Stop 3: The Monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi in Plaza Italia

You are now standing in Plaza Italia in front of the monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi. This monument was inaugurated in 1904 in honor of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the main figure of the Italian Risorgimento that led to the unification of the country in 1861. Garibaldi had also helped the liberal republican movement in the 1840s in the Río de la Plata region.

The monument was designed by Eugenio Maccagnani who found his inspiration in another statue of the leader that he created in the city of Brescia (Italy).

Two are the plaques that adorn the monument. One depicts the Battaglia di San Antonio del Salto [Battle of San Antonio del Salto], a battle that dates back to 1846 when Garibaldi’s troops defeated Manuel Oribe in Uruguay. The other plaque, the Partenza dei Mille da Quarto [Expedition of the Thousand], refers to the campaign led by Garibaldi in 1860 where a thousand young volunteers sailed from Quarto in Liguria, and landed in Marsala, Sicily, to conquer the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
Two female figures, symbolizing the ideal of Liberty, decorate the monument: one angel bearing a Roman helmet, sword, shield, and laurels, and another woman wearing the Phrygian cap and a shield with the Argentine coat of arms on it.

Photograph by
Diego Torres Silvestre