The “Mille” of Giuseppe Garibaldi

The “Mille” of Giuseppe Garibaldi, also known as the redshirts, were a thousand-people army (records disagree as to the exact number, what we know for sure is that a little over 1,080 made it to Sicily); despite scant preparations and a shortage of weapons, Garibaldi’s volunteers sailed from Quarto (dei Mille), a district of Genova, at dawn on May 6, 1860 and landed in Marsala a few days later. Against all odds and in less than three months, they conquered the entire island of Sicily, opening the way to a united Italy. But who were the “Mille” exactly?  The majority came from the north; one-third from Bergamo and Genoa alone and a few from foreign states (Hungary, Turkey and Switzerland, among others). Aged from 11 to 69, the army also included one woman, wife of Francesco Crispi, while the rest were teachers, writers, traders, 250 lawyers and law students, 199 physicians, 50 engineers, 20 pharmacists, a group of painters and sculptors, three priests and 30 naval officers. Almost half died in combat.

A list (or Ruolo) was published in Florence in 1886. Perhaps some of you going through the names will recognize a few familiar ones and wonder if there is a “Garibaldino” in your family tree...