Stibbert, the englishman who fought with Garibaldi

Thirty-six handwritten letters, almost all of her mother, sent from the front of Trentino during the third war of independence. Never released until now, the correspondence of Frederick Stibbert of 1866 remains one of the rare examples of well-known autograph collector Englishman to his death he left a gift to the city of Florence a unique museum for the collection of weapons and costumes.

The correspondence dates back to when Frederick enlisted at twenty-eight as a volunteer in Garibaldi Guard, it is included in a special publication of the illustrated Stibbert Museum, titled “Il collezionista inglese che fu garibalduino” (An Englishman collector who support Garibaldi), Polistampa, pages 80, Euro 18.

Born in Florence in 1838 to an English father and Italian mother, Stibbert was sent to school in England after the death of his father, without permission to return to Tuscany. However, were kept well informed about life in Florence, including the political situation, through the letters of his mother and sister Sophronia.

Since 1859, when he returned home at the villa Montughi (now the museum) lived through the bloody years that preceded the period after unification and the capital of Florence. Despite his British nationality, which he held until his death, because he was always interested in the unit of Italy and he enlisted in the volunteer corps of Garibaldi’s Guide to the outbreak of the Third War of Independence in 1866.

In the letters from the front, written in colloquial language, sometimes ungrammatical, of a son who turns to his mother, the story of the war are added daily events and thoughts on politics and current events, as well as thoughts on family and distant Florence. What emerges is a very realistic and authentic witness of a season of war, but also a period of great changes that have helped shape today’s Italy.