Garibaldi Monument (Taganrog)
The Garibaldi Monument in the city of Taganrog is the only monument to the Italian national hero Giuseppe Garibaldi in Russia .
The obelisk is five meters high and depicts a fluttering flag. The inscription on the back reads: “In 1833 Giuseppe Garibaldi swore an oath to devote his life to the liberation and unification of his fatherland - Italy. Under the leadership of the national hero Giuseppe Garibaldi, the country was liberated and unified. ” The inscription on the front reads: “ In the person of Garibaldi, Italy had a hero of ancient form who was able to perform miracles, and he also performed miracles. ( Friedrich Engels ) "
history
In the first half of the 19th century, Taganrog was rightly considered one of the largest port cities in Russia. Hundreds of ships from many European ports came here. The city name Taganrog was known among merchants and seafarers from Liverpool , Bristol , Lisbon , Marseille , Genoa , Livorno and other ports around the world.
Giuseppe Garibaldi came from a sailor family and grew up by the sea. After he became the captain of a merchant's ship in 1832, he visited many ports with his schooner Clorinda , as well as Taganrog several times. It is even documented that he had to pay a fine here for smuggling cigars. In April 1833 Garibaldi experienced a very special day when his ship, loaded with oranges, was supposed to be in port for ten days. Because of this, the young captain had enough time to see the city, to visit the Taganrog Italians and to spend the nights in the cheap pubs. In such a pub he met the political immigrant and member of the secret movement ( La Giovine Italia ) Giovanni Battista Cuneo from Oneglia . He later described the meeting as follows: “In all situations in my life I have asked advice from people and books about reviving Italy, but by the time I was 24 all my efforts were in vain. After all, I met a Ligurian in Taganrog and he was the only one who drew my attention to the real state of affairs. Even Columbus, when he discovered America, couldn't be happier than I am among the people who have devoted their lives to liberating their homeland. ”In Taganrog, Giuseppe Garibaldi joined the“ Young Italy ”society and swore an oath that he will devote his life to the struggle for the liberation of his fatherland from Austrian occupation.
Taganrog paid tribute to the stay of the Italian national hero: one of the streets in the historic center of the city bears his name ( Ulitza Garibaldi ), and not far from the port, where his schooner Clorinda was once anchored, an obelisk was erected in his honor.
The monument commemorating Garibaldi's visit to Taganrog was inaugurated on June 2, 1961 for the centenary of Italy ( Risorgimento ). The local painter Jakowenko designed the monument project. The base relief (the profile of the hero and the palm branch) was created by the artist Baranov. In 1986 the base relief was replaced by the new one by David Begalow for technical reasons.
Coordinates: 47 ° 12 '28.3 " N , 38 ° 56' 58.8" E