Giuseppe Garibaldi arrived on the island of Caprera for the first time in 1849. The whole population welcomed him in Cala Gavetta. During his battles, many La Maddalena residents such as Giovanni Battista Culiolo, Giacomo Fiorentino and Antonio Susini really stood by his side.
During his first stay in the Archipelago, Garibaldi made sure to get to know his trusted men’s families, thus making strong bonds of friendship. He approached rural life, agriculture and harvest, and experienced joyful moments, hunting and fishing. That’s how he finally got to live his first moments of peace, after so many battles. His first stay only lasted a month, but as the letter shown in the Town Hall recalls, it was certainly crucial for his entire future.
With the Sardinian land, it was love at first sight: after his second American adventure, he visited the entire island until he reached at last the place where his heart was really leading him to, the island of Caprera. After buying some plots of land, he created a small community of shepherds, sharecroppers and farmers. Caprera is the place where “the hero of two worlds” finally became a man, a father but also a prophet. The whole area became the destination of mysterious emissaries and influential figures: representatives of Russian, Greek, Hungarian, Polish and Spanish separatists’ movements but also President Lincoln’s Ministers.
“Wikipedia”
He lived the last years of his life in absolute poverty, enriched by people’s genuineness and by the wonderful lands he had learned to love. The “Lion of Caprera” died on June 2nd of 1882, and the clock placed on Caprera’s White House is still stopped at that sad hour. The residents became the silent custodians of his remains and they decided to modify the town coat of arms by inserting a lion (Garibaldi) bristling on a rock (Caprera) surrounded by the inscription “Herois cineres oras tutorque latinas (the remains of the hero watch over and protect the coasts of Italy)”.
During his first stay in the Archipelago, Garibaldi made sure to get to know his trusted men’s families, thus making strong bonds of friendship. He approached rural life, agriculture and harvest, and experienced joyful moments, hunting and fishing. That’s how he finally got to live his first moments of peace, after so many battles. His first stay only lasted a month, but as the letter shown in the Town Hall recalls, it was certainly crucial for his entire future.
With the Sardinian land, it was love at first sight: after his second American adventure, he visited the entire island until he reached at last the place where his heart was really leading him to, the island of Caprera. After buying some plots of land, he created a small community of shepherds, sharecroppers and farmers. Caprera is the place where “the hero of two worlds” finally became a man, a father but also a prophet. The whole area became the destination of mysterious emissaries and influential figures: representatives of Russian, Greek, Hungarian, Polish and Spanish separatists’ movements but also President Lincoln’s Ministers.
“Wikipedia”
He lived the last years of his life in absolute poverty, enriched by people’s genuineness and by the wonderful lands he had learned to love. The “Lion of Caprera” died on June 2nd of 1882, and the clock placed on Caprera’s White House is still stopped at that sad hour. The residents became the silent custodians of his remains and they decided to modify the town coat of arms by inserting a lion (Garibaldi) bristling on a rock (Caprera) surrounded by the inscription “Herois cineres oras tutorque latinas (the remains of the hero watch over and protect the coasts of Italy)”.
Sources and Insights
www.lamaddalena.it
