During the Italian revolts of 1848 he was part of the local security committee, and organized the defense of the Stelvio Pass at the border between Switzerland and modern Italy during the first war of independence.

[2] Anzi's most significant activity was as a naturalist, especially lichens, mosses, liverworts, freshwater algae, and fungi.

[4] He also wrote about vascular plants in 1878–1881, providing new information on identifications and species distributions that added to knowledge of the Italian flora.

In addition, he recorded many herbal and folk remedies, with specific detail on plants, although he did not provide any medical treatments himself.

[1][5] In 1861 Anzi was made a Knight of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus in recognition of his botanical work.