I'm half-way through finals with 2 more days until Portugal and Morocco! Today I had
an on-site today for my 19th & 20th century
Italian history class. We met outside the Victor Emmanuel monument
and discussed the tomb of the unknown solider, the historical
significance of the monument, and its facade. Inside there is a
museum dedicated to the unification of Italy.
I think I learned less about unification though, and more about Garibaldi. The museum felt like a shrine to him. I have visited many churches for my Romans Catholicism class, and I think I have gotten pretty good at identifying relics when I see them. One of the main hallways was filled with 'secondary relics' of Garibaldi's life: 2 pairs of his pants, a blanket he was carried in after being shot in the ankle along with his bloody shoe, sock, the bullet, and the instruments used to extract it. I am coming to realize that despite Cavour's involvement in unification (he was the brains behind it all- it's an interesting story worth a skim here or here), Garibaldi is the figure most closely associated with it because he was reactionary and his story is much more dramatic). My favorite part of the day was when the tour guide got really excited about showing us the bronze sculpture of Garibaldi's "breast." Our teacher tried to correct him subtly, but he only realized his mistake after saying breast instead of bust 3 times in the most hilarious context.
I think I learned less about unification though, and more about Garibaldi. The museum felt like a shrine to him. I have visited many churches for my Romans Catholicism class, and I think I have gotten pretty good at identifying relics when I see them. One of the main hallways was filled with 'secondary relics' of Garibaldi's life: 2 pairs of his pants, a blanket he was carried in after being shot in the ankle along with his bloody shoe, sock, the bullet, and the instruments used to extract it. I am coming to realize that despite Cavour's involvement in unification (he was the brains behind it all- it's an interesting story worth a skim here or here), Garibaldi is the figure most closely associated with it because he was reactionary and his story is much more dramatic). My favorite part of the day was when the tour guide got really excited about showing us the bronze sculpture of Garibaldi's "breast." Our teacher tried to correct him subtly, but he only realized his mistake after saying breast instead of bust 3 times in the most hilarious context.
**Cool
Fact: Garibaldi's wife, Anita Garibaldi, was also a bad ass (like so many other
now forgotten Italian women), and died fighting next to him. I wonder
why there's not a pizza Anita Garibaldi in every town?
