Casa Museo di Garibaldi

On the island of Caprera, connected to La Maddalena by causeway, stands the simple farmhouse where Giuseppe Garibaldi — the general who united Italy — spent the last decades of his life between campaigns. The Casa Bianca (White House) has been preserved almost exactly as he left it: his hammock, his rifle, the clock stopped at the moment of his death, the bed where he died looking out over the sea.

The museum is more moving than most history museums because the setting is authentic rather than reconstructed. Garibaldi chose this remote, beautiful island deliberately — a place from which he could see the enemy coast of Austria across the water, and to which he retreated when the fighting was done. The garden, with his tomb and those of family members, is shaded by old trees. Allow ninety minutes.

Caprera is reached by a short causeway from La Maddalena island. There is no public transport on Caprera; you need a car, bike, or taxi from La Maddalena town.

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A story
Garibaldi first came to Caprera in 1855, buying half the island with money borrowed from his old comrade in arms Hugh Forbes. He farmed the land, built his own house (the "White House"), and spent periods between his military campaigns here. When he died on 2 June 1882, his wish was to be buried in the garden without religious ceremony, wrapped in his red poncho. The Italian government overrode this request and he received a state funeral — though he is indeed buried on Caprera, under a simple granite slab.

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