Anita Garibaldi

Ana Maria De Jesus Ribeiro (1821 – 1849) from Brazil married Garibaldi in Montevideo in 1842 and gave birth to their children Menotti, Teresita and Ricciotti. In 1848 the mother and children followed Garibaldi to Italy. In February 1849 Anita joined her husband in Rome as the Republic’s situation became increasingly desperate and Anita was again pregnant. She left Rome on horseback together with Garibaldi and some 4,000 soldiers of the Roman Republic and attempted with him to reach Venice, the last bastion of Italian and European resistance against Austrian power. The initiative did not succeed. Anita was sick: pregnancy was compounded by the exertions of the flight and malaria. Garibaldi and Anita, who was now exhausted, managed to reach the Comacchio Marshes with the help of a few loyal friends. Anita died in Mandriole on the evening of 4 August 1849: she was not yet 28 years old.