The strong moral ideas of Giuseppe Parini, educated in this district, encouraged economist Verri to explain the laws of supply and demand and elaborate the system of modern revenue service, later adopted across the globe. He was a precursor of both Adam Smith and marginalism. Philosopher Beccaria published his theory about "punishment as reeducation", proposing the abolition of capital punishment. The linguistic work of Manzoni and the syndical/political work of Filippo Turati, born in Canzo in 1857, contributed to the moral unification of Italy that followed the 1861 political change. Many Canzese soldiers participated in the unification under the orders of Giuseppe Garibaldi. During the 1848 revolution against Austria, Duroni, a patriot from Canzo, was the first to hoist the Italian flag on the highest spire of the Duomo di Milano.