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Giuseppe Garibaldi

Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807–1882) was an Italian revolutionary, military leader, and statesman, the "unifier of Italy"; his popularity in the 19th century was compared to that of Ernesto Che Guevara. At a time when Italy did not yet exist as a unified state, he fought for its unification and, like Che Guevara, once distinguished himself in South America. Beyond his pan-European fame, the Garibaldi family has an independent Crimean history.

Overview

The Garibaldi family is Ligurian, hailing from the capital of the Italian region of Liguria — Genoa, the very city that ruled the coast of Crimea for three centuries. The uncle of the future hero of Italy, Ambrosiy Garibaldi, traded in Feodosia, Taganrog, and Kerch and served as consul for the Italian kingdoms. The future hero, as a merchant navy sailor, visited those ports and, of course, stayed with his relatives. There is a quite plausible assumption that Garibaldi took his oath to unify Italy in 1833 in the Ukrainian city of Taganrog.

The Crimean branch of the Garibaldi family took root in Crimean soil, grew, and maintained influence in society already during the Soviet period. Through intermingled international marriages, the Crimean Garibaldis, while keeping their surname, became culturally and by blood more akin to Crimean Germans — and this was, presumably, not an exception among the local Italians.

Key Details / Subtopics

  • Ligurian roots: a family from Genoa — the city that for centuries dominated the medieval Crimean coast (Soldaia, Caffa, Chembalo).
  • Ambrosiy Garibaldi: the hero's uncle, a merchant and consul of the Italian kingdoms in Feodosia, Taganrog, and Kerch; maintained the family's connection with the peninsula.
  • The oath in Taganrog (1833): a plausible assumption that it was here, in the Ukrainian city, that the young Garibaldi swore to unify Italy.
  • The Crimean branch: the family took root in Crimea and preserved its influence during the Soviet era, but suffered repression together with the other Italians of the peninsula.
  • From Genoa to Kerch — an article by Fedir Chuzhanskyi in the newspaper "Krymska svitlytsia" (2018, No. 8); the only source on the Crimean branch of the family.
  • Italians in Crimea — broader context of the Italian presence in Crimea, including the Garibaldi family and its fate during the Soviet period.
  • Andrii Shchekun — the chief editor of the newspaper "Krymska svitlytsia", in which the source was published.