed to Europe the image of a nation rising to win its liberty. That experience bound him to Romania forever.

After the war, the Italian chose to settle permanently in his adopted country. He started from scratch, trying his hand at various businesses until he found his true path in journalism — the field where he would become a legendary figure.

The birth of a revolution in Romanian journalism

Cazzavillan’s first step into Romanian journalism was the founding of Fraternitatea italo-română (The Italo-Romanian Brotherhood, 1881–1885), a magazine dedicated to cultural relations and friendship between Italy and Romania. Although a modest publication, it paved the way for a remarkable journalistic career.

But the true revolution in Romanian press came with the launch of Universul (The Universe). With this newspaper, Luigi Cazzavillan forever changed the way Romanians read the news. Universul was the first mass-circulation newspaper in Romania — the first to address the general public and make information accessible to everyone.

“We owe to Luigi Cazzavillan the cheapening of newspapers and, therefore, their spreading,” wrote journalist Constantin Bacalbașa later. “From him began the large circulations of the press. Cazzavillan introduced the first rotary press to increase print runs. 

The 5-ban newspaper, placed in the hands of the many — especially the working class — was merely a distributor of news, unable to serve moral development or political awakening.”

Even if Bacalbașa emphasized the paper’s informative rather than educational nature, Universul’s success was immense. For the first time, ordinary people — workers, small clerks, and shopkeepers — had access to news, stories, and a window to the world.

From newspaper to publishing empire

After the success of Universul, Cazzavillan continued to innovate. He founded a series of publications combining information, entertainment, and education: The Illustrated Newspaper of Travels and Adventures on Land and Sea (1884), The Family Treasury (1885), and Useful to All Sorts of People (1891).

Soon, his enterprise expanded. The editorial headquarters became a true commercial hub, selling perfumes, toys, toiletries, medicines, and even imported Italian goods. One winter, Cazzavillan imported cough lozenges from Italy, prepared by pharmacist Bertelli — they became a true phenomenon. 

When health authorities required the candies to be sold only after medical consultation, the journalist hired his own doctor, who became a Bucharest legend under the nickname “Doctor Catramină.”

The Italian integrated perfectly into Bucharest’s life but maintained an independent attitude. Although offered Romanian citizenship, he refused it, preferring to remain an objective observer of society.

A patriot without a Romanian passport

Luigi Cazzavillan was more Romanian through his deeds than many born citizens of his time. Through his newspaper, he helped shape modern public opinion and democratize access to information. 

Although a foreigner, he loved Romania and dedicated his entire life to the cultural and social development of his adopted homeland.

His publications promoted work, education, morality, and human solidarity — values also reflected in the monument erected in his memory.

The Cazzavillan Monument – “For the glorification of good deeds”

Today, Luigi Cazzavillan’s name gives identity to a quiet street in central Bucharest, linking Știrbei Vodă Street to the square and fountain that bear his name. In the middle of this square, in front of his now-decaying villa, stands the Luigi Cazzavillan Monument, created in 1903 by sculptor Filip Marin.

The fountain, described by Frederic Damé in Bucharest in 1906 as one of the most remarkable monuments of the early 20th century, is an artistic jewel rich in symbolism. The bronze bust of the journalist crowns a column of Dobrogean stone engraved with the word LABOR — “work,” the supreme value Cazzavillan preached.

At the base of the column lies a complex sculptural composition: angels and children symbolizing the virtues and moral legacy of the man honored. One angel holds a plaque inscribed “Active patriot and benefactor,” accompanied by two children — one holding the Universul newspaper, the other a sword, symbolizing the struggle for truth and freedom. On the back, another plaque reads “For the glorification of good deeds.” The entire ensemble is adorned with aquatic motifs, turning the fountain into a metaphor for purification and rebirth through work and altruism.

The monument was restored between 2004 and 2005, but like many works of art in Bucharest, it was later vandalized and neglected. Even so, it remains a testament to an era’s gratitude toward a man who brought light and modernity to a society still finding its path.

Cazzavillan’s legacy

Luigi Cazzavillan died in 1903, but his legacy endured. Universul continued to be published for decades, becoming the most influential newspaper of interwar Romania. His model of popular journalism inspired generations of reporters, and his guiding principle — that information should reach everyone, not just the elite — remained a cornerstone of modern journalism.

In a city that often forgets, Cazzavillan Street and Fountain remind us of a time when passion and idealism could change the world. Around them, Bucharest continues to grow, to transform, to forget, and to remember.

Cazzavillan, the Italian who loved Romania without ever asking for its citizenship, embodies the image of a foreigner who became, through his actions, a local hero — a symbol of work, perseverance, and devotion, and a man who understood that journalism is not merely a business but a mission.

A city of memory and forgetting

Looking today at Cazzavillan Square, with its silent fountain and the villa decaying under the passage of time, Bucharest offers a bitter lesson about how we relate to our past. Our city is a living encyclopedia — but one whose pages slowly fade, one by one.

Between memory and oblivion, between ruin and restoration, lies the story of this city and of the people who loved it. Perhaps the first step toward honoring them is simple: to be curious. To look at the street signs, read the names, and search for the stories behind them.

For every name, every monument, every fountain has something to tell. And the story of Luigi Cazzavillan is one that deserves to be told again and again — the story of a man who came from another land but quite literally wrote our history.

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