This chapter examines the conception of the nation proposed by Mazzini in his theoretical and political writings. It shows that Mazzini presents the nation as a kinship community based on history, genealogy, blood, and land – an image tinged with a profound and moving religious aura. Furthermore, the chapter incorporates a gender connotation that contains the crucial reference to the honour of Italian women, which has to be defended by Italian male heroes. This conception is compared with the one that emerges from two paintings by Francesco Hayez, an artist Mazzini knew well and appreciated for his patriotic commitment. The comparison helps us to understand the communicative effectiveness of the idea of the nation proposed by Mazzini and shared by Hayez and many others.