Signora Garibaldi

On the isle of Caprera (which Guiseppi Garibaldi bought in 1854 with the money he had earned as a chandler at New York) died Francesca Garibaldi, third wife of Italy’s great hero. She was 75 years old—the same age at which her famous husband died in 1882.

Francesca, a Piedmontese, went to Caprera in 1867 (aged 19) as a nurse to Garibaldi’s grandchildren. He married her after the annulment of his union with the Contessa Raimondi, who aided him during his 1859 campaign.

Garibaldi’s first wife was Anita, whom he met in South America when fighting on the side of Rio Grande do Sul, which was in revolt against Brazil. She, his inseparable companion, died in 1849 while accompanying her husband on a campaign against the Austrians.