H.P. Blavatsky frequently visited Italy and it was probably on these occasions that the basis was laid to spread theosophic thought to our country. From her writings and other sources, it appears that she visited Venice, Trieste, Bologna, Florence, Rome, Bari and Naples several times. In this connection, it is interesting to see that the first Theosophical Group, after the foundation of the Theosophical Society in New York, was instituted in Corfù, by lawyer Pasquale Menelao of Molfetta, who was also one of the Vice Presidents of the Theosophical Society between 1880 and 1888.
H. P. Blavatsky’s friendship with general Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882) is also a known fact. HPB assisted him on occasion of the battle of Mentana (3rd November 1867), where she was seriously injured; her contacts with Giuseppe Mazzini (1805-1872) are also known, whom she met in London when she collaborated with his initiatives and contributed t the erection of a monument in his memory in Central Park, in New York. The inauguration was presided over by H. S. Olcott, as indicated by HPB herself in the Florence newspaper “L’Opinione Nazionale” on 22nd June 1878.
These contacts explain the rapid development of the Theosophical Society in Italy. The first Theosophical Studies Centre, in fact, was promoted in Milan in 1891 by Mrs. J. Murphy, in collaboration with the Locarno writer, Dr. Alfredo Pioda.
A similar centre in all probability existed in Trieste and was created at the initiative of the British Consul Sir Francis Richard Burton (1821-1890), a celebrated explorer who died prematurely.
The Theosophical Centre in Rome was organised in 1897 by Mrs. C. A. Lloyd in collaboration with Dr. Decio Calvari, General Secretary of the Italian Parliament. This Centre was very active in instituting an Itinerant Library, the publication of the magazine “Theosophy” [“Teosofia”] and the translation and printing of many Theosophical works, including “The Occult World” and “Esoteric Buddism”, by A. P. Sinnett; “The Esoteric Philosphy of India” by J. C. Chatterji, etc.
The frequent visits of important exponents, such as H. S. Olcott, who visited Rome, Naples, Florence, Milan and Genoa and, successively, of Annie Besant, who held conferences at the Universities of Rome and Palermo and visited other important Italian cities, contributed greatly to the spreading of Theosophy in Italy.

Due to the interest of the British Consul Reginald Macbean Gambier, the Groups of Palermo and Genoa were founded, followed shortly thereafter by the Groups in Florence, Naples, Bologna, Turin, etc.
Thanks to all of these events, the Italian Charter of the Theosophical Society in Italy was founded on 1st February 1902, with the intervention of Charles Webster Leadbeater; the first General Secretary was Captain Oliviero Boggiani. Boggiani was later substituted by Dr. Decio Calvari; later, Professor Ottone Penzig of the University of Genoa was elected Secretary General and remained in this post between 1905 and 1918. Professor Penzig, who was of German descent, had formerly been an instructor at the Universities of Karlsruhe, Pavia, Padua and Modena and following a competition, was appointed Rector of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Genoa. He also founded the Hanbury Botanical Institute. He was the author of many scientific works, which were also published in the Italian Theosophical Society Bulletin. Thanks to the prestige of Professor Penzig, the Italian Theosophical Society expanded considerably, with the membership of eminent personalities in national culture. Prof. Penzig resigned as General Secretary to prevent his German origin from damaging the spread of Theosophy in Italy, due to the growing nationalism. He was replaced for one year by Engineer Emilio Turin of Turin, after which Oliviero Boggiani was re-elected General Secretary. In the meantime he had been promoted to the rank of Colonel and remained in office until 1929.
Col. Boggiani was succeeded by the philanthropist, Countess Luisa Gamberini, who was in turn succeeded as Secretary General by the attorney at law Tullio Castellani of Milan.
In 1939 the Italian Theosophical Society was dissolved by the fascist regime for having refused to adapt its statute to the requirements of the racial laws that were in force at the time. The theosophists, moreover, continued to meet secretly and Dr. Giuseppe Gasco continued the theosophical activity, permitting the Italian Theosophical Society to be reconstituted immediately after the war. Gasco remained General Secretary until 1956, when he was succeeded by Dr. Giuseppe Filipponio, who was in turn succeeded in 1962 by the Florentine journalist Roberto Hack. In 1971 Edoardo Bratina from Trieste was elected General Secretary and remained in office until 1995. Bratina’s period as General Secretary was characterised by considerable development and spreading of theosophical literature and the activities of the Centres and Groups.
This was also made possible by the work of many other eminent members of the ITS: Prof. Bernardino of Boca of Novara, Prof. Lando Del Sere and Dr. Filiberto Zarattini of Milan, Prof. Enzo Forcellini of Turin, Bruno Giolo of Genoa, Arnaldo Matteucci of Forlì, Romeo Bulletti of Perugina, Fabrizio Mariani of Rome, Fulvio Rossetti and Giuseppina Vivian of Venice, Prof. Sasà of Gangi and Cesarina Montà of Cuneo.
The following is a list of the periodicals that have been published during the course of over a century (Italian names): “Teosofia”, (Rome 1897-1901), “Il Bollettino” (Genoa, 1905-1918), “Ultra” (Roma, 1907-1934), “Gnosi” (Turin, 1919-1936), “Il Loto” (Florence, 1930-1939), “Alba Spirituale” (Savona, Rome and Florence 1948-1968), “Rivista Teosofica Italiana” (Florence 1969-1971), “Rivista Italiana di Teosofia” (Trieste, Vicenza from 1971).
Thanks to all of this cultural activity promoted by the Theosophical Society in Italy, the ITS received recognition as a non-profit Moral, Philanthropic and Cultural Organisation by the Italian Government, with a Decree (n. 821 of 15th September 1980) emanated by the President of the Republic (Pertini).
The statute was approved and the decree was published in the Official Gazette on Wednesday, 10th December 1980, after a bureaucratic process that had taken years.

1.Capitain Oliviero Boggiani (from 1901 to 1904 ) – Captain of the Alpine Troops.
2. Dr. Decio Calvari (from 1904 to 1905) – Secretary General of the Italian Parliament.
3. Prof. Ottone Penzig (from 1905 to 1918) – University Professor and eminent scholar of Botany at the University of Genoa.
4. Engineer Emilio Turin (from 1918 to 1919) – Professional
5. Col. Oliviero Boggiani (from 1919 to 1929) – Col. Alpine Troops Chief of Staff.
6. N. D. Countess Luisa Gamberini (from 1929 to 1934) – Philanthropist, writer.
7. Attorney at Law Tullio Castellani (from 1934 to 1939) – Attorney at Law.
8. Dr. Giuseppe Gasco (from 1939 to 1956) – Provincial Veterinarian.
9. Dr. Giuseppe Filipponio (from 1956 to 1962) – Top Manager of the Italian Railway System.
10. Accountant Roberto Hack (from 1962 to 1971) – Journalist, Writer.
11. Prof. Edoardo Bratina (from 1971 to 1995) – Government Functionary and Eminent Scholar. 12. Dr. Antonio Girardi (since 1995) – Company Director, Journalist.