Giuseppe Garibaldi

Who is Giuseppe Garibaldi?

Giuseppe Garibaldi was a general, patriot, and revolutionary born in Nice, then part of the Kingdom of Sardinia. He is one of the most celebrated figures of the Risorgimento, the 19th-century movement for Italian unification. After years of guerrilla campaigns in South America, where he fought in Brazil and Uruguay, he returned to Italy to lead volunteer forces in the struggle for a unified nation. His most famous exploit was the Expedition of the Thousand (i Mille) in 1860, when he led a volunteer army of red-shirted followers that conquered the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, paving the way for the unification of Italy under King Victor Emmanuel II. Admired internationally as a heroic champion of liberty and nationalism, Garibaldi became a symbol of Italian independence. He later served in the Italian parliament. He spent his final years on the island of Caprera, where he died.

Sources: Jasper Ridley, Garibaldi (1974) · Encyclopaedia Britannica, entry 'Giuseppe Garibaldi'