Editing Francesco Cossiga (section)

==Early life==
Francesco Cossiga was born in [[Sassari]] on 26 July 1928, to a republican and anti-fascist middle-bourgeois family. His parents were Giuseppe Cossiga and Maria "Mariuccia" Zanfarino. He was the second-degree cousin of brothers [[Enrico Berlinguer|Enrico]] and [[Giovanni Berlinguer]] (whose parents were Mario Berlinguer and Maria "Mariuccia" Loriga) because their respective maternal grandfathers, Antonio Zanfarino and Giovanni Loriga, were half-brothers on their mother's side.<ref>{{in lang|it}} [http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/1994/giugno/10/mio_cugino_Berlinguer_Cossiga_racconta_co_0_94061015242.shtml Mio cugino Berlinguer: Cossiga racconta un leader] (Cossiga talking about [[Enrico Berlinguer]] in an interview to Gian Antonio Stella – ''Corriere della Sera'', 10 June 2004) {{in lang|it}}</ref> Although his last name is commonly pronounced {{IPA|it|kosˈsiːɡa|}} (with the stress falling on the second syllable), the original pronunciation is {{IPA|sc|ˈkosiɣa|}} (with the stress falling on the first syllable), italianized as {{IPA|it|ˈkɔssiɡa|}}.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dizionario.rai.it/poplemma.aspx?lid=75285&r=424 |title=''Cossiga'', Dizionario d'ortografia e pronuncia RAI |access-date=22 October 2008 |archive-date=22 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522202603/http://www.dizionario.rai.it/poplemma.aspx?lid=75285&r=424 |url-status=dead }}</ref> His surname in [[Sardinian language|Sardinian]] and [[Sassarese language|Sassarese]] means "[[Corsica]]", likely pointing to the family's origin.<ref>[http://www.repubblica.it/2003/i/sezioni/politica/gelli/cossiga/cossiga.html Le confessioni di Cossiga: "Io, Gelli e la massoneria"]</ref>

At the age of sixteen, he graduated, three years in advance, at the classical lyceum [[Domenico Alberto Azuni]]. The following year he joined in the [[Christian Democracy (Italy)|Christian Democracy]], and three years later, at only 19 years old, he graduated in [[law]] and started a university career as a professor of [[constitutional law]] at the faculty of jurisprudence of the [[University of Sassari]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://cronologia.leonardo.it/storia/biografie/cossiga.htm |title=Da Presidente notaio a picconatore |access-date=23 April 2017 |archive-date=24 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224094527/https://cronologia.leonardo.it/storia/biografie/cossiga.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

During his period at the university, he became a member of the [[Italian Catholic Federation of University Students|Catholic Federation of University Students]] (FUCI), becoming the association's leader for Sassari.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=xjXGOiZh0MAC&q=guido+rombi+chiesa Chiesa e società a Sassari dal 1931 al 1961]</ref>