Frances R. Curcio
General Giuseppe Garibaldi, well known as “the hero of two worlds,” spent several months on Staten Island in 1850-1851, while he was in exile, trying to avoid being captured and executed for insurrectionist activities. The Garibaldi-Meucci Museum in Rosebank, has several artifacts celebrating his stay in the house of Antonio Meucci. After leaving Staten Island to travel to Central and South America, and then to the Far East, Garibaldi returned to Italy to lead and win the fight for Italian unification. He was almost 75 years old when he died on Isola Caprera, Sardinia, on June 2, 1882. This past June 2, in addition to honoring Garibaldi, Italy celebrated its 80th Anniversary—La Festa della Repubblica. Furthermore, during this current year, Garibaldi’s Casa Bianca (the White House) and the Compendio Garibaldino (the Garibaldino Compendium) on Isola Caprera are celebrating their 50th Anniversary. With so many milestones to recognize, honor, and celebrate, I had the opportunity to represent Staten Island’s Garibaldi-Meucci Museum at the solemn memorial service and at the festive opening of a new exhibit (“For the People’s Europe”) at Casa Bianca. Guiding the dignitaries and visitors, Sig.ra Annita Garibaldi, the great-granddaughter of Ricciotti Garibaldi (one of the two sons of Giuseppe and Anita), led the tour and commented on the artifacts.
The director of the museum, Arch. Sergio Cappai, welcomed everyone and described Garibaldi as a “modern man,” involving Europeans who helped and contributed to Italian unification. Sig.ra Annita Garibaldi also delivered remarks describing the exhibit. After the introductory comments Sig.ra Garibaldi led the tour through the museum.
One of the images on display is a lithograph of the 1880 painting, “The Dispatch Bearer,” by 19th Century French academic artist, Alphonse-Marie-Adolphe de Neuville, whose original work is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City. Celebrating individual courage and conveying the drama of conflict, the lithograph depicts a French soldier disguised as a peasant, who was captured while trying to evade a dispatch. Such illustrations and documentations throughout the exhibit help the viewer to understand and appreciate the challenges encountered by General Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was joined by his son Ricciotti and the volunteer Army of the Vosges in the last battle for freedom.
The tour of the Museum was followed by refreshments on the outdoor patio of the Museum, where guests were able to mingle, meet, and converse with each other.
Another special event, “European Heritage Day,” scheduled for Saturday, September 26th, will highlight the restoration and enhancement projects of the Compendium. A session entitled, “Return to Caprera,” will be a presentation of Garibaldi’s memorabilia that he donated to his friend, Edoardo Barbarini, a noted collector of Italian artifacts.
For more information, contact Dr. Frances Curcio at frcurcio@aol.com.
