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Giovanni Cairoli
1842–1869
A young patriot of the Italian Risorgimento, he is remembered for fighting alongside Garibaldi and dying in the campaign for Rome before he turned twenty-seven. His short life became part of the Cairoli family’s powerful place in Italy’s national memory.
1 Audiobook
Villa Glori - Ricordi ed aneddoti dell'autunno 1867
by Giovanni Cairoli, Pio Vittorio Ferrari
About the author
Born in Pavia on February 27, 1842, Giovanni Cairoli was one of the sons of Adelaide Bono Cairoli, whose family became closely linked with the cause of Italian independence. He grew up in a household known for its strong patriotic commitments, and several of his brothers also took part in the struggles of the Risorgimento.
He joined Giuseppe Garibaldi’s volunteers and fought in the campaign of 1866. The following year he took part in the attempt to support the rising against papal rule near Rome, and he was badly wounded in the action at Villa Glori on October 23, 1867.
Cairoli died from those wounds in Rome on September 8, 1869. Because he died so young, he is remembered less for a long public career than for the courage and sacrifice that made him one of the symbolic figures of Italy’s movement for national unification.