Luigi Salvatori was born in Querceta (Seravezza) on 22 February 1881 into a family of landowners, but he soon became interested in socialist ideas. He studied the classics and enrolled in the Faculty of Law, initially studying in Pisa before moving to Genoa, where he obtained his degree.

He joined the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) in 1900 and became a leading figure in the Versilia labour movement; he was president of the Seravezza Mutual Aid Society and headed the organisation of the workers’ leagues in Querceta, Vallecchia and Seravezza. In 1910, Luigi founded and edited the socialist weekly Versilia, a vehicle for political and cultural agitation for the working class.

Luigi represented Versilia in parliament as a Socialist MP. In 1921, he took part in the Livorno split and joined the fledgeling Communist Party of Italy, where he became a member of the Central Committee. With the rise of the Fascist dictatorship, he became a target of persecution due to his political role, his profession as a lawyer and his highly cultured personality. In 1926, he was violently attacked by Fascists, then arrested and sentenced to five years’ internal exile.

Despite being struck by illness in the late 1930s, during the Second World War and the German occupation of the area he served on the Pietrasanta branch of the National Liberation Committee (CLN). He did not actively participate in partisan activities, but nevertheless remained a key figure in the Versilia anti-fascist movement, to the extent that he was recognised as a ‘fighting partisan’ in the ‘Bandelloni’ unit.

After the Liberation in 1945, the CLN appointed him Mayor of Pietrasanta, but his poor health prevented him from accepting either this role or a further proposal to stand as a candidate in the Constituent Assembly elections. He died on 20 July 1946.

A plaque was affixed to the house where he lived, it reads: ‘The people of Versilia, in honour of Luigi Salvatori, placed this token of love and gratitude on 27 July 1952 on the house where he lived after the long persecutions inflicted upon him by Fascism and where he died a staunch fighter for the cause, for freedom, for peace and for Socialism.’

A monument in his memory was also erected in Querceta at the house where he was born.