On the 4th of July, it’s important to remember that a key stone in the foundation of our country’s understanding of democracy was put in place by none other than an Italian by the name of Filippo Mazzei. Born just outside of Florence in 1730, Mazzei practiced medicine in Italy and the Middle East for several years, before moving to London to take up a new career as a wine merchant.

While in London, he befriended Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Adams, who would eventually persuade Mazzei to travel to the British colonies of the New World. Mazzei settled in the Virginia countryside, where he introduced the cultivation of vineyards, olive groves, and other Mediterranean fruits. He soon became close friends with Thomas Jefferson (who lived nearby) and the two would actually go on to open the first commercial vineyard in the Commonwealth of Virginia.