Life of Giuseppe GARIBALDI



Anita et Giuseppe 1842
Anita et Giuseppe 1842
Giuseppe Garibaldi

http://www.italian-american.com/famous.htm

He was born in Nizza on July 4th, 1807. Since he was a boy he proved to be full of courage. When he was eight he saved a woman who had fallen into a ditch and when he was thirteen avoided the shipwreck of some companions. He had a predilection for physical exercises and sea life. When he was fifteen he embarked as ship-boy. In 1832 he became master. On the occasion of his voyages he knew some Giovine Italia's representatives and become patriot in a short time.

The following year he met Giuseppe Mazzini and became available for a revolutionary action. The deed failed and Garibaldi was obliged to take refuge in Marsiglia in a false name. Afterwards he left to South America where he lived for 12 years. During this period Garibaldi tried to embark on the commercial enterprise but his business was slack and his bellicose and political temper overwhelmed him so that he decided to embrace the South America republicans' cause. He fought in Brasil, Argentina and Uruguay.

In Montevideo, the capital of this last Country, he met Anita (Anna Maria Ribeiro da Silva) and he married her on March 16th,1842. Anita and Garibaldi had three children: Menotti (so named in memory of the homonymous patriot from Modena, Teresita and Ricciotti. Garibaldi's enterprises in America became so famous as inflame italian patriot's hearts and deserve the appellative of "heroe of the two Worlds".

He returned to Italy in order to reorganize the rebellions for the unification of the peninsula. He was at the head of several troops and he was designated general of some garrisons but the short organization, the lack of weapons and equipments did not give any good result. For such a reason Garibaldi was obliged to go into exile again and return to America. The distance from his native country did not make Garibaldi to forget politics and the republican spirit.

As he come back to Italy he reorganized the revolutionary action together with other patriots. After several colloquies with Cavour and the king Vittorio Emanuele he was at the head of a guard with the rank of general. In such a way started the military campaign against Austrians which concluded with the armistice of Villafranca. Afterwards Garibaldi, who was longing for action, resigned from the rank of general and removed to the central Italy in order to support the insurrectional governments. When Sicily, since 1859, showed a certain revolutionary excitement Garibaldi was invited from the Partito d'Azione and from Giuseppe Mazzini himself, to organize a military expedition. Garibaldi accepted and, after having procured a few weapons, sailed to Sicily with 1089 volunteers, who embarked on the steamers Piemonte and Lombardo. It was at dawn, on May, 6th, 1860. After a short, necessary, stop at Talamone, for the supply of weapons, Garibaldi went on docked at {CLICK HERE - FOR THE LIST OF VOLUNTEERS WHO LANDED AT MARSALA}

On May, 11th, Garibaldi docked at Marsala harbour without being disturbed by Bourbon that did not want to open fire because they did not want to hit the english watercrafts which were moored at the quayside. After having gathered volunteers in Marsala and delivered speeches (in this town the Heroe pronounced the famous sentence: "Rome or Death") he left again towards Salemi where he designated himself Dictator, in the king Vittorio Emanuele's name. Then he went on towards Calatafimi where he found the Bourbon defence.

It was a bloody and unequal battle because Garibaldi relied on 1200 men against 2000 Bourbons. The fate of the encounter turned in Garibaldi's favour who conquered, with his volunteers, the position at the bayonet. Although Garibaldi had an exiguous number of volunteers at his disposal in comparison with the Bourbon forces, his tactical intelligence and his courage made him to conquer all Sicily, to cross the Straits of Messina and to go on towards Naples. The battle at Volturno was very hard so as it was bloody the attempt to conquer the fortress of Capua and Gaeta. Meanwhile the Bourbon King Ferdinando II left Naples and Giorgio Pallavicino was designated prodictator.

The plebiscite was appointed on October, 21st and also took place in Sicily at the same time. Afterwards the two regions were joined to Vittorio Emanuele's reign. The king, who met Garibaldi at Teano, was greeted by the heroe as king of Italy. Garibaldi's life continued with politics and the work of reunification of italy. He organized military compaignes against Austrians that gave good results until the armistice was signed.

After the last military actions he continued doing politics. Then he retired into private life in the island of Caprera where he died in the evening, on June, 2nd, 1882 and where he is still buried.



Les Garibaldiens

Samedi 3 Juin 2006
PG

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