San Marino claims the world’s first monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi, a white marble bust in a small square named for him. The Garibaldi Monument was inaugurated in 1882, the day San Marino made him an honorary citizen. He was too ill to attend.
He knew the place from harder days. In 1849 he reached Mount Titano on the run from Austrian forces, and the republic sheltered him. He disbanded his army and slipped away with his wife Anita, who died days later. A flower bed in front of the bust is dedicated to her.
Some of VoiceMap’s tours explain how a fugitive general became an honorary citizen. They begin the story at a memorial plaque in the porch of the Church of San Quirinus.
Tours featuring Garibaldi Monument, San Marino (3)