Expedition of the Thousand

Date: May 5, 1860 • Location: Genoa, Italy

This milestone marked the outbreak and beginning of this historic period, which spanned 1860.

Led by Italian general Giuseppe Garibaldi, the volunteer Expedition of the Thousand set sail from Genoa on a campaign to conquer the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, a crucial event of the unification of Italy.

Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. He contributed to the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and the creation of the Kingdom of Italy. He is considered to be one of Italy's "fathers of the fatherland", along with Camillo Benso di Cavour, King Victor Emmanuel II and Giuseppe Mazzini. Garibaldi is also known as the "Hero of the Two Worlds" because of his military enterprises in South America and Europe.