Taganrog and the Memory of Giuseppe Garibaldi's Meeting with Kuneyo: How a Russian Port Changed the Fate of Italy

In the history of every great person, there is a point of departure, a moment that turns their life around. For Giuseppe Garibaldi, the national hero of Italy, the unifier of a fragmented country, this point was not Rome, Genoa, or South America. Instead, it was the distant Russian port city of Taganrog. It was here, in one of the port taverns, that the 26-year-old captain of a trading schooner met a man who opened his eyes to the fate of his homeland. This meeting became the turning point after which the sailor turned into a revolutionary, and his name entered history forever. Today, Taganrog preserves the memory of this event — in stone, in street names, and in museum exhibits.

Spring 1833: Oranges, the Port, and a Fateful Encounter

In April 1833, a small Italian trading schooner called "Clorinda" (some sources call it "Larinda") entered the Taganrog port. It was carrying a cargo of oranges, and the ship was commanded by a young captain, Giuseppe Garibaldi, a hereditary sailor from Nice. He was 26 years old and had seen the world, but his soul still did not know his main passion — the struggle for freedom.

In those years, Italy was divided into many small states, some of which were under Austrian rule. Patriots dreaming of a united and independent country had to flee abroad. Many of them settled in port cities, where they conducted propaganda work among sailors. One of such émigrés was Giovanni Battista Kuneyo, who lived in Taganrog and actively propagated the ideas of the secret revolutionary organization "Young Italy," founded by Giuseppe Mazzini in the early 1830s.

Garibaldi and Kuneyo met in one of the port taverns at the intersection of Petrovskaya and Kommerchesky Pereulok. The passionate speeches of his compatriot literally turned the soul of the young captain upside down. Kuneyo told him about the goals of "Young Italy": the liberation from Austrian rule, the unification of the country, and the establishment of republican government. Later, in his memoirs, Garibaldi wrote: "Finally, during my travels, I met a Ligurian youth in Taganrog who first acquainted me with the situation in our country. Of course, Columbus did not experience as much satisfaction from the discovery of America as I did from finding people devoted to the cause of liberating our homeland!"

According to some sources, Garibaldi stayed in Taganrog for eight days — from April 8 to 16. He lived in a hostel for destitute sailors on Nikolaevskaya Street. During this time, he not only met Kuneyo but may have also joined "Young Italy" right in Taganrog. However, there are some discrepancies: Garibaldi himself indicated in his diary that he was 24 years old at the time, while in 1833 he had already turned 26. Nevertheless, it was this meeting that gave the push that changed the course of his entire life.

From Taganrog to the Unification of Italy: The Beginning of a Great Journey

Upon returning home, Garibaldi, at Kuneyo's recommendation, was admitted to the society "Young Italy" and vowed to dedicate his life to the liberation and reunification of Italy. He remained faithful to this vow until the end of his days.

Initially, he was an ordinary fighter, but soon he led the revolutionary movement. His legendary march "The Thousand" in 1860 led to the liberation of Sicily and Naples, which became a decisive step in the creation of a unified Italian state. Garibaldi showed not only personal bravery but also outstanding organizational abilities as a military leader. His name echoed throughout the world, becoming synonymous with the struggle for freedom. He also fought for the independence of South American republics and helped France during the Franco-Prussian War.

Memory in Stone: The Only Monument to Garibaldi in Russia

Taganrog has not forgotten the role it played in the fate of the great Italian. In memory of the fact that the beginning of Garibaldi's path to glory was connected with this city, on June 2, 1961, on the centenary of the liberation of Italy, a monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi was solemnly opened. This is the only monument to the Italian revolutionary in Russia.

The authors of the project were the Taganrog artist Y. S. Yakovenko and the architect M. V. Baranov. The monument is a monument in the form of an unfurled flag, enclosed between two slabs. A gypsum bas-relief, toned under bronze, is installed on the facade slab — the profile of a young Garibaldi with a palm branch. A plaque with a quote by Friedrich Engels was mounted on the monument: "In Garibaldi, Italy had a hero of the ancient mold, capable of performing miracles and performing miracles."

The obelisk is located opposite the former pier (now a yacht club) — not far from the place where that same tavern once stood, where the meeting between Garibaldi and Kuneyo took place. In 1990, a new bronze bas-relief by the Moscow sculptor Lev Matyushin was cast. On September 12, 2007, on the 200th anniversary of Garibaldi, the restored monument was solemnly opened in the presence of Garibaldi's great-granddaughter, Anita Garibaldi-Jalle.

Garibaldi Street and Other Testimonies

The memory of Garibaldi in Taganrog does not end with the monument. One of the port alleys bears his name. In 1964, the Second Krepastny Pereulok was renamed Garibaldi Street. The length of the alley is 1304 meters.

Taganrog is the only Russian port mentioned in Garibaldi's memoirs. It was from here, as local historians write, that the great path of the national hero who unified Italy began.

The Painting "Garibaldi in Taganrog"

In 1882, the year of Garibaldi's death, the Italian painter Italo Nunes-Weiss created the painting "Garibaldi in Taganrog." It depicts the key moment: young Garibaldi in a Taganrog tavern, inspired by the speeches of his fellow countrymen, swears to fight for freedom and the unification of Italy.

The original painting is located in the Risorgimento Museum in Milan. However, a copy of it is stored in the Taganrog Museum-Reserve. It was created in 2008 at the request of Anita Garibaldi-Jalle, the great-granddaughter of the revolutionary. With the assistance of the "Dante Alighieri" center, the copy was transferred to Taganrog and solemnly presented at the Historical and Regional Museum. In the future, it will take its place in the permanent exhibition of the museum.

Conclusion

Taganrog, a small city on the Azov Sea, has forever inscribed its name in the history of the Italian Risorgimento. It was here, far from his homeland, in the atmosphere of a port tavern, that the spark that ignited the flame of the struggle for the unification of Italy was born. Today, the memory of this meeting lives in the obelisk near the yacht club, in Garibaldi Street, and in the museum copy of the painting, reminding us how the meeting of two Italians on Russian soil changed the course of European history.

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