Giuseppe Garibaldi | Origin of Street Names

Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807 - 1882) was an Italian military leader and revolutionary, most renowned for the unification of the Italian states in 1861 and the establishment of a sovereign Italian state within the borders we know today.

He was born in Nice, in Provence, a region where Italian and French influences, cultures, languages, and customs have intertwined for centuries. This is likely one of the reasons for his early development of national consciousness. Life in a town on the French Riviera has always been connected to the sea, and Garibaldi, from an early age, was familiar with fishing and sailing. He embraced a maritime career at the age of only 15.

The 19th century was a period of national enthusiasm throughout Europe, and a time when major European monarchies began to "crumble" or diminish in favor of nation-states. In his twenties, Garibaldi fell under the influence of Giuseppe Mazzini, the ideological and political leader of the Risorgimento movement.

Intoxicated by the ideas of liberation and unification of Italian provinces and states, which had previously been under the dominant influence of the Austro-Hungarian Empire or the Papal States, Garibaldi led his like-minded compatriots in numerous uprisings in northern Italy. After a failed conspiracy and an attempt to overthrow the government in Piedmont, he was sentenced to death and forced to flee the country, none other than to Latin America.

An ideological enthusiast, Garibaldi spent almost 15 years in South America, supporting the struggles for independence in Uruguay and Brazil. Among nationalists and the Italian diaspora, his name became increasingly significant over the years, establishing Giuseppe Garibaldi as the absolute leader of the Italian unification movement in the mid-19th century, a cause he never abandoned even during his exile.

With the change of government, he returned to his homeland where, with varying degrees of success, he participated in numerous battles against the guardians of the old order - Austrians and French. However, the greatest step towards achieving the ultimate goal was Garibaldi's famous expedition to the south in 1860, conquering Sicily and Naples. Shortly after, the Papal States fell, and the formal proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, led by King Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont, followed.

In a century filled with wars, Giuseppe Garibaldi became a symbol of freedom and unity fighters throughout Europe. It is well known that Garibaldi held the Serbian people and army in high regard and supported them in their struggle against Austro-Hungarian oppression during the Herzegovina Uprising and the Serbo-Turkish wars.

He died at the age of 75 on the island of Caprera, near Sardinia.

As a symbol of liberation and just struggle, the name of Giuseppe Garibaldi is mentioned today not only in Italy but around the world. Streets bearing his name exist in almost every major city in Europe, including Belgrade and Kragujevac.